Page 79 - January-February-2021

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H&M coming Unspun unveils

its most
up with Green sustainable

Machine to jeans with 3D

produce body scan

garments technology

from

recycled The San Francisco and Hong Kong-based
company launched Genesis jeans, a line of
men’s and women’s jeans that aligns with the
Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Jeans Redesign
materials principles for a circular economy and employs its
unique body-scanning technology.

“Made-to-order” and “sustainable” were two
product buzzwords reserved for just a fraction of
The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and closed-loop where all the elements are reused time consumers with deep pockets at one point in
Apparel (HKRITA) in partnership with the H&M and again. The industrial-scale Green Machine will fashion. However, Robotics and digital apparel
Foundation, developed the hydrothermal separation be able to process up to 1.5 tons per day. PT company Unspun is doing its part to democratize
system (The Green Machine) to manufacture Kahatex will first start using waste produced from custom and eco-friendly style with its new jeans
garments for H&M’S brands Monki, creating its manufacturing like difficult-to-recycle blended fibers, collection.
first-ever circular line made out of recycled polyester. yarn, and fabric as feedstock to create garments.
The fabric is 99% GOTS certified organic cotton
Jenny Fagerlin, Sustainability Director at Monki, said, Edwin Keh, Chief Executive Officer of HKRITA, denim and 1 percent Lycra and is washed using
“As a fashion brand we need to do our part when it mentioned how the new normal had driven us in a 100 percent recycled water and
comes to closing the loop. With eyes wide open, green direction. “In collaboration with our partners in Greenscreen-approved chemicals. The
Monki will walk into this climate-decade and be part the supply chain, we have created a system that at non-electroplated raw zinc buttons by French
of the solution. If we can prolong the life of our products scale will achieve two very important aims: first, it will trims manufacturer Dorlet can be removed and
for as long as possible and decrease the usage of provide a new and commercially viable industrial reused, while threads by Resortecs, a brand of
virgin sources, it’s a huge step in the right direction.” recycling solution and second, it will help us move threads that dissolve at high heat, make
closer to a sustainable future.” recycling more feasible. Unspun adds a
In 2020, Monki released its first collection from the transparency element to the collection by
Green Machine technology, created at the smaller H&M has been working hard on sustainability to fight including fashion tech firm Eon Group’s
Hong Kong system. Based on this, a more extensive their fast fashion reputation, with a range of scannable CircularIDs to the jeans.
pilot programme will be undertaken in 2021. It will be measures implemented to advance circularity. For
operated in PT Kahatex, an established textile instance, as part of its Bottle2Fashion project, H&M Each pair of jeans is made on-demand based on
manufacturer in Indonesia. The entire system runs on recently collaborated with Danone Aqua and a customer’s 3D body scan, accessible through
just heat, water, pressure, and a biodegradable transformed plastic bottle waste from the shores of the company’s app or at one of its three
green chemical. According to the H&M Foundation, it Indonesia into recycled polyester, the same material locations in the U.S. and Hong Kong. This
doesn’t create secondary pollution as it’s a used for its latest kidswear collection. ensures that the jeans have both a sustainable
beginning and end.

January/February 2021 January/February 2021