World Water Day is a welcome chance for us to share Sportscraft's commitment to reducing water usage in our denim production. We’ve been working closely with our longstanding suppliers to find innovative water reduction and recycling processes across printing, dyeing, and finishing.
As one of Australia’s leading lifestyle brands, we look to the incredible landscape we call home for inspiration each season. That’s why we’re committed to reducing the environmental impact of our denim products and are proud to highlight the progress we have made so far with one of our key suppliers: PT. Sandang Asia Maju Abadi in Indonesia.
It may be one of our most loved wardrobe classics, but do you know just how much water is used in the manufacturing process?
What’s the story behind denim?
Denim dates back to 17th-century France. Named after the city of its creation, Nîmes, it was known as ‘Serge de Nîmes’, which eventually became the ‘denim’ as we know it today. It was later popularised in 1873 by an American tailor who manufactured the first rivet-enforced denim pants. Initially designed as durable workwear, denim gained popularity in the 1950s and has been an everyday Australian hero ever since.
Though renowned for being comfortable, easy to style, and hardwearing, a significant amount of water is needed to produce the fabric. Denim is often dyed and then washed multiple times until the desired colour is achieved.
Our commitment to a brighter future
Our leading denim supplier, PT. Sandang Asia Maju Abadi, uses a unique digital system called EIM (Environmental Impact Measurement). Developed by Jeanologica, the revolutionary software measures the effect of our denim finishing, from water, energy, and chemical usage to social impact.
“WHEN A BUSINESS CONSERVES AND RECYCLES WATER, IT HAS LESS OF AN IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND REDUCES INDUSTRIAL COSTS RELATED TO WATER USE,” PT. Sandang Asia Maju Abadi told us.
“CONSERVING WATER IS ALSO AN EFFECTIVE WAY TO MEET INDUSTRY REGULATIONS AND IMPROVE PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY, AS IT REDUCES THE AMOUNT OF WASTEWATER RELEASED INTO THE ENVIRONMENT.”
Using this system, PT. Sandang Asia Maju Abadi has successfully reduced water usage by almost 20% in the last two years. But that’s not all – currently 55% of the water used in their facility is recycled.
To make choosing your forever pair of jeans even easier, Sportscraft has adopted the EIM system. Depending on the finish, each pair of jeans is awarded a rating from low-impact to high-impact - the lower the number, the less energy, water, chemicals and labour are required to finish the garment.
We’re proud that 60% of our current denim range uses low-impact washing under the EIM system. Our next goal is to ensure that 100% of our denim range achieves a low-impact EIM rating.
Meet our water use heroes
