Survivalist Features

Brushing; quilting; layering; warm fibres alone are not enough to proclaim Survivalist. Accessories and details are essential to the attitude of outdoor denims. In fact detail and sundries can alone proclaim survival.

House of OD

Functional strapping combined with fabric layering makes jeans for cycling and boarding fulfil their recreational function. House of OD excels at recreational function. Sizes and shapes being large with accessories and detailing cinching and pulling for function.

Tom Wood X Kelly Harrington

Tom Wood and Kelly Harrington work with giant zippers and carabiner clips in their function denims for a more aggressive attitude. Completed with heavy wear sporting high low seam finishing to the heavy weight denims.

San Shing

San Shing cleverly combines coated denims which look tough after wash with Carabiner clips and multi zippers used en masse in the garment for fashion effect as well as function.

Acne Studios

Massive pocketing proclaims FUNCTION as well as warmth due to extra layers of denim. Simple giant detailing and gathering at waist and pocket renders a simple garment fashion combined with function.

Warm and protective Layering.

Huge puffy indigo blue jackets transform the romance of the shade into practicality too!

Balenciaga Fall 18/19

Balenciaga layers up the giant puffed up down filled jacket with plaid and stripes of brushed cottons. In spite of the giant down filled quilting the brand still manages to proclaim the fabric’s origins and wash out properties with high low seam wear and worn in body finish.

House of OD, Diesel, Balenciaga Fall 18/19

Layers and functional fastenings offer myriad opportunities for fleece mixing with denim and non denim cottons. Of course Diesel who excel in work style combines layers of quilting with overalls.

Brushed lofty cottons in lookalike snowdrifts layered up with ribbed knits lend a visual softness to a chunky structure. Such layering adds real warmth to lighter weight denims with a brush finish.

http://bleumode.tumblr.com

EXTRA Warm

Puffer jackets have become the must have item for warmth. Now not only in down filled nylon but also in lightweight proofed down filled denim. Fleece collars enhance the perception and function of warmth with different levels of thermal insulation depending on need.

Roy Rodgers

Quilted denims in pieced and patched shades of indigo in oversized styles really do keep you cosy and warm. As demonstrated by the Tom Wood x Kelly Harrington collaboration. The pair first showing their teamwork in Oslo now in Paris. Functional pieces to covet.

Tom Wood X Kelly Harrington (Far right, Far left), Fendi

Quilted and padded on the inside in workwear styling from Carharrt and fleece lining from LF Markey for girls protective jacketry.

Carhartt // Markey by LF Markey

Outdoors fashion work style from LF Markey uses heavy denims brushed for warmth and lined for extra. Quirky details add a touch of fun to the workwear inspiration.

LF. Markey

Fleece lined denim transforms what is a cool fabric into a toasty warm one. Corduroy in jeans styling is a winter warmer in jeanswear.

Made For The Outdoors

Denims to keep us warm; Function against the elements; Ultimate function with comfort; Winter cottons that can also be winter warmers with new finishing techniques. Many new techniques of fabric finishing to render the simple denim garment functional.

Streetwear; workwear; sportswear; tough wear.

Survivalist denim takes attitude from the style, the brand, the function enhanced by the denim finish - brush backs; thermal fibres; Super strong denims; double layers and double faces.

Miyabe micro acrylic is an insulating warm fibre; Thermalite from Invista is a warm to touch synthetic fibre; wool denims are naturally more warm than cotton denims; Spun viscose and spun modal are warm cellulosic fibres commonly used as blends in denim.

Carhartt

Carrhart survival clothing demonstrates how cottons can be thermalised for winter wear. Their collection is a combination of padded denims; brushed cottons; brushed non denims and quilting. This is street clothing masquerading as performance wear. In doing so it does however fulfil the function demonstrating the we can still wear our denims in the depths of winter.

Back Country uses tough rugged, raw 15ozs denims from Cone White Oak woven with Dyneema to resist wear, wind and weather. Sprayed with water repellant it guards against wet elements as well. Designs are simple conventional with extra functional detailing.

The denims start raw so no prior finishing to create wear or to pollute the environment - they leave the wearing in to you. The jeans look better for it.

Black Country Denim

Lighter weights denims can also be hard wearing. Mountain Hardwear is offering light stretch denims with Dyneema suitable for athletic outdoor pursuits like Rock climbing.

Mountain Hardwear

Patagonia uses “Steel Forge denim” made from a Dyneema blend to make it super strong. Not for mountain climbing more for manual and rugged labour.

Patagonia

Whilst heavy 3x1 denims are hard wearing in themselves the strength claim today is not as true as it was when Levi first made blue jeans back in the 1800’s. So now we use fibres such as Cordura and Dyneema to ensure the strength needed for functionally tough jeans for real outdoor and work performance.

Dyneema Denim

Saint Denim makes most of their outdoor pursuit jeans with Dyneema blended with cotton. Motor Cycle tested both on the cycle and off has proved that Dyneema really is currently the strongest and most durable fibre for the tough denim job.

Dyneema is super strong , super lightweight and super resistant to abrasion. It is the strongest fibre in the World being 15 times more abrasion resistant than steel; chemical resistant and slippery too. It is however very expensive therefore, unless we need the denim for a real branded function the jeans will be more than a high street retailer could bear.

ALL ECO - future green denim

Some of the suggestions below are already here and some are still in the sky!

DRY DENIM is here and is lovely but you the consumer have not yet embraced it fully. Buy the jeans unwashed and wear them in personally to your own shape and your own wear marks - wallet marks; knee indents; naturally roe or splashed areas. The drawback of this is that the jeans will shrink slightly once washed by you. The answer is don’t!! just turn inside out at night and hang in the fresh air or put in the freezer overnight.

DRY DENIM can also refer to a dark jean that has been dry tumbled. Put into the machine without water and with rubber balls. These remove the finishing starch making the jeans more comfy at the outset.

The secret with all the dry denims is that you are embracing water conservation therefore, you must not wash them yourself. They look better with a few scraps and spills- stories to tell.

Vans with Silvadur Coating

SILVADUR uses antibacterial silver ions in the fibre that we weave into the denim to make the jean stay fresher for longer. Silver has natural anti-microbial properties and having it woven into the fabric makes those properties permanent. Having denim with Sivadur enables you to buy your DRY DENIM and wear without washing time and time again with confidence.

Tiziano Guardini and ISKO denim

FUR DENIM - sounds exciting!

Fur is outlawed in many countries yet we love the concept. So instead of the super SHRIMPS fake fun fur why not embrace indigo fur?

Ksenia Schnaider in the Ukraine cares about the environment as well as keeping warm and loving jeans. Ksenia worked with ISKO development team to create the first “fur denim”. Of course coming from Isko the product is woven but if you cast your mind back to childhood and there are many ways to experiment and play with knitting, crochet, threading and weaving strips plus fluffing and cropping fibres to create ragged effects. Rather like rag rugs for the body.

TIZIANO GUARDINI’S denim “fur” features laters of shred denim that mimics the volume and movement of fur. Again the fabrics were developed in conjunction with Isko creative room at Isko’s Italian hub. Of course such denim fur is totally sustainable as it is all recycled denims - ethical and fun.

ALL ECO - The Greenest Brands

PATAGONIA is a household name in the USA for their iconic fleeces and hoodies. All made from recycled plastic bottles. Their denims are no less sustainable using organic cotton, recycled cotton and innovative dye process that use less water. They also use fair trade cottons. Theirs is a story worthy of accolade as, from the outset they have been a brand that incorporated sustainable manufacture and materials into all their processes. WE wear Patagonia with a clear conscience.

NUDIE, Dry Jeans

NUDIE jeans from Sweden are also a brand that are sustainable and very green. Using only 100% organic cotton They realised very early that to use ordinary cotton they would be perpetuating the global use of artificial pesticides and precious irrigation waters so they make jeans in a fair and ethical way without compromising the look and quality of the product. They also employ safe and ethical working conditions.

As well as organic cotton Nudie uses recycled fibres such as wool and Polyester “Repreve”.

One of their latest finishes is DRY DENIM. It’s quite simple - the jeans are not washed with water to remove the starch. Either you wear them in and over time the jean will mould to your shape and wear areas or you buy them “dry tumbled” which is tumbled with rubber balls to remove the starch and make them more flexible from the outset.

LINDEX

LINDEX Sweden is a relatively young brand that has made its mission to become one of the greenest jeans brands keeping people and environment uppermost in mind during production. Working with Jeanologia they operate the Environmental Impact measuring system (EMI) software which helps producers control water energy and chemical consumption. Whilst they have not yet embraced the Jeanologia lazer garmenting finish process the EMI software has helped them tweak their formulations to achieve the best reductions in water and chemical consumption without loss of aesthetic or quality.

This EMI rating software operates alongside their use of sustainable denim - recycled cotton denim from RECOVER- a post consumer cotton recycling brand using upcycled regenerated cotton from old scraps and old clothing; BCI cotton denim.

MUD JEANS

MUDD JEANS pride them selves as being one of the Worlds greenest brands. Their aim is to create a pair of jeans with 100% recycled denim through the garnetting process.

Their jeans finishing is with ozone and lazer with no harmful potassium permanganate to lighten the shade and no hand brushing or sanding. Water is almost entirely eliminated in the process.

As well as recycled post consumer cotton they use other recycled materials and fibres. The labels are printed not made of leather. The buttons are made from recycled cotton. No polythene bags are used in packing and hangtags are made from brown paper. Their brand “Re-pack” is a re-usable packaging rewarding the recipient for every order.

Mudd’s ethos is “cradle to cradle “ jeans where waste becomes a source of new material.

Levi’s 501 red tab (image: Denim and American Story)

Lastly but by no means least we have the iconic Levi.

Levi are pioneering practices to reduce the use of energy, water, harmful chemicals and they are partnering with others in the jeans industry to help achieve what is a real difference. Their target for total clean jeans is 2020.

By 2020 it is their mission to use 100% sustainable cotton to significantly reduce their water footprint.

In addition they are using innovative “Water>Less” finishing techniques which saves up to 96% of the water normally used in the jeans finish process. It is the company belief that if the apparel industry used “Water>Less” innovations 50 billion litres of water could be saved by 2020. It is the company goal to have 80% of their jeans produced with this “Water>Less” technique by 2020. That is quite some undertaking.

Hazardous chemicals are also a big problem for the jeans industry. Levi was one of the first jeans companies to establish a Restricted Substances list. Starting in 2014 they created a foundation to eliminate harmful substances from all their suppliers production processes as well as their own. They are committed to achieving a zero discharge of hazardous chemicals by 2020.

Of course Levi also sets the bar high for using post consumer recycled waste - cotton,plastic bottles and more. The “Waste>Less” collection of products comprised 20% of post consumer waste. Specifically plastic bottles, which works out to an average of 8 bottles per pair of jeans.

2020 will also see 100% of all employees receiving the Levi Strauss WET Water education training.

“Water>Less” & “Waste>Less are registered trade marks of Levi Strauss & Co.

ALL ECO: Water conservation

Reducing our dependence on water in the manufacture of Denim has been the mission of JEANOLOGIA, Spain since day one.

Jeanologia, Spain are the pioneer makers of denim and jeans processing equipment which use significantly less water to process both denim and jeans. With vision, perseverance and passion Enrique Silla the founder owner is transforming our thirsty and dirty denim and jeans industry.

Jeanologica's Lazer Garmenting

the G2 Dynamic ozone fabric processing equipment uses only one cold bath of water to finish the fabric compared to many gallons in a normal process. It uses no chemicals thus eliminating the need for caustic treatment. The consumption of water per metre of fabric is insignificant. There is no harmful discharge and no thermal energy is required. It also has added performance benefits for the denim itself.

Using denim finished by this method in a jean which is further finished with the Jenologia Lazer garmenting equipment we can achieve the most sustainable jean in the World today.

Jeanologia G2 Dynamic denim finishing

The above illustration demonstrates the saving of water, energy and chemicals achieved by using jeanologia’s equipment. One denim manufacturer has branded their product “THIRST FREE” Denim!

Water, our most precious element instead of being used in the growing of cotton could be harnessed to alleviate drought and starvation of millions. Above are the shocking statistics of just how much irrigation water is needed in cotton growing.

Denim and jeans manufacture uses approximately 8000 litres of water to make just one pair of jeans!! Shocking but true. Including thirsty cotton growing, indigo blue dyeing, denim finishing, jeans laundry washing many times per jean it is easy now to see how this quantity can be achieved.

The water from denim dyeing is blue and indigo has no affinity with cotton so the denim has to be washed many times to eliminate the excess surface indigo, resulting in blue water which must be cleaned and free from chemicals before returning to nature.

It is obvious what happens to the earth without water.

We all know what happens to the earth without water. It is desert.

The ground becomes parched and cracked. The surface becomes impossible to cultivate being starved of nutrients. We all must reduce our water use not just the denim and jeans makers. We must learn to use less. Later this month i share ways of finishing jeans that will use little or no water in the manufacture and how us as consumers can use little or no water in the care of our jeans.

ALL ECO - THE FIBRE GREEN

Cotton being the dominant fibre in denim and jeans must be recycled. As it is a greedy crop for water, for pesticides, for labour the most logical is to re-use and recycle.

Post consumer cotton products are the most obvious candidate for recycling and many brands and retailers are already employing systems for collecting consumers unwanted garments.

In denim manufacture we use garnetted cotton, post consumer waste which is shredded and re-spun back into fibre then re-dyed or not as desired and re-woven into broad denim. The garnetted fibre is naturally uneven in shade being from myriad garments, the fibre is also short staple and weaker than the original therefore only suitable for use in the weft of the fabric. If mixed with superior long staple cotton it can be used in the warp.

The images shown are from Mudd Jeans promoting their green credentials and demonstrating the process of recycling pre used indigo denim for their new generation of jeans.

REFIBRA

REFIBRA is a recently launched fibre from Lenzing Austria. Lenzing is famously the home of Tencel, the magic fluid cellulosic fibre with a soft slippy sexy touch. Tencel cellulosic fibres are fully sustainable being from sustainably forested wood pulp. As well as enhancing the hand and drape of millions of women’s jeans Tencel has such a super hand that the mens denim market has also embraced its magic.

Now Lenzing have gone one giant step forward and combined post consumer cotton scraps with post industrial wood pulp and produced a new generation of Tencel Lyocell “green” fibre for tomorrow’s new denims.

Stages of creating Tencel Denim

Wood pulp plus cotton scraps are blended and spun into Refibra Tencel.

Lenzing are an eco responsible manufacturer of fibres Modal, Lyocell, Tencel and now Refibra all of which have a low carbon footprint. Tencel also has a greater strength than many other fibres used in the manufacture of everyday denim so to combine with elastane for a weft stretch reduces the growth rating. It also has a unique dye uptake resulting in richer more vibrant shades than can be achieved in cotton.

Various brands such as Levi’s are now making it possible to use waste plastic bottles for good…Denim

RECYCLING plastic bottles is a massive business today creating spun polyesters for fabrics from the humble water bottle.

Patagonia was one of the first brands to use recycled bottles to create their famous fleeces and hoodies. Now Levi use this “Repreve” polyester in the weft of many of their denims.

Polyester is a common household and garment textile fibre alongside the common water bottle. The combination of these two to achieve not only recycling but up-cycling is good news for our quest for greater sustainability. There is no need to randomly throw away your water bottles - recycle in a central source so that they can become your clothes of tomorrow..