Minority Denim visited the Kingpins Show in Amsterdam in the past 18th and 19th of April. For those who don’t know, Kingpins Show is a very important fair dedicated to denim. Know more about our inside scoop on this great fair: what was highlighted there and our interpretation of where the industry is going to, in this article.
The Kingpins Show in Amesterdam – A glorious sunshine and great industry players
When arriving to the fair’s location, Westergasfabriek, in the middle of Westerpark, we were greeted with a weather of glorious sunshine. It was a great start off for the show, since it helped to put us in the best mood for the event.
There were more than 100 exhibitors in the fair. Laundries, garment factories, trim & accesories, indigo Denim and piece dyed factories and denim innovation labs went to this concentration in order to show their ideas, innovations and the path that the industry is tracing.
Sustainability is the way
We were able to see, in reality, that the concern with sustainability is cross-sectoral throughout the industry. This was particularly evident in the need, by participants, to show products especially developed for this purpose.
Regarding the chemicals we received an encouraging feedback, in this matter. We were presented with innovative products that we will be able to test, in the near future. In Minority Denim we always want to be more sustainable. We are always testing new products in order to check the feasibility of replacing the harmful ones in our washes. And we try to find replacement products with no impact in nature and also that cause no harm to the laundry workers.
We see this as one of the key points to change in the industry . There are products used for decades and with obvious negative aspects. But with the knowledge we have now, it’s time to replace those products that contribute to environmental pollution and health issues, that derive from continued use.
Candiani leading the way
As for the development of new fabrics we also obtained promising news in the sense of sustainability, more properly from the Candiani fabric producer. The Italian company has developed special fabrics named RE-GEN Stretch Denim. These are recycled cotton fabrics and regenerated fibers that have direct result in decreased impact caused in soils. They make it by not using pesticides and decreasing the water spent in cotton irrigation. They also give new life to materials that would, otherwise, go to waste.
Candiani also has the concern to make these fabrics have a smaller footprint, in their wash . In order to achieve this they decrease the penetration of indigo in the fabric. By doing that, they are able to make the amount of water and chemicals, used in the wear, to be incomparably smaller than usual. That allows to easily to achieve a vintage look in a more sustainable way.
Transparency, the keyword in Kingpins Show in Amsterdam
There was a conference, in the 19th, dedicated to transparency in the sector.
Together with sustainability, transparency is a word that is used recurrently in the industry. And it obviously has a tangible purpose: to make the denim business more clear and open in order to meet costumers’ expectations. Information about the fabric’s origin and the product’s characteristics are important things to the costumer. The quantity of water used and other resources used in it’s development too. That results in a more informed costumer, that will always contribute to raise the industry standards.
It was also mentioned that the concept of transparency should not be used as a marketing strategy under the risk of discredit the sector.
We believe that these policies are good for everyone:to the environment, to the buyer and to denim. Information makes the buyer’s perception to be favorable, causing the barriers of distrust to fall. That helps to grant, without a doubt, a bright future for denim.
We can then assure you that we came out extremely pleased from Amsterdam. And the main reason is the excellent feedback, that we obtained, on the path that is being followed. We were particularly impressed at the level of the latent concern with the reduction of the environmental impact, more properly with the reduction of water consumption and the abandonment of the use of harmful chemicals.
At the level of trends we notice that the industry is going towards the use of more technical fabrics. That is, great incidence of special finishes and the quest to achieve authentic looks in comfort fabrics.
A final word for the Kingpins Show in Amsterdam, as they are clearly on their way to becoming the denim reference Fair in Europe. For this, it contributes the privileged location and the amazing conditions they provided. And that is where the most important players want and like to be in.
Keep going Kingpins!!
*Photos in this post are from Kingpins website.
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