In the fields, cotton faces difficulties due to climate conditions and other factors, and it causes significant quality and production loss. Candiani, the Italian denim brand, recently conducted the first fully circular scientific experiment at the Rodale Institute of California to grow ‘regenerative blue seed cotton. The denim brand believes regenerative agriculture can help replenish soils and preserve and protect biodiversity and is also considered a solution for climate change.
For this reason, Candiani partnered with the Rodale Institute, the organic and regenerative agriculture research center, to prove that their Coreva technology positively impacts the environment and can be used to grow regenerative cotton.
Blue seed cotton has been designed to be a stronger fiber and more resistant in the field, requiring less water and chemicals. This effort comes from the brand’s long-term vision for a circular model that combine industrial production with regenerative agriculture. The outcome of this experiment proved that Candiani’s vision to link industrial denim production with regenerative agriculture is possible.
This means that when a pair of jeans reaches its end of life, they can return to nature to grow the raw materials for a new pair of jeans.
The result showed that the presence of Coreva in the soil increased the moisture content of the soil from the first to the seventh week. After the seventh week, this effect decreased, probably due to the decomposition of the material.
No effect on plant growth was observed, but this is probably because cotton has a long growth cycle, and seven weeks is not enough. Further trials are therefore required.
The test used Coreva, a Candiani technology that uses plant-based stretch yarn obtained from natural rubber to replace synthetic, petrol-based yarns, to fertilize the soil and grow regenerative Blue seed cotton, which is Candiani’s exclusive hybrid, non-GMO cotton variety. COREVA™ owes its stretch performance to a natural rubber yarn that replaces synthetic petroleum-based yarns. Conventional stretch yarns can take hundreds of years to decompose and contribute to microplastic pollution.
Thanks to the elimination of all synthetic components and a smart vulcanization process, COREVA™ is the first compostable stretch denim in the world that is completely free from plastics and microplastics.
