Fast Retailing says new jeans washing method will help it cut water use by 99%

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Oct 25, 2018

Fast Retailing has announced it has developed a new denim washing process which will help it save 3.7 billion litres of water by 2020, when the technology will be used to make all jeans sold by the group.

Developed at the Fast Retailing Jeans Innovation Center, the technology will make denim manufacturing a less water intensive process. On average, producing a pair of jeans consumes 60 litres of water during the production cycle, but Fast Retailing said its new technology will cut water usage by up to 99%.

It was first tested to manufacture the Uniqlo Men's Regular Fit Jeans, which will launch this 2018 Fall/Winter season alongside a J Brand Sustainable Capsule Collection.

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Next year, a total of 10 million pairs of jeans from the two brands will be manufactured with the new washing process - the equivalent of almost one third of all the jeans produced by Fast Retailing each year.

The Japanese company, which also owns companies including GU, Theory, Comptoir Des Cotonniers, Princesse Tam Tam and PLST, said all brands will use the water-saving process to manufacture jeans by 2020.

Masaaki Matsubara, director of the Jeans Innovation Center, said, "We believe that jeans manufactured not only with a focus on design and comfort, but under conditions that are environmentally friendly and protect the rights of the workers involved in the production process, are truly good products, and that pursuing such jeans production will lead to a brighter future.”