Like most of the companies in Italy, RUDOLF HUB1922 is now being closed because of the current global pandemic. However, while the sanitarian tragedy was raging in Lombardy, we really wanted this moment in time to be an opportunity to re-align ideas and create original thoughts outside of
the day-to-day routine.
This technical creative exercise has generated our latest product innovation: WASHLESS DENIM.
WASHLESS DENIM was born as a consequence of a company-wide effort to dig even deeper into ways to contribute to real, fact-based and measurable environmental sustainability. We have studied a number of authoritative denim lifecycle assessments so to understand the REAL environmental impact of a pair of jeans through its lifespan and to implement REAL solutions. Moving forward we hope this initiative can support and strengthen our engagement with apparel brands, retailers and consumers in order to specifically reduce the impact of domestic washing.
Alberto De Conti Head of RUDOLF Fashion Division remarks: “For the WASHLESS DENIM initiative to be successful it needs to be understood and embraced by brands and retailers because they have a pivotal role to play when it comes to inform and educate their customers”. And then he adds: “We hope that truly responsible apparel brands and retailers will share knowledge with their audience because pushing consumers to have a different caring attitude towards the denim they purchase is of paramount importance”.
Looking at the overall lifecycle of a pair of jeans, numbers say that industrial garment finishing contributes by a small 1% to total water consumption and by some 8-10% to climate change. The monumental, extraordinarily important work the industry, including us, has carried out over the past decade to improve the environmental impact of industrial garment finishing is still critical but, in fact, marginal when we look at the entire picture. The environmental impact of domestic washing is being poorly considered although it contributes to 20 - 25% of water consumption and to 35 - 40% of climate change.
WASHLESS DENIM by RUDOLF HUB1922 is a combination of 2 sophisticated and existing RUDOLF technologies: BIONIC-FINISH®ECO and SILVERPLUS®. The simultaneous application of both of them to a finished garment addresses the opportunity to reduce domestic washing.
- BIONIC-FINISH®ECO is a system of macroscopic branches that attach to the fiber. Imagine to see the branches of a tree, where the distance between 2 branches is smaller than the dimension of the molecule of water. In this way, water doesn’t go through. Without fluorine, it is exactly what happens in nature. Such a system leads to less frequent washing because of the protection against the accidental spill of liquids. And against the accidental droplets coming from someone talking or sneezing.
- SILVERPLUS® is a micro-structured elements coated with metallic silver. The concept is very similar to what you find in the catalytic exhaustion of cars. SILVERPLUS® controls odor-causing bacteria and it is exactly the same technology used to prevent infections in clinics and hospitals. SILVERPLUS® keeps the microbiological charge on clothing very low without the help of washing.
WASHLESS DENIM is an innovative, sustainable garment finish which allows for extended wearing time of the garment between washes. That means:
- Peace of mind due to easy-care (protection from accidental spills) and freshness;
- Practical advantages linked to less washing
- Real contribution to a better planet which is tangible and easy to understand
- Extended product value due to less frequent washing. The original look and feel and quality of the denim are preserved.
A collaboration with the internationally renewed denim designer Piero Turk and his team have shown that the WASHLESS DENIM concept can be universally applied to denim finishing, without any tradeoff, and on looks that suite any individual.
Piero Turk comments: “As individuals, the single best thing we can do for the planet is to use our stuff for longer and wash them less. Denim bears our own history and it is timeless, with abrasions, scrapings and small stains printed on as anecdotes of our existence”. He then ends: ”By washing
less, not only we save a massive amount of water and energy, but we also extend quality and preserve the romance”.