Denim Production
Like most brands and manufacturers, our production line expands beyond international borders. Many people from many countries benefit from the success of the business.
Knowing where your clothing has been produced and the methods followed in the production is fast becoming a pre-requisite before making a choice in whether to buy from a particular brand or manufacturer. This is a social movement Comoditi fully supports and believes is the future for our industry. To further enforce our policy of total transparency we’ve tried to divulge as much as we know about out production line and methods.
Raw only policy
Although we have the capability to produce any type of pre-distressed look - from enzyme washes (stone washes), and basic whiskering to all the rips and fades you can imagine (and quite often seen from other labels) we have chosen to only produce our jeans using raw denim for a number of reasons.
Firstly pre-distressed jeans use roughly 40 litres extra water to to achieve that worn-in look (one that can be achieved naturally over time just by wear). Other processes such as sand blasting are detrimental to the health of our factory workers.
Secondly, by distressing jeans before they’re even worn once instantly reduces the longevity of the denim. Thirdly by owning raw denim, the wearer is more inclined to wash the jeans less thereby using less water over the lifespan of the jeans.
By our nature, Comoditi exists to reduce if not eliminate excess and the unnecessary. Distilling our products down to what’s essential.
Our Facility
Our core manufacturing facility for our jeans is near Zengcheng China, a well known ‘denim district’ that accounts for roughly 60% of all the denim produced in China. A great benefit to us is that the area has a very highly skilled and experienced work force, making it easier to keep high quality standards across all aspects of production.
Due to the saturation of the industry within this same region, it has become a focal point for many environmental regulations and clean production innovations, not just within China but the world.
Denim Production
Most of the styles we make use denim that is spun, dyed and woven in the same facility that our jeans are cut and sewn. However for some particular styles, fabric is sourced from other denim mills. It just depends what we’re out to make. The denim used to make the Organic B1218 for instance was outsourced from a denim mill in Turkey.
To weave your own denim you need cotton yarn as your raw material. We purchase only the best quality cotton yarn and do all the processing within our own facility. All aspects from spinning, dyeing and weaving are handled from start to finish under the same roof.
China is the third largest cotton producer in the world after India and the United States. Because of this much of our raw cotton yarn is sourced from within China itself. However due to China’s huge manufacturing industry the country also imports almost as much cotton as it produces, so quite often our raw cotton can come from any one of the larger cotton producing nations.
Quality Control & Innovation
As a matter of quality control we fly in expert manufacturing consutants from Japan every so often who oversee the entire spinning, dying and weaving processes. They help us not only ensure the highest quality fabrics but also help us implement water saving and chemical reduction innovations.
Full disclosure: It’s often difficult to track down many of the specifics about the exact source and methods used in the production of many of the raw materials in particular. This is especially so for a small brands who’s bargaining power is small and welds little leverage. Yet as a business this is an area we will endeavour to increase our awareness and knowledge in, trying to improve practices that make an impact socially and environmentally.