DENIM

Made with wild Himalayan nettle (PANettle™) or rain-fed hemp (PANhemp™)

The Problem

Making conventional denim is one of the fashion industry’s most chemical and water-intensive processes. That’s where our materials science comes in.

Did you know it takes around 3,700 litres of water to make a single pair of jeans? That’s roughly the same amount of water the average person drinks over 3.5 years. That’s because most denim is made out of conventional cotton—a fiber that is usually heavily irrigated and fertilized in cultivation, as well as one that uses a huge amount of water in the manufacturing, finishing (dyeing and washing) and packaging processes. Conventional cotton manufacturing also contributes to the practice of monocropping on a global scale, which can weaken the soil, deplete its nutrients and reduce local biodiversity.

The Solution

To help reduce dependency on conventional cotton, we’re committed to working with a more diverse range of materials. That’s why our denim is made using a unique blend and construction that’s not currently available on the market.

PANettle™ - Wild Himalayan Nettle Denim Blend

What is PANettle™?

Our Nettle Selvedge Denim blend is made in Italy using wild Himalayan nettle and cotton grown without pesticides, created using a left hand twill for added softness (compared to right hand twill which is most common in the industry). It's also treated with PPRMINT™️ oil to help keep the fabric fresher for longer.

WHY WILD HIMALAYAN NETTLE?

Grows wild and abundantly in the Himalayan mountain forests

- Naturally regenerative resource meaning it grows back every year, with shoots reaching up to 3m in height

- Helps support local communities by providing off-season work for farmers who wild-harvest the raw material without disruption to their farm activities

- Promotes root growth to help soil stabilization in landslide prone mountains

PANhemp™- Rain-Fed Hemp Denim

Made using the wonder plant hemp, cotton grown with pesticides, natural Indigo dye and peppermint oil (PPRMINT™), this denim material blend is entirely plant-based. Hemp grows well without pesticides, additional watering and yields 3x more fiber than cotton per acre.

We worked closely with our friends at Orta, the brilliantly innovative denim mill, to develop a one-of-a-kind fabric, using Turkish cotton grown with pesticides and French rain-fed hemp blend, dyed with natural indigo from India’s Indigofera plant. It is then woven in reverse to create our signature, rare, Left Hand twill. The result is a unique, completely plant-based denim, that has a truly beautiful blue that comes from the Indigofera dye.

Benefits

- Hemp is 4x stronger than cotton, meaning the fabric is less prone to weaken when washed

- It only needs rain to grow, consuming only 1/10th of water compared to conventional cotton

- Fleece lining: Our Sherpa Jacket is lined with a cozy sherpa fleece made from wool and Tencel. The sleeves are insulated with kapok plant fiber.

WHAT MAKES OUR DENIM UNIQUE?

LEFT HAND SELVEDGE DENIM

Woven in reverse on a shuttle loom, a left hand twill creates a softer feel than the right hand twill most commonly used in the industry.Selvedge is a self-finished denim where the edges form a distinctive clean ‘self edge’. Our Nettle Selvedge Denim has a unique PANGAIA purple-line detail that’s visible when the jeans are rolled up. Selvedge denim is slowly woven on a shuttle loom (traditional textile weaving machine), taking 3x longer than a modern projectile loom. As it’s so slow, less than 1% of the world’s denim is produced using shuttle looms. Paired with left hand twill, our Nettle Selvedge Denim blend is pretty rare.