The fabric company Cordura which is owned by Invista, debuted its first range of hemp-blended denim fabrics, which was produced in collaboration with Pakistani denim mill Artistic Milliners. The collection includes 11-ounce and 12-ounce fabrics made of 20 % hemp sourced from France.
Artistic Milliners and Cordura collaborated to create the fabrics, which are being sold to a variety of customers across the mill, including performance clothing brands and businesses that emphasize durability as part of their sustainability message.
Experts have been betting high on the hemp fibre’s use in denim for years because of its regenerative properties—it consumes more CO2 than any woodland or industrial crop because it can break up compacted soil and remove contamination and heavy metals from the field.
Apart from the sustainable advantages of hemp, the hemp denim collection demonstrates Cordura’s contribution to ensuring sustainability by long-lasting products. Cordura Denim, which is made from a combination of Invista’s military-grade T420 nylon-6,6 staple fibre and cotton, has been found to be at least four times more resilient than standard 100% cotton fabrics.
Cordura’s business development director, Cindy McNaull, said hemp has the ability to improve Cordura Denim. She added hemp provides improved abrasion resistance, tensile and tear strength—three properties that resonate with the Cordura brand’s long-lasting durability platform. They’re looking forward to investigating the aesthetic benefits and eco-friendly properties that hemp can offer to Cordura technology developments.”
Cordura has increasingly increased its focus on delivering goods and services that meet the needs of its customers. The Cordura Fabric Finder, a digital fabric library of over 500 fabrics that helps businesses to display the assortment using a user-friendly digital interface, was launched in January. Cordura is also collaborating with Haining Jintai, a Chinese factory, to launch jersey nylon and hemp knit with a crisp hand feel, enhanced durability, and comfort performance this year.