Cut microfibre release at source in denim finishing

Submitted through the COP31 Sustainable Transformation Awards · SKD Türkiye (WBCSD Global Network Partner)

The company manufactures denim fabric at an integrated mill in Malatya, Türkiye, and employs between 251 and 1,000 people.

Microfibre release during laundering is one of the textile industry's material environmental problems and one of the least regulated. Sectoral standards generally require basic physical performance from a fabric (strength, fastness, dimensional stability), but they do not require a producer to limit the fibres the fabric sheds when it is washed. Those fibres pass through domestic wastewater systems into water bodies, where they behave as microplastic pollution and enter the food chain.

The company chose to work on the problem before regulation arrived. Microfibre pollution carries no legal obligation for a fabric producer today, but it is a vital issue for aquatic ecosystems, and addressing it at the fabric stage rather than at the filtration stage means preventing release rather than capturing it afterwards.

A second, connected problem is product life. A denim fabric that abrades quickly sheds more and is replaced sooner, so durability and microfibre release are two aspects of the same material behaviour rather than separate objectives.

The work was carried out with a specialist graphene materials supplier, moved from laboratory to industrial scale at the company's integrated mill, and reached the market in the company's 2025 collection under the concept name Blue Voyager.

Location of the initiative: Malatya, Türkiye

The approach integrates graphene nanoplatelets into denim fabric so that the fibres hold together mechanically, and applies them by a route that survives repeated laundering.

The mechanism is physical rather than chemical. Graphene nanoplatelets are integrated into the structure to maximise adhesion between fibres, so that the fibre ends which would otherwise break free during agitation in a washing machine remain bound into the yarn. Release is prevented at its origin, inside the fabric, rather than intercepted downstream in a filter.

Durable fixation was the technical condition. The nanoplatelets are applied by a pad-dry route, which produces a permanent surface integration rather than a temporary finish, and the durability of that integration was confirmed using standard AATCC and ISO test methods.

The same modification produces a large increase in abrasion resistance. Fabric treated this way withstands three to four times the abrasion of the untreated equivalent, moving from 120,000 to more than 450,000 cycles, which extends the service life of the garment and supports the circular economy objective of keeping products in use for longer.

A third effect changes consumer behaviour rather than fabric behaviour. The treated fabric provides antibacterial protection above 99 per cent, which reduces how often a garment needs to be laundered. Because the resource consumption of a garment over its life is dominated by the consumer's washing, reducing wash frequency reduces water, energy and carbon footprint at that stage.

The result was commercialised rather than kept in the laboratory. The fabric entered the company's 2025 collection under a dedicated concept name, was presented to customers at international denim trade fairs and is now supplied as a standard offer, which is what establishes the modification as industrially producible and scalable rather than experimental.

Figure 1: Martindale abrasion test: mass retention of the graphene-modified fabric against the standard reference, from 120,000 to more than 450,000 cycles.

Sustainability Impact

Climate

The initiative targets Scope 3, Category 11: Use of sold products, meaning the emissions arising when the consumer launders the garment, which is where most of the energy consumed over a denim product's life is used.

The mechanism is reduced wash frequency. Antibacterial protection above 99 per cent lowers how often a garment has to be washed, and the company calculates a saving of 75 per cent in water, energy and carbon footprint at the consumer stage, on the basis of the European average of one wash cycle per 2.5 wears. The base year for the measurement is 2024; the supporting data covers the 2024 to 2025 period monitored in the company's quality control laboratories, and the fabric that carries the effect reached the market in the 2025 collection.

A second, longer-term effect falls under Scope 3, Category 1: Purchased goods and services. Because the modified fabric withstands three to four times the abrasion of the standard equivalent, moving from 120,000 to more than 450,000 cycles, garments stay in service longer, and the emissions embedded in replacement production are deferred. This effect is not separately quantified, and the company expects the modification to become a standard supply chain process over a one- to three-year horizon.

Indicative estimate, calculated by the company: the consumer-stage carbon saving is estimated at 9.4 kg CO2e per garment over its use life. The scenario applies the reported 75 per cent reduction at the consumer stage applied to a benchmark consumer-care footprint of 12.5 kg CO2e per pair of jeans (12.5 kg CO2e x 75 per cent = 9.375 kg CO2e). This calculation is based on the assumption that the reported > 99 per cent antibacterial performance results in the claimed washing frequency reduction, which is based on the case study of one wash every 2.5 wears. It assumes that the energy saved by avoiding washing and drying is actually recovered by the consumer and that the intensity of garment use remains unchanged. It is therefore not a validated product carbon-footprint result but rather an indicative avoided-emissions scenario. This is equivalent to around 0.0094 tCO2e avoided per garment, for reporting.

Nature

The measured environmental result is the reduction in microfibre release to water.

The base year for the impact measurement is 2024. Standard denim fabric produced by conventional methods was compared with the modified fabric on a before-and-after basis, using The Microfibre Consortium test protocols and international filtration standards as the measurement methodology.

Against that baseline, the graphene nanoplatelet modification reduces microfibre release by 28 per cent, rising to 50 per cent under heavier wash conditions. Impact data covering the 2024 to 2025 period has been monitored systematically in the company's quality control laboratories and integrated into internal sustainability reporting.

The indicators tracked are the quantity of microfibre entering the water per wash in milligrams per kilogram, the increase in Martindale abrasion cycles, and the rate of improvement in tensile and tear strength.

Preventing microplastic release at the fabric stage protects marine ecosystems directly and, because the same fibres would otherwise remain in freshwater systems, supports the quality of water resources as well.

Social

Microplastics that reach water bodies enter the food chain, so preventing their release is a public health benefit as well as an ecological one, and the company frames the environmental result explicitly in those terms.

Longer-lasting garments also change the consumer's cost of ownership: a fabric that withstands three to four times the abrasion of the standard equivalent has to be replaced less often.

Internally, the project passed through jury elimination rounds in the annual group-wide innovation competition and was then voted an award by the company's own employees, which indicates that the work found recognition across the organisation and the wider group rather than only at senior management level.

Business Impact

Benefits

The commercial result is a product that reached the market. The modification was launched as a named concept in the company's 2025 collection, presented to global customers at major international denim trade fairs and supplied as a standard offer, which converts a laboratory result into revenue-generating fabric.

The proposition is differentiated on evidence rather than on claim. Abrasion resistance verified from 120,000 to more than 450,000 cycles, microfibre reduction of 28 to 50 per cent measured against a 2024 baseline using recognised protocols, and antibacterial performance above 99 per cent are specifications a brand customer can put into a technical file.

Regulatory positioning is a further benefit. Global environmental regulation is moving towards restricting microfibre release, and a producer that already meets a requirement before it becomes mandatory converts a future compliance cost into a present commercial advantage.

The modification is not confined to denim. The same technology applies to sportswear, home textiles and technical textiles and to production sites in other geographies, which broadens the addressable market well beyond the range it was developed for.

Dedicated budget and resources were allocated for international rollout, and the project won an award in the group's annual innovation competition, which secured continued internal support.

Indicative commercial scenario, calculated by the company: a conservative price premium of 5 per cent may be assumed for the commercial scenario. For instance, if the value of a denim fabric is USD 3.00/m, and the premium is 5 per cent, then the value of that fabric is USD 0.15/m. That amounts to around USD 15,000 and USD 37,500 in additional revenue per year at 100,000 m of sales and 250,000 m of sales, respectively. These are scenario figures and should not be reported as company revenue. Until the original laboratory test records are obtained, a conservative estimate of about a 10 per cent increase in tensile strength and a 15 per cent increase in tear strength can be applied for mechanical performance. This is in a direction in line with published graphene-nanoplatelet composite studies, which have recorded increases in tensile and tear strength, and the present case study is a direct verification of the much greater increase in the durability attribute of abrasion resistance, from 120,000 to in excess of 450,000 cycles.

Costs

The principal cost is the initial adaptation expense of achieving homogeneous dispersion of graphene nanoplatelets in large-tonnage production. Dispersion behaves differently at industrial volumes than in the laboratory, and the company identifies this as the main risk and the main cost of adoption for anyone following the same route.

The additive itself is a purchased input from a specialist producer, so the fabric carries a raw material cost the standard equivalent does not, and the supply is concentrated with a small number of producers.

Development cost included the joint work with the supplier: confidentiality agreements, regular technical meetings, shared laboratory data, and the supplier's technical team working on site at the mill during first line trials and works recipe optimisation.

Testing and verification are a recurring cost. Durability of the pad-dry fixation was confirmed with standard AATCC and ISO methods, microfibre release is measured under The Microfibre Consortium protocols and international filtration standards, and monitoring continues in the company's quality control laboratories.

International rollout carries its own budget, allocated for trade fair presence and planned marketing activity.

Costs are managed through a business-to-business partnership model with raw material suppliers and global fashion brands, which shares the adaptation burden rather than placing it entirely on the fabric producer, and through the expectation that the modification becomes a standard supply chain process over a one- to three-year horizon, spreading fixed development cost over larger volume.

Indicative implementation-cost scenario, calculated by the company: incremental capital expenditure of around USD 20,000-30,000 (which may be incremental to an existing finishing plant rather than the purchase of a new finishing plant). It can be seen from the current market listings that textile pad-dry systems are in the range of INR 4.5 million to INR 8.5 million, and simpler padding/drying variants can be found in the range of INR 1.25 million, adapting an existing line expected to require significantly less investment than the construction of a new complete system. The indicative incremental cost is about USD 0.05/m and includes the cost of input graphene, application energy, auxiliaries, quality control, and incremental labour. The contribution margin of the innovation would be about USD 0.10/m if the commercial concept can achieve an illustrative USD 0.15/m price premium. The incremental capital expenditure assumed is USD 25,000 and the simple payback period is then ~250,000 m of cumulative production/sales (USD 25,000 / USD 0.10/m). This equates to about 1-year simple payback at 250 m/year. These are not audited Çalık Denim cost information, but rather planning assumptions and should be referred to as indicative estimates.

Impact Beyond Sustainability And Business

Co-Benefits

Antibacterial performance above 99 per cent benefits the wearer directly, independently of the environmental effect of washing less often.

The increase in abrasion resistance and the improvement in tensile and tear strength extend garment life, which supports circular economy objectives without requiring any change in consumer behaviour.

The technology transfers beyond denim to sportswear, home textiles and technical textiles, and beyond one site to production facilities in other geographies, so the environmental benefit is not confined to the mill that developed it.

The know-how gained is being shared rather than retained. A joint academic paper is being prepared with the materials supplier so that the results reach the scientific community and the wider sector.

At sector level, the work moves the industry from producing durable fabric towards stopping microfibre pollution at the fibre and fabric stage, which has the potential to change what global brands and end consumers ask for.

Potential Side-Effects

Homogeneous dispersion of nanoplatelets in large-tonnage production is the acknowledged technical risk. Uneven dispersion would produce inconsistent performance across a batch, and managing it is what creates the initial adaptation cost.

Introducing an engineered nanomaterial into a consumer textile raises questions about what is released during wear, laundering and end of life. The reported result is that fewer fibres are shed; whether the nanoplatelets themselves remain bound over the full service life of the garment is a separate question that the reported indicators do not address.

A fabric that needs washing less often only delivers the consumer-stage saving if the consumer actually washes it less, so the 75 per cent figure depends on wash behaviour changing in line with the calculation basis of one cycle per 2.5 wears.

The reduction in microfibre release is stated as 28 per cent under standard conditions and up to 50 per cent under heavier washing, so the result is a substantial reduction rather than elimination, and filtration and behaviour measures remain necessary alongside it.

Dependence on a single specialist supplier for the additive is a supply chain concentration that a producer scaling the route would need to manage.

Typical Business Profile

The model suits fabric manufacturers with an in-house research and development function and a finishing capability that includes pad-dry application, operating in denim, sportswear, home textiles or technical textiles.

It is most relevant to producers selling to global brands that specify environmental performance in technical files, because the value of the result depends on the buyer being able to use verified test data.

Maturity requirements are high on laboratory and quality control capability, since the result rests on measurement under recognised protocols rather than on a claim, and moderate on equipment, because the application uses an established pad-dry route rather than new machinery.

The route requires a working partnership with a specialist advanced materials supplier, since the additive cannot be sourced as a commodity.

Delivery engages research and development, production, quality control, sustainability, marketing and public relations functions.

Approach

1. Target the environmental failure that is not yet regulated: Identify microfibre release during laundering as the problem to solve, on the basis that sectoral standards require physical performance but do not limit shedding, and that acting before regulation converts a future obligation into a present advantage.

2. Select a functional additive rather than a surface coating: Choose graphene nanoplatelets integrated into the structure to maximise adhesion between fibres, so that release is prevented mechanically at the fibre level instead of being intercepted after the fabric is made.

3. Contract the materials supplier on open innovation terms: Put mutual confidentiality agreements in place at the outset, then run regular technical meetings in which laboratory data and project steps are managed transparently by both parties rather than exchanged at arm's length.

4. Fix the additive with a durable application route: Apply the nanoplatelets by pad-dry to obtain permanent surface integration, and confirm the durability of that fixation with standard AATCC and ISO test methods before proceeding to production.

5. Bring the supplier's engineers into the mill for scale-up: Invite the supplier's technical team to the integrated production plant and run the first line trials, works recipe optimisation and application process development with the two engineering teams working together on the floor.

6. Set a base year and run a before-and-after comparison: Take 2024 as the baseline and compare conventionally produced standard denim with the modified fabric under identical conditions, so that the effect is attributable to the modification alone.

7. Measure with recognised external protocols: Apply The Microfibre Consortium test protocols and international filtration standards, and track microfibre released per wash in milligrams per kilogram, the increase in Martindale abrasion cycles, and the rate of improvement in tensile and tear strength.

8. Commercialise and publish the know-how: Launch the fabric as a named concept in a seasonal collection, present it to global customers at international trade fairs with an allocated budget, and prepare a joint academic paper with the supplier so the results reach the sector and the scientific community.

Stakeholders Involved

• Project leads: Senior management adopted the project as a strategic priority and integrated it into corporate business processes. Governance is a joint responsibility of the research and development centre and the company's sustainability committees, with full support provided for commercialisation. The clearest evidence of that ownership is that a laboratory result was taken to market as a named collection concept through coordinated marketing and public relations activity, with dedicated budget and resources allocated for international rollout.

• Company functions: The research and development centre developed the modification and the sustainability committees shared governance of the process. Quality control laboratories run the systematic monitoring of microfibre release, abrasion and strength indicators and feed the results into internal sustainability reporting. Marketing and public relations took the fabric to market as a collection concept, and production carried the industrial scale-up. The project also passed through jury assessment in the group's annual innovation competition and was then voted an award directly by employees, which is how the work was internalised beyond the functions that created it.

• Main providers: A specialist advanced materials producer supplies and manufactures the graphene nanoplatelet raw material, and acted as a development partner rather than as a vendor. The relationship was established under mutual confidentiality agreements, managed through regular technical meetings in which laboratory data and project steps were shared transparently, and taken into the plant when the supplier's technical team joined the mill's engineers for the first production trials and recipe optimisation. Know-how on integrating the material into denim was exchanged in both directions, and a joint academic publication is being prepared.

• Other: Global fashion brands are the intended partners for wider deployment, through a business-to-business partnership model with them and with raw material suppliers. The scientific community is addressed through the planned joint publication. International denim trade fairs served as the channel through which the fabric was presented to global customers.

Key Parameters To Consider

The base year for impact measurement is 2024, and the reported impact data covers the 2024 to 2025 period, monitored in the company's own quality control laboratories.

Measurement follows The Microfibre Consortium test protocols and international filtration standards; durability of the fixation is confirmed by AATCC and ISO methods.

Reported performance: microfibre release reduced by 28 per cent, rising to 50 per cent under heavier washing; abrasion resistance increased three to four fold, from 120,000 to more than 450,000 cycles; antibacterial protection above 99 per cent; consumer-stage saving of 75 per cent in water, energy and carbon footprint, calculated on the European average of one wash cycle per 2.5 wears.

The modification is not denim-specific and the core route is transferable to sportswear, home textiles and technical textiles and to plants in other geographies.

The company's own expectation is that the modification becomes a standard supply chain process over a one to three year horizon.

Implementation And Operations Tips

Work on the problem the standards have not caught up with. Physical performance is already specified by sectoral standards, so the environmental value was created by addressing microfibre release, which is not yet a legal requirement but is moving in that direction.

Pair the environmental result with a performance result. The abrasion increase from 120,000 to more than 450,000 cycles is what made the fabric commercially attractive, and it comes from the same mechanism that reduces shedding, so the two arguments reinforce each other rather than competing for the buyer's attention.

Measure against an external protocol from the start. Using The Microfibre Consortium protocols and a declared base year produced numbers a brand customer can rely on, which internal test methods would not have.

Take the supplier's engineers into the plant. Laboratory results transferred to industrial scale only when both engineering teams worked together on the line, and that on-site period is where the works recipe was settled.

Plan for dispersion, not for chemistry. The binding difficulty at scale is achieving homogeneous distribution of the nanoplatelets in large-tonnage production, and the adaptation cost should be budgeted for before the first industrial run.

Commercialise through a collection. Launching the fabric as a named concept in a seasonal collection, with marketing and public relations aligned, is what moved the work from a research result to a scalable business model.