The argument for sustainable stretch denim is solid. While fits cycle in and out of style, and the post-pandemic trend for ’90s-style rigid constructions caught on with young generations, the demand for stretch denim—be it with comfort, traditional or power stretch levels—remains steady.
However, the pressure is on as fiber producers, denim mills and brands to work together to minimize the fabric’s environmental impact.
Since elastane-enabled jeans hit the market in the late Seventies, the woven material—typically a blend of cotton and spandex made from fossil fuel—has made a lasting impression. So much so that finding a pair of jeans without stretch is something of a Herculean task; the synthetic-and-soft fabric has become the standard, representing 77 percent of the global denim market, per Candiani Denim.
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The Milanese mill would know, considering Candiani’s stretch denim set new standards for comfort and fashion in the Eighties. Though conventional stretch offers the wearer many advantages—like asset enhancing fits and more mobility, for example—the environment pays the price as elastane is, essentially, plastic.
That is why Candiani spent five years on something of a Promethean task: Coreva. Launched in 2020 as an alternative to synthetic yarns, Coreva is a patented technology that replaces elastane fibers with natural rubber—effectively making Candiani the first mill to offer plastic-free stretch denim fabric made with biodegradable yarns.
Swapping petroleum for plants, Coreva has been embraced by the likes of Outerknown, Stella McCartney and Denham. Los Angeles label Triarchy held the North American exclusive on the innovation through 2024. Candiani also launched a house brand of jeans called Coreva Design.
However, innovating comes with a financial risk. Though there’s a conversation about reducing the industry’s dependency on fossil fuels, Simon Giuliani, Candiani Denim’s global marketing director, said one challenge as a producer and manufacturer is investing in new technology that brands may or may not adopt.
Change won’t happen overnight. Giuliani likens the denim industry’s education on renewable ingredients to the food industry and how its evolved as consumers’ have grown more aware of healthier food choices and sources. In fact, Candiani has taken a very literal approach. Since launching Coreva, the mill has hosted several events where it served canapés made with tomatoes grown from composted denim.
“We were really trying to say, ‘Guys, you should look at fashion the same way you look at food. If you did, you might make different choices,’” Giuliani said.
Future fibers
Despite the financial risk, fiber manufacturers are stepping up to the plate with sustainable alternatives.
Hyosung believes that the more eco-minded solutions for designers, the merrier. The South Korean company is known for sustainable innovations like Creora Regen, the brand name of its sustainable spandex, nylon and polyester fibers and Regen Bio Spandex, a range of bio-based spandex fibers either made with dent corn or sugarcane. Bossa, Kipas, Artistic Milliners and AGI Denim are among the denim mill using the alternative fibers.
Per life cycle analysis data, Hyosung’s Regen Bio Spandex production is expected to reduce carbon emissions by 80 percent when its new vertically integrated plant in Vietnam becomes operational in 2026. The Vietnam facility will produce Regen Bio Spandex with renewable resources derived from sugarcane.
“As consumer awareness of environmental issues continues to rise, demand for sustainable denim—including those made from organic, recycled and bio-based materials—is expected to increase,” said Simon Hong, Hyosung’s denim lead. “Additionally, as active lifestyles become more widespread, the preference for stretch denim is also predicted to grow. As a result, the demand for functional qualities such as stretchability and soft comfort is anticipated to strengthen.”
Another fan of industrial field corn? The Lycra Company. The fiber technology group has returned to its roots with a bio-derived version of the world’s original spandex fiber.
“A fun fact is spandex was originally invented with a renewable material derived from the manufacturing and harvesting of oats,” Steven Stewart, The Lycra’s Company’s chief brand and innovation officer, said. “The reason it went to petroleum-based was because it grew so fast, there wasn’t enough supply. In a way, Lycra is returning to its roots. We were the inventor, the original solution provider in the space, and we’re trying to get back to where we began.”
The renewable fiber is made with Qira through a joint venture with Qore. The two teamed up in 2022 to enable the world’s first large-scale commercial production of this bio-derived spandex, using Qira as a main ingredient.
Through this partnership, 70 percent of The Lycra Company’s spandex fiber content will be sourced from annually renewable feedstock, which is anticipated to yield a 44 percent carbon footprint drop, per LCA data. When fully commercial, the bio-derived feedstock will be made from field corn grown in a 100-mile radius of Qore’s facility in south central Iowa sourced chiefly from individual farmers.
Work in progress
There are efforts underway by The Lycra Company to look at alternatives for the remaining 30 percent of additives.
“You can’t do everything for everybody all at once,” Stewart said as it relates to converting existing products into this renewable offering. “We’re trying to find the way to say, ‘Okay, what are the big chunks? Where do we start? Who’s committed?’ And then, take it step by step.”
Turkish denim mill Orta Anadolu is one of the first mills to bring denim made with Lycra fiber made with Qira to the market.
While the ideal product for the denim industry would be a fully biodegradable alternative crafted from 100 percent renewable feedstock, companies remain focused on balancing durability and quality with affordability to ensure it meets consumer expectations.
Neslihan Sebla Önder, Orta’s manager of marketing and sustainability, pointed out how sustainable qualities like degradability can sometimes weaken the overall performance of a fabric. “And we don’t want that; we want all the materials to be used in the system for a very, very long time. It I can only wear them for one season, that’s not a sustainable product. That’s a problem,” she said.
While it’s a problem worth unpacking, as breaking down these barriers is how the industry advances, it shouldn’t be one that diminishes the impact of existing solutions that can help the denim industry reduce its dependency of fossil fuel.
“If you’re waiting for 100 percent biobased materials and do nothing in the meantime, you will have no impact whatsoever,” Önder said. “The idea is like, let’s start here and do something. Then we can improve.”
A shift in perspective is also on the mind of AGI Denim, which is offering Creora Regen, Regen Bio Spandex and Lycra fiber made with Qira in its roster of sustainable fiber ingredients. The Karachi, Pakistan-based denim manufacturer, too, sees the staying power of sustainable stretch. However, Henry Wong, AGI Denim’s vice president of product development and marketing, said its impact goes beyond jeans and includes high-stretch apparel categories like activewear.
“When we talk about stretch fiber itself, we’re addressing two percent of the jean’s material,” said Henry Wong, AGI Denim’s vice president of product development and marketing. “Whereas the thinking really needs to first solve the other synthetic [categories] in a very urgent matter, which I think the industry hasn’t really invested a lot of thinking into yet.”
This article appears in SJ Denim’s spring issue. Click here to read more.
