The aim of the Dutch Denim Deal was to increase the proportion of post-consumer recycled cotton (PCR) in denim products – especially jeans. After three years of collaboration, the project in Amsterdam has now come to a positive conclusion. The six-member steering committee of the deal explained the findings, challenges and next steps. The message: Denim is definitely recyclable. That’s why international expansion is now planned.
It is possible: the goals of the denim deal have almost been achieved
53 private and public signatories made it across the finish line of the deal. The new quantitative measures for 2022 affect participating brands and retailers. Since 2020 they have been working together to that five percent PCR content is used in their new denim collections. Initially only eight percent of participants were able to do this, but after three years the share for denim on the Dutch market has increased to 39 percent, according to the FFact overview presented during the event. For the international market, the share even rose from twelve percent in the base year 2020 to 53 percent at the end of 2022. The standard is particularly higher for jeans: 41 percent of the participants’ Dutch and 53 percent of the international jeans production contain at least 20 percent PCR. A secondary goal of the denim deal was to produce three million such more sustainable jeans throughout the process. This was more than successful at international level, but the directive proved to be too ambitious for the Dutch market. The participants’ production numbers remained too low.
The actual objectives of the deal relate to the mechanical recycling (cutting and fiberizing) of cotton textile waste, but the participants also looked at the possibilities of chemical recycling (melting and dissolving): in five to ten years everyone will be dealing with this topic, said a yarn producer during the event. The chemical variant also offers solutions for recycling non-cellulose fibers or contaminated textiles.
International expansion in sight
The Dutch clothing association Modint estimates that Dutch denim brands produce 27 million jeans per year. The Denim Deal proved that recycled raw materials are a viable option. But worldwide the market comprises two to six billion pairs of jeans. The denim chain is also highly globalized. The agreement began as a Dutch initiative, but parties from Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, Bangladesh, Switzerland and the USA soon joined. The logical next step is therefore to think industry-wide and “use” the denim deal formula internationally, according to the steering committee.
The strategic plan calls for the opening of international hubs at geographical nodes of the denim market: first in the EMEA region, then in North and South America, India and finally in the APAC region. The structure is similar to that of the Dutch Deal, with a steering committee made up of representatives from the public and private sectors, annual monitoring and a platform for pilot projects and knowledge exchange. The big vision is to work step by step towards a global jeans standard: a minimum PCR content of 20 percent. The first milestone is planned for the end of 2025. Then 300 million jeans would have to have been produced in this ratio.
The ultimate goal of one billion jeans (300,000 tons of PCR fibers) is very ambitious, as demonstrated by the sudden commotion in the room during the closing event. But according to Nicolas Prophte (Vice President Denim Center of PVH), who presented the expansion plan, the number should above all be inspiring enough to appeal to denim players from other countries. The expansion plan also takes into account the use of the remaining 80 percent with renewable cotton. In order to measure further progress, reliable indicators and collaboration with best-in-class suppliers are needed. The network created with the expansion of the deal must be held together by an educational platform; eco-design guidelines are also planned. For many designers, PCR textiles are still new and the design process involves completely different processes. “Using recycled material and extending the lifespan of products – it sounds like a contradiction, but we need to incorporate the circular economy into our design,” says Prophte.
Foreign parties have already shown interest in their own denim deal. The Turkish ministries of environment and trade are “eager” to get involved, according to Arnout Passenier from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management in Holland, who has been there from the start. There are no concrete Denim Deals 2.0 in sight yet, but Passenier isn’t planning any Concerns: “The network won’t fall apart with the end of this deal – we know where to find each other – and there is so much appetite internationally.” However, the financing is still unclear. The original Denim Deal was a Green Deal from the Dutch government, supported with a view to making the Netherlands climate neutral by 2050. Roosmarie Ruigrok, coordinator of the Denim Deal, points out that this support will no longer exist in a possible follow-up.
PCR is more expensive and has additional hurdles to overcome
A survey of deal participants revealed several new insights that should be incorporated into subsequent denim deals, such as the importance of a safe environment for knowledge sharing. There was a trusting atmosphere in both the offline and online meetings, and the participants communicated openly, reports FFact. Brands are not used to sharing knowledge so openly.
However, there are still challenges that not only slow down the upscaling of PCR fibers in denim but also drive up the price, such as export barriers. Waste materials often cannot simply cross the border to be processed in the designated facilities. According to the participants, there should also be a mature middle class of sorting companies and fiber manufacturers and more clarity in PCR specifications. At the moment, the ideas about what the source material and the final material have to fulfill are still very different.
While the quality of recycled industrial textile waste is relatively constant, this is not yet the case with PCR. This was shown by several pilot projects that were carried out until the end of the denim deal. In order to achieve the quality of conventional denim, a lot still needs to be done, such as making sorting processes more precise and faster and making it easier to determine the origin of textile waste. The quality and volume of textiles collected must also be increased. But so far, consumers are not yet sufficiently aware of their role in this process chain. In the Netherlands, textiles are usually thrown into the regular trash instead of in the clothes bin. As a result, only twelve percent of textile waste in the Netherlands is recycled. At the same time, people need to build a more positive image of recycled material in new clothing so that they buy them more quickly. Brands’ price expectations also need to be adjusted. By stimulating the supply and demand of PCR, production can be increased and the price can be reduced.
Problem: Contamination from polyester
However, there is still an unresolved problem among denim suppliers: contamination of the raw material with non-cellulosic fibers such as Lycra or polyester, which are common in jeans. Indigo dyes only adhere to cellulose fibers like cotton, while polyester does not absorb the dye and creates white dots on the blue PCR fabric. “I can produce it, but no one will buy it,” is Besim Ozek’s conclusion so far. According to the strategic director of Turkish denim weaver Bossa, polyester contamination is one of the main reasons why brands prefer to turn to recycling with industrial waste residues focus: Pre-Consumer Recycled Cotton. Because of all the extra steps, this material is at least two dollars cheaper than PCR varieties. “You have to cut all the pieces with polyester sewing thread and the weight of the four pant panels that are left is only 40 percent of the weight of the denim. So 60 percent still goes into the trash.” Besim can process up to three percent of non-cellulose fibers. This percentage is often higher due to the necessary stretch and polyester fibers. The bigger problem is that the composition is unknown in advance: “It comes from the consumer, so there are no labels anymore. I only see how bad the pollution is after dyeing.”
Therefore, for effective large-scale mechanical recycling, improving collection and sorting is crucial, as is developing alternative materials for stretch. “The Denim Deal involves many different parties who can find solutions here,” says Passenier, “which is really unique internationally. If the deal expands and other governments are involved, it will become even more interesting.”
The pursuit of “PCR as a global standard” requires movement on the supply and demand sides. This makes the responsibilities in the scale-up story unclear. In the search for the right form of Denim Deal 2.0, the same question arises again and again have to ask: Are we waiting for each other?
The final monitor for 2023 will be released in 2024.
This translated and edited post previously appeared on FashionUnited.nl.