ST. GALLEN, Switzerland — October 21, 2024 — bluesign® is proud to announce that SAITEX Mill has officially become a bluesign® System Partner. This collaboration marks a significant milestone in bluesign’s Denim Initiative, furthering the mission to drive sustainability across the global denim industry. SAITEX Laundry, the first denim laundry globally to join bluesign as a system partner over a decade ago, has now been joined by SAITEX Mill, creating a powerful, end-to-end sustainable production solution under one roof.

Founded by Sanjeev Bahl, SAITEX is a global leader in sustainable garment manufacturing, known for its innovative approach to reducing the environmental impact of textile production. Founded in 2001, the company operates with a commitment to sustainability, circularity, and social responsibility. With facilities in Vietnam and Los Angeles, SAITEX employs cutting-edge technologies such as closed-loop water systems, energy-efficient processes, and clean chemistry to minimize waste and carbon emissions. The garment operation is bluesign, Fair Trade, LEED, and B Corp certified, underscoring its dedication to ethical manufacturing practices.

SAITEX partners with leading global brands to create high-quality denim and apparel while continuously pushing the boundaries of responsible production, setting a benchmark for the future of fashion.

Now that both the SAITEX Mill and Laundry are bluesign® system partners, brands can label their denim garments as bluesign DENIM, produced and processed entirely within SAITEX’s facilities. The bluesign DENIM label requires that the denim fabric is bluesign APPROVED from a system partner mill, and that the garment is processed in a system partner laundry, ensuring compliance with bluesign’s strict environmental criteria. This allows brands to source bluesign APPROVED denim fabrics directly from SAITEX Mill, have the garments processed at SAITEX Laundry, and achieve an end-to-end clean denim production process for consumers. With bluesign® APPROVED chemicals used in both fabric manufacturing and garment processing, brands can easily meet sustainability standards with SAITEX as their one-stop solution for clean denim.

This partnership aligns with bluesign’s dedication to reducing the textile industry’s environmental footprint by ensuring that textiles are made with responsible resource usage and worker safety. By becoming a bluesign System Partner, SAITEX enhances its commitment to eco-friendly production practices, offering transparency and traceability throughout the garment life cycle.

Opened in 2022, SAITEX’s fabric mill near Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, represents the next generation of sustainable manufacturing. The mill integrates spinning, weaving, dyeing, and finishing processes under one roof, with a core focus on environmental responsibility. Leveraging advanced technologies, it reduces energy consumption, minimizes the use of harmful chemicals, and is on track to build a closed-loop water system to minimize freshwater intake, which will be completed by mid-2025. This state-of-the-art facility reflects SAITEX’s commitment to setting new standards for responsible production and circularity in the global textile industry.

• The mill features solar panels with a 3-4 MW capacity, reducing carbon emissions by 2,000+ tons annually.
• The facility is designed with LEED Gold Certified specifications, ensuring minimal environmental impact through energy efficiency. LEED Gold certification is expected in November 2024.
• The mill utilizes Smart-Indigo™ technology for hydrosulfite-free dyeing, resulting in 90% less CO2 emissions, 70% less energy use, and 30% less water consumption.
• SAITEX aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030 through continued innovations in energy and resource efficiency.
• The fully vertically integrated mill, from spinning to garment manufacturing, ensures lower environmental impact on both the fabric and laundry sides of the production process.

Sanjeev Bahl, CEO of SAITEX, said, “Becoming a bluesign System Partner is another step in reinforcing our mission of sustainability, transparency, and responsibility. With bluesign, we’re not just setting a new standard for responsible denim manufacturing; we’re driving a broader movement toward clean chemistry. This is about creating a system that’s safe for people and the planet—putting the human side of manufacturing at the center of everything we do. It’s our responsibility to ensure that our processes are as clean as they are efficient.”

Daniel Rüfenacht, CEO of bluesign, added, “We were proud to welcome SAITEX Laundry into bluesign over 10 years ago as the first system partner denim laundry in the world, and it is thrilling for us to now have SAITEX Mill join the system partnership as well. Brands can now source bluesign APPROVED denim fabrics from SAITEX Mill for their collections, and with both the mill and laundry as system partners, they can label their denim garments as bluesign DENIM, ensuring a fully compliant and sustainable production process under one roof. Together, we are making significant strides toward reducing the global environmental impact of denim production.”

This partnership strengthens bluesign’s Denim Initiative, which brings together key players in the denim industry to create safer, more sustainable denim products. With SAITEX’s vertical integration and advanced technology, the global denim market is one step closer to achieving environmental responsibility and social equity.

Posted: October 21, 2024

Source: bluesign®