In conversation with Advance Denim: Reinventing denim production
At Slow Fashion Movement, we are glad to introduce you our second guest for the #KnowYourDenim campaign (our first guest was Tricia Carey from Lenzing). Enrico Forin is the development and marketing manager at Advance Denim and has an ext ensive knowledge of denim and the fashion industry at large, thanks to several years of first-hand experience in the field. We had a chat with him about denim production, but also about China, prejudices and the Xinjiang scandal.
The second week of the Denim Campaign focused on denim production: the goal was to give our fellow campaigners (and every curious alike) an idea of what happens once cotton yarns are ready to be dyed and assembled into cloth. This specific part of the value chain is extremely important in the sustainability-related discourse, because it usually comes at a high price, for both the planet and the employees. Despite its centrality, the final consumer has little knowledge about it and brands themselves usually do not know how fabrics are made (nor even care). Both sides have the duty - and the right - to get information.
The biggest truth we extrapolated from this conversation (one very dear to us at the Slow Fashion Movement) is that, while there are great margins of improvement - in the denim industry, in the fashion system and probably in the whole society - it is important to understand that a completely impact-less production is mere utopia. As someone said, “being naked is the #1 most sustainable option, we would like to be #2”.
As consumers, our best choice is to slow down consumption drastically, and make better purchases. On the other side, producers should switch towards smarter and less polluting practices, with the support of governments. This conjunction is the best option we have, and Advance Denim has always been aware of it. Sustainability and respect of the natural resources are at the center of its philosophy, and the mill has massively invested in innovation, also because of the governmental directories. Advance Denim is indeed based in China and the Chinese government is working hard on the environmental impact of its industry, issuing laws and dispositions to contain pollution. China has a long story of pollution behind, and maybe because of it, the country is now determined at finding a new path for the future.
Read the whole interview here: https://slowfashion.global/blog/12/in-conversation-with-advanced-denim--reinventing-denim-production-
