#INNOVATORS
The materials we use are selected for their unique properties, which minimise the environmental impact of our fabrics and enhance the quality, performance and aesthetics of the final product.
Cotton grown using regenerative agriculture techniques that restore the natural functions of the ecosystem. Its benefits include an increased amount of organic matter in the soil, greater biodiversity, CO2 sequestration and the optimisation of the natural cycles of soil nutrients and water. Candiani is the first company in the world to earn the regenagri® certification, whose aim is to guarantee the health of the planet and the well-being of those who inhabit it.
This fiber is a non-GMO hybrid cotton designed and developed by Candiani for Candiani in order to get the best of two worlds: the superior quality and length of ELS cotton and the sturdiness of Upland cotton. Thanks to its excellent properties, this fibre can create resistant fabrics and unparalleled denim using a higher-than-average percentage of recycled Post Consumer Recycled (PCR) fibres.
PCR stands for Post Consumer Recycled. These cotton fabrics derive from old jeans that have reached the end of their life and are then shredded back down into fibres, mixed with Blue Seed Cotton and finally transformed anew into yarn. The result is a circular model where old jeans are used to make new ones, thus reducing the need for virgin materials.
The organic cotton used at Candiani is grown in compliance with the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS). This standard precludes the use of hazardous chemicals, guarantees the human rights of those who grow the cotton and ensures transparency along the entire supply chain.
Candiani was the first denim fabric manufacturer to chose cotton grown in compliance with the Better Cotton standard. The Better Cotton standard is based on seven well-defined principles and its main purpose is to promote environmental protection, as well as to support the training and rights of farming communities upstream of the supply chain.
This technology, patented by Lenzing, combines recycled cotton – derived from garment manufacturing processes – with wood pulp, making this a unique recycled fibre. It is produced with a highly efficient closed-loop process that recycles 99% of the water. When blended together with cotton TENCEL™ x REFIBRA™ confers a soft hand feel and a natural shine to the fabric.
One of our patented technologies that transforms natural rubber into a stretch yarn, offering a 100% bio-based alternative to conventional synthetic yarns that are commonly used to make stretch denim. The rubber derives from the Hevea Brasiliensis tree and is vulcanised using innovative methods; jeans made with COREVA™ technology are 100% biodegradable and compostable once they reach their end of life.
The fabrics of the ReSolve family owe their elasticity to a unique, environmentally friendly stretch yarn, that degrades without releasing any toxic substances. This yarn was awarded the “Environmental Compatibility” certification by the Hohenstein Institute and the “Gold Health Certification” by Cradle to Cradle. This innovative stretch yarn is a custom version for Candiani, which allows us to make degradable denim fabrics with improved stretch performance up to 45% elasticity.
The ReLast family of fabrics owes its stretch performance to the first recycled stretch elastomer in the world developed especially for Candiani. Made with pre-consumer recycled material that is GRS-certified. Thanks to their refined stretch performance, our ReLast fabrics are recognized for their superior comfort and shape-holding properties.
Stony Creek Colors produces natural indigo dyes that can replace the conventional synthetic petrol-based indigo. This natural indigo is made in Tennessee, it is certified by USDA BioPreferred® and complies with the ZDHC level 1 standard.
We've been using it since 1979, purely for environmental reasons. Though more expensive than conventional indigo powder, it reduces the use of sodium hydroxide by 52% and of sodium hydrosulphite by 63% – these are the two chemical substances necessary to bond indigo to the cotton fibres. Our pre-reduced indigo is also certified by the Oeko-Tex Eco Passport.
This family of dyes is synthesised by Archroma. These colors are obtained from elements that are present in nature, many of which derive from waste products from other industries and include walnut shells, orange peels, rosemary, beetroot peels and agricultural cotton waste, which are combined with the most advanced natural and biodegradable reducing agents.
All denim fabrics are tested in our Development Center – our in-house laundry facility – in order to determine the best match of fabric and treatment. We develop new wash techniques to treat denim garments in an increasingly sustainable way and we share our findings with our customers. Each of our denim fabrics is engineered to have a reduced impact during the wash process.
An easy-fade dyeing technology developed for vintage aesthetics. Keeping the dye superficial on the yarn allows us to use only a fraction of the water, chemicals and energy usually required to wash down the indigo. Technology at the service of fashion – and, above all, of sustainability.
A no-fade dyeing technology developed to achieve clean aesthetics, designed to obtain the opposite result of that produced by the Indigo Juice® technology. It increases the dye penetration in the yarn while decreasing the number of dyeing vats from seven to two, thus also dramatically reducing the use of water, chemicals and energy.
Kitotex® is a patented sizing technology used in the dyeing and finishing process to replace hazardous chemicals and other pollutants. Kitotex® is derived from Chitosan, a naturally occurring polymer derived from mushrooms that is 100% bio-based and biodegradable. It replaces PVA, a commonly used agent in textile manufacturing that contributes to microplastic pollution. This completely MICROPLASTIC-FREE denim also benefits consumers’ health thanks to its anti-bacterial, antistatic, and anti-mite properties. Kitotex® is now a Candiani Denim patent.
We have developed a finishing technique that allows us to stabilise and pre-shrink stretch denim fabric without using water or chemical agents. A true revolution for super stretch fabrics that, thanks to this technology, boast enhanced aesthetics, hand feel and performance.
Sound Dye is our latest sustainable innovation allowing us to save water in the dyeing process. It uses ultrasounds to rinse the yarn, creating microbubbles in the water that soon implode and produce violent shock waves to remove the excess of unfixed indigo. Sound Dye allows us to save about 2 liters of water (almost 30%) for each linear meter of denim compared to the most traditional techniques. Considering an annual production of 20 million linear meters, the total water reduction guaranteed by Sound Dye is equal to 52,287,000 liters: the equivalent of the drinking water needed in one year to quench the thirst of nearly 72,000 people!
