Fashion For Good Launches ‘Beyond50 Denim’ Project
Sustainability platform Fashion for Good, in collaboration with global apparel leaders Bestseller, C&A, PDS Ltd, Reformation and Target, has launched the ‘Beyond50 Denim: Combining Cottonised Hemp and Green Chemistry’ project, an industry-wide initiative aimed at overcoming barriers to hemp adoption in denim manufacturing.
The project integrates two pioneering innovations: SEFF’s Nano-Pulse cottonised hemp fibres and FIBRE52’s proprietary green chemistry formulations. Together, they aim to demonstrate that denim made with a higher proportion of hemp can match or even outperform conventional cotton in terms of softness, aesthetics and performance.
Despite hemp’s clear sustainability advantages, including lower water use, minimal pesticide requirements and soil regeneration benefits, its adoption in denim has remained limited, typically capped at around 20% fibre content. This is largely due to challenges in achieving cotton-like texture and consumer-acceptable handfeel. Beyond50 Denim seeks to push that boundary to 50% and beyond, validating hemp as a scalable, sustainable fibre for mainstream denim production.
“The limited use of hemp in denim highlights how entrenched industry practices often slow meaningful innovation,” said Katrin Ley, Managing Director, Fashion for Good. “By combining breakthrough fibre technology with green chemistry, we aim to show how collaboration can unlock solutions to long-standing material barriers.”
Participating manufacturers Bossa (Turkey) and Nice Denim (Bangladesh) will support the validation and production phases.
Carrie Freiman Parry, Senior Director of Sustainability at Reformation added, “Beyond50 Denim allows us to test promising innovations like hemp and green chemistry, validating their potential to make denim production more sustainable.”
