GREENSBORO, N.C. — March 22, 2021 — In celebration of World Water Day, Kontoor Brands Inc. — a global lifestyle apparel company with a portfolio led by the Wrangler® and Lee® brands —today announced the expansion of its Indigood™ program, an initiative that targets water savings during the fabric construction phase of the apparel supply chain. Debuted in 2019 with the introduction of foam-dyed denim, the Indigood program has expanded to include any water savings technology in apparel fabric production that uses at least 90 percent less water than conventional fabric production.
“Water is one of our most vital and precious natural resources, and as such, we are focused on advancing the sustainable and equitable management of water resources,” said Jeff Frye, vice president of Product Development and Direct Procurement, Kontoor Brands. “By expanding the Indigood program to include additional water saving technologies, we’re giving our suppliers the opportunity to select the water savings technologies that work best for their production, while also meeting the growing consumer demand for products that not only look good, but also minimize the impact on the planet.”
Kontoor Brands produces millions of products globally each year, and has committed to using its global scale to advance the denim industry. Through the expansion of the Indigood program, Kontoor is encouraging denim mills across the globe to adopt radically different water saving technologies in the vein of indigo foam dye. Additional approved technologies include increased water recycling, advancements in the dyeing process and fabric finishing innovations. Kontoor works with independent third parties to validate Indigood claims, ensuring they meet the 90 percent threshold.
In 2020, Wrangler announced it had saved more than 7 billion liters of water in the finishing phase of denim manufacturing, exceeding its 2020 goal of saving 5.5 billion liters, and launched a new goal, to reduce its water usage by 50 percent by 2030. The Wrangler brand’s updated water goal targets the fiber production, fabric construction, and product finishing phases of the denim supply chain, which together encompass more than 95 percent of the total water used throughout the production of a pair of jeans.
The Lee brand also focuses on conserving water throughout the denim manufacturing supply chain including fiber production with goals for sustainable cotton and sustainable synthetics by 2025, in fabric construction, and in finishing, where Lee has saved more than 1 billion liters of water. In 2020, Lee announced its first global sustainability goals, which include increasing Indigood-dyed products every year through 2025.
“At Kontoor Brands, we believe companies have a responsibility to use resources wisely, drive sustainable innovations, and preserve and protect the planet,” said Dhruv Agarwal, senior director of Global Materials Innovation and Product Development, Kontoor Brands. “Expanding our Indigood™ partnerships to new mills helps in our greater mission to conserve water in every step of our supply chain.”
Consumers can purchase Indigood foam-dyed products at Wrangler.com and Lee.com.
Posted March 22, 2021
Source: Kontoor Brands Inc.