No More Elastic: Sustainable denim brand Triarchy released an innovative stretch denim in the U.S. on Wednesday. The denim is novel for being entirely free of spandex and crude oil-based plastic. Instead, it employs natural rubber from the rubber tree as an organic alternative to plastic-based stretch and spandex.
“This development is a first of its kind with the potential to completely change the denim industry, steering it away from the dependance on plastics,” a brand spokesperson said. Triarchy’s plastic-free stretch denim takes less than two years to biodegrade, per the brand.
While Candiani holds the patent, the mill has extended exclusivity on plastic-free comfort stretch denim to Triarchy through 2024 in North America. This fabrication is found across Triarchy’s entire core collection, something the company claims no other denim brand has offered before.
Natural Stride: The Mongolian sweater brand Gobi Cashmere is making its first-ever foray into footwear with the debut of a cashmere sneaker capsule.
As with its core product line, the sneakers are made with Mongolian cashmere sourced from nomadic herders. The company is working to certify its processes with the National Federation of Pasture User Groups of Herders, Step Ecolab and the Sustainable Fiber Alliance. The sneakers retail for $199 to $229 and come in a high-top and low-top style with colors spanning navy, charcoal gray and taupe.
Each style features a 100 percent cashmere “Felton” drape and wool lining for better temperature regulation. The base of the shoe is made with EVA outsole, incorporating 20 percent sugarcane outsole and 15 percent recycled algae.
Cleaner Dyes: Ibex is launching a new label, Ibex Labs, that will feature small-batch, limited-edition products with a focus on sustainability. The inaugural collection, “Dyed in the Wool,” will launch on Sept. 15 and include a men’s and women’s Tranquil Hoodie, a women’s Tranquil Jogger and a men’s Tranquil Crew made from merino and cotton. Each piece will feature a limited-run tie-dye pattern achieved through a natural dyeing process.
The collection was developed in partnership with Green Matters, a Lancaster, Pennsylvania-based woman-owned company that uses plant-based materials to eliminate the use of harmful dyes. The Dyed in the Wool capsule uses real indigo and cutch (a natural brown dye from the Acacia catechu tree) from a farm in South India. Garments are dyed using rainwater collected from a 60,000-gallon cistern at Green Matters.
The collection will retail for $190 for the hoodie, $165 for the jogger and $162 for the crew.
Resale Moves: Innovative fashion brand Pangaia is launching a digital-first in peer-to-peer resale.
Dubbed “ReWear,” the U.K.-offered program is powered by branded resale partner Archive but offers added technology perks — made possible by digital identity tags and tech partner Eon. The brand previously partnered with Eon, which makes digital identity solutions so that supply chain traceability is enabled at the product level simply via a QR code, in 2021. The QR code contains all the necessary product data including size, color, material and provenance to verify an item’s authenticity.
Pangaia customers can scan the QR code printed on the item’s care label, and the information will automatically populate for a listing on the ReWear marketplace. If an item does not have an Eon digital ID, the seller can still easily list it on the marketplace using Archive’s existing features.
The ReWear marketplace will initially launch in the U.K., with plans to expand to additional markets worldwide.
