Owned by parent company Kontoor Brands, Lee® Jeans has collaborated with Pakistan-based vertically integrated denim manufacturer, Artistic Milliner, for the development of C2C (Cradle-to-Cradle) certified gold and bronze jeans. The 12-ounce selvedge jeans offer authentic looks, along with high-quality and recyclability features.
The line includes two styles – the Gold-certified Aureola and the Bronze-certified Nymph, developed by Artistic Milliner. Both styles are 98 per cent GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) organic cotton and 2 per cent lycra component.
Less than 58 per cent water is used for dyeing the jeans, as compared to conventional processes and feature buttons made of raw materials.
The styles have met the respective C2C Product Standard (Version 3.1) requirements for certification by the Cradle-to-Cradle Products Innovation Institute – an organisation that awards certifications according to five performance categories – material health, material reuse, renewable energy and carbon management, water stewardship and social fairness. Product assessments are performed and achievement levels – Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum – are assigned for each category.
Cradle-to-Cradle Certified® is a globally recognised measure for safer and more sustainable products made for the circular economy. Product designers, manufacturers and brands around the world rely on the C2C Certified Product Standard to transform pathways for designing and making products, ensuring a positive impact on the people and their planet. The standard encourages continuous improvement by awarding certification based on ascending levels of achievement.
Some of the C2C certified businesses in the apparel and textile industry are Pendleton Woolen Mills, Pratibha Syntex Limited, Botto Giuseppe e Figli S.P.A., Jeantex SA, Climatex, Jules Clarysee, HBF Textiles, C&A Textiles, Johann Muller AG, Cotton Blossom India Pvt. Ltd. and Soorty Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. Denims, amongst others.
Lee®’s collection includes three fits, the Luke – a men’s slim tapered, the Daren – a men’s regular straight (sizes 28 to 40) and the Carol – a woman’s straight leg (sizes 24 to 32); with prices ranged from US $ 141 to US $ 153.
The certified products are part of the brand’s For A World That Works (FWTW) platform – an internal destination for sustainable developments and innovations, which was launched in 2020 alongside the brand’s debut denim collection – Indigood Denim that eliminates water from the denim dyeing process.
Jeff Frye, Vice President of Product Development, Innovation, Sustainability and Procurement for Kontoor Brands, said, “At Lee, we are focused on finding transformative pathways to design and manufacture products that minimise the impact on our planet. Achieving Cradle-to-Cradle certification for the Aureola and Nymph styles enables our consumers to wear Lee jeans with confidence, knowing we are continuously improving the sustainability and circularity of our products with the good of people and our planet in mind.”
Murtaza Ahmed, Managing Director at Artistic Milliners, said, “Our collaboration with Lee on the development of a Cradle-to-Cradle Certified range of jeans is a great example of the kind of transformative R&D and innovation that can occur across the value chain. It enabled us to use our existing Cradle-to-Cradle Certified denim fabric as a springboard for creating a fully certified vertical garment. The results are a reflection of our shared commitment to a circular future for people and planet by working with brands that believe in making a positive impact.”
