WGSN Names Biodegradable Denim a Key Trend for 2024

Angela Velasquez
·4 min read

Denim mills are working to produce low-impact, Earth-friendly jeans, and they’re setting new trends in the process.

WGSN named biodegradable denim as one if its “Top Fashion Trends for 2024.” This planet-minded denim also made the trend forecasting firm’s list of “Top 13 Trends for 2024 and Beyond.” Candiani Denim and Calik Denim are two of the producers paving the way for denim’s biodegradable future, WGSN stated.

More from Sourcing Journal

In 2019, Candiani Denim introduced Coreva technology, the world’s first biodegradable and compostable stretch denim. Coreva technology adds stretch to denim using natural rubber, which offers elasticity that breaks down in nature in around four months as opposed to the hundreds of years needed to degrade synthetic fibers.

With 77 percent of the jeans in the market containing stretch, the Italian mill knew it couldn’t ignore the role denim plays in contributing to microplastic pollution. It took the mill five years to develop the solution.

Brands like Triarchy, Denham and Stella McCartney have launched jeans incorporate the Coreva breakthrough. The mill is also doing its part to educate consumers about the technology. In 2021, it opened a store in Milan dedicated to explaining what Coreva is and why it’s different. Through visual storytelling and simplified text, the space connected the dots between bio-based elastic and the benefits that come with it. More recently, Candiani has stepped into the role of designer with Coreva Design, a brand that exclusively uses Coreva denim.

The technology earned the company the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana (CNMI) Groundbreaker Award at the Italian organization’s Sustainable Fashion Awards ceremony in September. The Groundbreaker Award recognizes new ideas, technologies or products representing innovation and involving a new way of approaching an urgent issue.

In 2022, Turkish mill Calk Denim introduced B210, a product that combines unique yarn technology with a special finishing process that allows denim fabric to biodegrade in nature by more than 99 percent in just 210 days. The technology is unique in that it can be applied to fabrics containing synthetic fiber and all types of elasticity and non-denim textiles as well.

At the time of the launch Serhat Karaduman, CEO of Calik Denim, said it took about three years of trial and error to perfect B210. Jeans made with B210 technology will launch in the market this year.

These innovations address fashion’s mounting textile waste problem. “With more than 2 billion pairs of jeans created globally every year, the need to deal with mountains of apparel waste demands diverse solutions,” WGSN stated. “While the fashion industry continues to make progress in moving to a circular model, starting the journey to recycle more of the garments it creates, this figure still only accounts for around 1 percent of clothing, so it will still be essential to enable fashion waste to safely biodegrade in natural environments.”

Other trends on WGSN’s list focus also focus on sustainability and reducing consumption.

The popularity of thrifting is filtering into how consumers dress for the office. Described as “thrift-dult,” WGSN said the trend “rejects traditional work fashion personas and fuses together personal style and professional identity for a fresh, playful spin on nine-to-five dressing.” The trend invites eclecticism, DIY, customization and gender-inclusive fashion into the workplace. Key elements include blazers, pinstripes, neckties and bold silhouettes like ’80s shoulder pads—all of which should be secondhand and reworked.

WGSN also sees demand for “beach-to-business” shirts, or versatile tops that are crease-free, modular and packable. “Best buys will be fit for wearing on the journey as well at the destination, so the beach-to-business shirt is at its best when it can work just as effortlessly as a relaxed swimwear cover-up as it does over smart trousers or twinned as a matching set in the office,” WGSN stated.

Performance fashion is the focus of “Prepare-wear,” a trend that responds to unstable weather conditions, global volatility and consumers’ survivalist mindsets. The trend calls for gender-inclusive outdoor items that are adaptable, durable, lightweight and packable. “Think clothing with quick-release buckles and fastenings, or inflatable protective hoods that provide a makeshift pillow on the airport floor,” WGSN stated.