Recycled cotton is the key ingredient in Armedangels’ new Detox Denim collection.
The men’s and women’s capsule offers popular styles made with denim fabrics made from an 80/20 percent blend of pre- and post-consumer cotton waste. By using only recycled cotton, the German brand said it is saving carbon emissions, land use, energy and water consumption that would otherwise be required to grow virgin fiber.
For the collection, Sara Maier, Armedangels design lead denim, said the brand sourced from Turkish mill Calik Denim and Portuguese textile recycler Valerius 360°. The entire supply chain involved in producing Detox Denim can be transparently tracked using a QR code sewn into the jeans. Scanning the code gives consumers access to Aware Virtual ID, a digital product passport that tracks the entire product journey.
Additionally, the garments are PETA-certified vegan, as their patches are made of jacron rather than leather.
Detox Denim styles for women include the Mairaa mom jeans, a ’90s cropped style with a high waist and narrow tapered legs; the Aaikala straight fit jean; and the Enijaa, a cropped wide-leg jean with a high waist. The brand offers the Annoj shirt jacket for men in black and indigo.
Maier said the brand is working to overcome the challenges of recycled cotton, noting that both pre-consumer and post-consumer recycled cotton do not match the high quality of virgin cotton, primarily due to the effects of mechanical recycling.
“For us, quality is sustainability, which means that we always strive to offer products, with the best quality possible,” she said. “Based on our experience, we have found that pre-consumer recycled cotton generally exhibits better quality compared to post-consumer recycled cotton. One of the issues with post-consumer waste is the difficulty in sorting. The market is flooded with fiber mixes, and many garments of very low quality are already in circulation.”
Maier added that it can also be difficult to trace the origin of the waste and to ensure environmental standards, though Armedangels only uses GRS (Global Recycled Standard) certified contents.
In terms of design, Maier said heavier and more compact fabrics are advantageous when using recycled cotton “as they compensate for the shortcomings of short staple fibers.” Utilizing recycled fibers specifically in the warp or weft, depending on the fabric construction, proves to be a favorable approach as well.
“Regarding treatments, we found out that emerizing as a finishing treatment enhances the comfort and softness in circular knit fabrics. This technique involves controlled brushing of the fabric surface, resulting in a softer feel,” she said. “We incorporate this technology in our recycled cotton products to amplify their softness and comfort, offering the best of both worlds—circularity and comfort.”
Armedangels reports that 99.62 percent of its summer collection is made from natural fibers or recycled materials and it’s working to increase its share of recycled fibers in the seasons to come. “A shift [toward] a more circular economy is rooted in our company as part of our material strategy. This includes recycled materials as an important part of decarbonization,” Maier said.
Armedangels reports that 99.62 percent of its summer collection is made from natural fibers or recycled materials and it’s working to increase its share of recycled fibers in the seasons to come. Other fabrics in Armedangels’ sustainable denim range use organic cotton, hemp, recycled polyester and Tencel.
The collection is an example of supply chain efforts to reduce the use of virgin cotton without sacrificing quality and durability. Tencel recently partnered with Advance Denim and Officina39 to enhance the look and feel of zero cotton denim fabrics.
Maier said combining recycled cotton with Tencel proves to be an excellent approach for ensuring stability and high quality. “Tencel offers good resistance and possesses long staple fibers, contributing to the overall strength and durability of the fabric. This combination allows us to maintain the desired standards and deliver products of high quality,” she said.
Detox Denim is one part of Armedangels’ sustainable efforts. In 2022, it launched a secondhand platform to help extend the life of its garments.
It also helps cotton farmers convert to organic cotton through the Armedangels Organic Farmers Association in partnership with Suminter, an Indian organic farming company. The association converted 365 farms to organic cotton between 2021-2022 and 135 are in the final stages of becoming organic, according to the brand’s 2022 impact report.
The company is building its team of sustainability experts as well. It recently brought on Jordan Nodarse as a consultant. Nodarse consults for Bossa Denim and served as the creative director for Boyish for three years.