Our patented COREVA™ technology has enabled us to develop the world’s first compostable and plastic-free stretch denim. This compostable denim has also allowed us to conduct pilot projects exploring the connection between fashion, regenerative agriculture, and even food. They have led us to wonder: can we envision a future where we eat what we wear?
What is compostable denim?
Compostable materials can biodegrade without leaving any visible, distinguishable, or toxic residues. When used in the soil, compostable materials turn into humus, an organic matter rich in nutrients, or they can become methane gas to produce energy in anaerobic environments.
Compostable denim is designed to break down quickly in a compost pile and return to nutrient-rich soil. This was not possible for stretch denim, which is conventionally made with synthetic, fossil fuel-based materials, until the development of COREVA™ technology.
Fossil fuel-based materials are commonly used in the textile and fashion industry to produce fibers, prints, embellishments, components, and packaging. When these materials are discarded, they struggle to biodegrade and release harmful gases into the atmosphere. Additionally, they photodegrade, meaning that exposure to light causes them to break down into smaller pieces that can enter the food chain.
To demonstrate that our patented COREVA™ technology allows for the first compostable stretch denim globally, we conducted initial testing in a laboratory in 2020. We partnered with Innovhub and tested COREVA™ samples using the test methods of ISO 16929:2019 and EN 13432:2000 Annex E/AC:2005.
The materials must meet the following criteria to be considered compostable:
- They must degrade at least 90% within six months in an environment rich in CO2
- After three months of contact with organic materials, at least 90% of their mass should consist of fragments smaller than 2 mm
- They should not have a negative effect on the composting process
- They must have a low concentration of heavy metals added as well as meet established limits for pH values, saline content, and concentrations of volatile solids, nitrogen, phosphorus, magnesium, and potassium
The results of our tests indicated that 98.1% of the original mass of the COREVA™ sample had decomposed after 12 weeks. Additionally, an ecotoxicity test showed that mung bean and barley seeds planted in the COREVA™ compost successfully germinated and grew with no inhibiting effects on the plants.
How does COREVA™ technology work?
A 2019 United Nations report highlighted that clothing production had doubled between 2000 and 2014, leading to approximately 25 billion garments being discarded annually without ever being used.
According to EU data, 6.95 million tons of textile waste were generated in the European Union in 2020. This means that, on average, every citizen discarded 16 kg of textiles, mainly including clothes and household items, as post-consumer waste. Only 4.4 kg per person were collected separately to be reused or recycled, which means that 11.6 kg of textile waste per person was incinerated or ended up in landfills.
It is concerning that over 70% of these garments contain synthetic materials, which can take hundreds of years to decompose, releasing harmful substances into the environment. As these materials are made from fossil fuel-based fibers, they also contribute to microplastic pollution when worn or washed, ultimately affecting the air, oceans, soil, and food. Conventional stretch jeans contain similar materials.
COREVA™ technology was developed to mitigate these issues by reducing the environmental impact of textile waste as part of our ongoing effort to find solutions for garments’ end-of-life.
The idea for COREVA™ technology came from our president, Alberto Candiani, who conceived this innovative solution after noticing a natural elastic string wrapping a salami in a local delicatessen shop in Robecchetto con Induno. This discovery led him to wonder how such material could be utilized in the denim industry.
COREVA™ technology replaces traditional stretch yarns with plant-based, plastic-free materials, resulting in denim engineered to compost under appropriate conditions, returning to nature once it can no longer be used. Furthermore, COREVA™ denim fabrics offer the same elasticity, softness, performance, and aesthetic as traditional premium stretch denim but with increased natural comfort.
This plant-based stretch material is combined with either regenerative or organic cotton, which is biodegradable as it is a natural plant fiber. This means it can be broken down by microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi.
In 2020, COREVA™ technology won Positive Luxury’s Innovation of the Year and the Drapers’ Sustainable Textile Innovation awards. Additionally, in 2023, the technology was awarded The Groundbreaker Award by the Italian National Chamber of Fashion.
Environmental impact of compostable denim
Our exploration of circularity in the denim industry led us to conduct pilot projects in real agricultural settings to explore the connection between fashion and regenerative farming.
In 2022, we partnered with the Rodale Institute California Organic Center to grow our Blue Seed cotton using COREVA™ fabric scraps. Blue Seed cotton is a proprietary variety of cotton that we co-engineered with Gowan Seed Company to blend high-quality extra-long-staple cotton with strong Upland cotton, creating a cotton variety with superior properties.
We buried COREVA™ denim scraps into the soil to observe their impact on soil health and plant growth for a year. No adverse effects on the soil were observed. On the contrary, soil respiration and moisture levels appeared to be consistent.
One year later, we teamed up with the innovative Umbrian farming project Quintosapore in Italy to explore the link between fashion and regeneratively grown food. We grew tomatoes in soil composted with COREVA™ fabric offcuts.
Tests conducted by the Italian chemistry lab Ars Chimica Laboratorio Chimico showed that the addition of COREVA™ denim scraps didn’t alter the normal chemical composition of the soil. Moreover, the farmers of Quintosapore noticed similar water moisture results in the soil, as seen in the previous experiment.
Our project with Quintosapore was officially unveiled at the 2024 Green Carpet Fashion Awards, where guests were served pasta seasoned with tomatoes grown with COREVA™ fabric offcuts.
We aim to conduct further tests to explore the potential of our COREVA™ technology to support soil in hotter and drier weather conditions and mitigate climate change. We want to build a future of fully regenerative and circular fashion.