After the opening of a regional hub in Germany, the French hub of the Denim Deal will also open on October 16. However, the ambitions go further than that, with discussions in North America for a hub and wishes for other continents. The shared goal: To market 1 billion jeans with at least 20 percent post-consumer recycled cotton by 2030.
One of the advocates of a global Denim Deal is Nicolas Prophte. He is a former VP at PVH in the denim center, but nowadays he is part of it steering committee of the Denim Deal. He tells FashionUnited more about the rollout of the deal.
“We didn’t want to stop after the first Denim Deal,” Prophte says during a video call. “It would be a shame if we had a key to success and left it at that. We have the working method and industry guidelines to implement the Denim Deal in other parts of the world.”
The Denim Deal became signed on October 29, 2020 by 28 parties. The deal runs until 2023. The number of signatories will grow to 54 during that time. The three formulated goals: 1. Participants in the deal will process at least 5 percent post-consumer recycled cotton in new products. 2. Participating parties set their own goals regarding the use of post-consumer recycled cotton and achieve them. 3. Participating parties set their own goals so that they will achieve the joint goal of 3 million jeans on the Dutch market with at least 20 percent post-consumer recycled cotton.
The final score: 3 million jeans with 20 percent POCR on the Dutch market have not been achieved, but together there are 12 million pairs of jeans with at least 20 percent POCR on the international market. The Dutch market turned out to be too small to reach this level because almost every pair of jeans from the participating brands would have to contain 20 percent POCR.
At the end of the deal, 63 percent of all denim items brought onto the Dutch market by the participants contained at least 5 percent POCR. At the beginning, this number was only 8 percent.
So regional hubs are being opened in Europe (“We believe English is good for the international Denim Deal, but to involve local players you have to use the native language”), but Brazil, Northern America and the regions of Sub-India and APAC. Discussions are already in advanced with the state of California about setting up a Denim Deal, especially now that the state has voted for its own extended producer responsibility (UPV). Having regional hubs is also important because legislation often differs per region. For example, France is already ahead with the UPV, which has been implemented for almost ten years. “You have to adapt to the local landscape.”
For the location of these local hubs, for example, we look at where many denim producers are and in which countries many consumers wear denim. One such country, for example, is Brazil, says Prophte. “They have several large denim producers in Brazil and it is also a protectionist market when it comes to imports and exports.” Prophte indicates that discussions are already underway with key local players and the city of Sao Paulo. “They are very interested in our initiative.”
Denim Deal hubs are independent, but work with the same methodology
“All hubs will be independent in terms of governance and budget and have their own goals to contribute to the global goal, but use the same methodology and reporting system. Sometimes the same workshops or even regulations are involved.” By using the same methodology and reporting system, an industry standard is set and all participants can ask the same of their partners. “We want to create a demand for post-consumer recycled cotton. “To ensure this, we all ask the same thing from the suppliers from the brands.” Prophte indicates that in today’s industry everything is so divided, and that brands ask all kinds of different things from their suppliers, that change comes slowly. By asking one thing with a large group, progress can be made quickly.
While the first Denim Deal was financed by the Dutch government, new financing must now be found for the Denim Deal 2.0. “We don’t want to be dependent on public funds. We are now looking for an alternative business model for us.” The partnership will therefore be a combination of public funds and private financing. “We are not looking for financing for one year, we are looking for a stable flow for five or even seven years. So we look for grants and scholarships.” A system has also been set up where participants in the Denim Deal 2.0 choose a ‘membership’. This also includes the costs of 2,500 euros for participation. In addition, there is an increasing time contribution: the ‘standard participant’, the ‘momentum keeper’ and the ‘steerco member’. It is up to each participant to choose how far they want to go.
For the participants there are not only costs but also benefits. By participating in the initiative, it becomes easier to enter into discussions with competitors and colleagues about making your own company more sustainable, but also within the industry as a whole. In addition, training and workshops are provided by the Denim Deal that should help participants with their journeys, but which are also a strong example of ‘myth busting’, according to Prophte. For example, there is still a stigma that recycled material is not as strong as virgin material. Participation therefore also means access to a lot of knowledge. These participants include fashion brands, retailers, textile collectors, recyclers, collectors, textile producers, yarn producers and other stakeholders within the production chain.
There are still plenty of wishes and opportunities for the Denim Deal 2.0. With California, the originally Dutch initiative would take the first step across the ocean. The very first Denim Deal has shown that great strides can be made thanks to collaboration, now it is time to implement the best practices of the deal in the rest of the world.
Source: fashionunited.nl
