05 Jun, 2020 · By Bronwyn Lowenthal · Comments

Is this the most sustainable denim in the world?

05 Jun, 2020 · By Bronwyn Lowenthal · Comments

Finally - I'm so excited to be able to talk about our sustainable denim.

It was due to be delivered in March but, as with a lot of other things, the lockdown pushed the delivery date back to now.

As a brand that values sustainability almost as much as great design, it's been our (my) life's work to try to make every facet of Lowie as sustainable as possible.

I'm a personal lover of denim (who doesn't love denim), so one of the sticking points and great challenges over the years has been to find a denim that would fit our vision of sustainability. We have been working on our sustainability credentials for a while now and you can read more about our achievements here.

Image Courtesy of Five P Ventures

So what has been our denim vision?

* Traceable organic cotton of course,

* Low water usage in the yarn and dyeing processes,

* Planet friendly dying techniques

* A factory that values it's employees,

* Made on a premises that uses renewable energy sources

* Respect of the planets resources from seed to consumer

* The use of traditional manufacturing techniques

* Small minimum runs that would work for a small brand like Lowie

On top of this, we needed a denim that would fit into our design credentials: soft handfeel, all year round weight, good colour throughout and hardwearing.

It's a lot to ask right?

Well we stuck to our vision and we found our holy grail of denim through the help of Mehathab, an ex-intern with contacts in India and a passion for sustainable manufacturing. Seven years ago Five P Ventures built a brand new state-of-the-art handweaving factory in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, where there is an abundance of highly skilled and highly valued traditional loom workers. Using vertically integrated manufacturing, Five P employs 22 full-time artisan weavers who are supported by a team of vendors, ensuring ethical compliance and transparency from seed to customer. One of the factory's aims is to educate the next generation with a progressive sustainable mindset. This bright, airy and clean factory uses modern solar powered energy in juxtaposition with traditional looms and has planted 1000 trees to offset it's energy use and promote its' green values to its' workers.

Image Courtesy of Five P Ventures

So what have we made from this magic cloth? High Waisted Organic denim side-button trousers with a 40's style fit, the front pleats are super flattering and a bit more dressy than your usual jeans. Our Organic Denim tailored shorts are a tried and tested Lowie style that you may have seen before in linen and cotton twill. We've added a superbly fitting classic button through Organic Denim Boilersuit which we think we will work all year round, especially for UK weather.

Wash on 30 degrees and our denim should last a life time. As with everything Lowie, we want our product to last as long as possible and we usually offer Free Repairs for Life - a service that will resume as soon as this Covid crisis is over. With a denim like this, we think we just might have the most sustainable denim in the world.

organic denim shorts