Crystal International Group Limited, a leading Hong Kong-based garment manufacturing giant, has joined hands with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and over 60 more signatories to boost circular economy concept.
The company will participate in the Jeans Redesign project of the foundation which is aimed at providing denim circularity at large scale.
Crystal International, as one of the signatories, will produce jeans following the guidelines set by the Jeans Redesign project. These guidelines set minimum requirements about garment durability, health of material, recyclability and traceability.
A press release sent by Crystal International says that the Jeans Redesign project has been set out by more than 80 denim experts across the world and the guidelines for this project outline the circular economy concept to assist garment manufacturers in creating clothes that never become waste.
After this collaboration, Crystal International strives to ensure jeans are easily recycled, produced in a more eco-friendly way and keeps health of workers at priority.
The denim subsidiary of the company – Crystal Denim – has already been working with its customers and proactively rethinking the way denim products are designed and produced to mitigate harmful impact of waste, pollution, chemicals and production practices across the sector.
Crystal Denim will also ensure, while working on new guidelines, that the denim products can withstand a minimum of 30 home laundries while retaining the test standard of durability.
Following are more parameters for producing sustainable jeans under these guidelines:
- The jean should be made with at least 98 per cent cellulose-based fibres, by weight in total textile composition.
- The fibres should be sourced from regenerative farming, organic or transitional methods.
- The organic materials need to be certified with GOTS or OCS.
- The recycled fabric is to be certified with RCS and Repreve.
- The chemicals used during the production process should comply with Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) Manufacturing Restricted Substance List (MRSL) Level 1 at a minimum.
- Conventional finishing processes such as electroplating, potassium permanganate, sand blasting and stone finishing are prohibited.
- Metal rivet quantities should be minimised and the trims could be easily removed by pre-processing of recycling.
Catherine Chiu, General Manager (Corporate Quality and Sustainability Department), Crystal International, asserted “We see circular design as the future. We’re proud to be part of this movement to transform the way we produce jeans. The whole industry can collaborate and will all positively benefit by working together. Crystal international plays a vital role in bringing positive impacts for the environment, society and the health of the workers working in the apparel industry.”
