Denim had a new look in 2025 thanks to lyocell innovations and the industry’s gradual adoption of other non-cotton natural fibers.
Lenzing pushed fiber innovation forward this year with the launch of Tencel lyocell – HV100, a lyocell that looks closer to cotton. Lenzing accomplished this aesthetic by cutting lyocell fibers into varied lengths, mimicking the natural variation that happens in grown fibers like cotton or hemp. The company also introduced Tencel 2.2, a denser and coarser variant of traditional Tencel with less luster and a drier hand. The fiber is considered as a solution for denim mills working to navigate linen’s price fluctuations and inefficiency.
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Linen is proving to be a must-have fiber for upcoming season. Orta, Artistic Milliners and Maritaş were just a few of the mills offering linen blends in their Spring/Summer 2027 collections at trade shows this fall. With interest in other natural fibers growing, The Flax Company showcased Smart Linen, the first GRS certified linen made from spinning industry waste.
Despite linen’s appeal, Fashion for Good remains steadfast on its promotion of hemp. The Netherlands-based sustainable innovation platform introduced “Beyond50 Denim: Combining Cottonized Hemp and Green Chemistry,” a 12-month project with support from Bestseller, C&A, PDS Limited, Reformation and Target. The project positions hemp as a more “climate-resilient alternative” to conventional cotton.
Panda Biotech finally flipped the switch in 2024 on its 500,000 square foot hemp gin facility in Wichita Falls, Texas. With the ability to process 22,000 lbs. of hemp fiber per hour, the Panda Hemp Gin is the largest industrial hemp processing facility in the Western Hemisphere and second largest in the world.
In 2025, the hemp producer partnered with Twin Dragon to launch a pioneering hemp denim collection crafted from sustainably sourced, American-grown hemp, backed by the Southern Ute Indian Tribe. Stephanie Poon, Twin Dragon’s marketing and merchandising director, said the collaboration offers brands a high-performance, eco-friendly alternative to traditional denim.
Meanwhile, “The Wool Lab Denim Edition,” a comprehensive digital sourcing guide for wool denim fabrics by the The Woolmark Company, helped put wool-blended denim back into spotlight. As the conversation around sustainability and innovation in denim accelerates, the organization recognized it had the opportunity to lead by providing real, tangible tools to the industry.
A collaboration Daily Blue by Adriano Goldschmied, Bangladeshi denim mill Pioneer Denim and Italian chemical company Soko highlighted the natural performance benefits of wool with the familiar comfort and durability of cotton.
Efforts to promote recycled cotton content ramped up in 2025. Denim Deal, the European initiative committed to standardizing circular practices in denim production, launched new projects to advance circularity in France and India. It also saw a host of new companies join as members including Turkish textile manufacturer Iskur and French retailer Kiabi.
Spanish textile recycled Recover introduced a collection of low-impact fabrics made with its proprietary recycled cotton fiber and inked a deal with H&M to scale its use of RCotton, a 100 percent pure and unblended recycled cotton fiber.
