Regenerative farming restores soil health, improves biodiversity, and supports sustainable ecosystems. Unlike conventional methods that may deplete resources. Instead the Regenerative approach works with nature to create long-term resilience. The farm and mill we partner with embrace these principles, producing high-quality silk while minimising environmental impact.

Farming Techniques: Traditional silk farming often neglects the farming process. Typically, farms will use mono-cropping, with many of the same crop tightly packed and is often heavily reliant on synthetic fertilisers and pesticides. Biodiversity, depletes soil nutrients, and increases reliance on synthetic fertilisers.

Our partner mill uses inter and rotational cropping, planting complementary crops like broad beans which provide natural nutrients to the soil. Pests are managed with chickens, geese, ducks, as well as solar-powered bug lamps, while organic limestone ash prevents root rot. These practices create healthier soil and remove the need for synthetic inputs.

Positive Social Impact: Price pressures in fashion often undervalue farmers, but our partner mill ensures fair wages and improved conditions through a vertically integrated model. Regenerative practices, like intercropping, have increased farmers’ productivity and earnings—some by up to five times—creating a more equitable supply chain.

Certifications & Regenerative Practices: The mill’s farmland holds GOTS and CERES organic certifications. The next step is to engage with new Regenerative Organic Certification (ROC). These efforts ensure sustainability and accountability in silk production.

The Challenges of Peace Silk: Peace silk allows moths to emerge naturally, but its broken filaments can’t produce high-twist fabrics like crepe de chine or satin. Certification processes for peace silk are still developing, so careful sourcing is essential to ensure ethical standards.

Our partner mill balances traditional silk production with responsible farming practices. Unfortunately, the silk worm has become domesticated over the last 5000 years. They now would live with no functioning digestive trap and would only live a few days post-cocoon. There are controversies around silk production, so it is important to understand your rand and customers opinions on this. Silk is still widely used in the fashion industry, particularly in the luxury sector, so we’ve instead focused on what we would consider the best approach to silk. If you’re looking for a vegan alternative, we suggest taking a look at our TENCEL ™ LUXE range.

TENCEL™ is a branded lyocell fibre made by Lenzing, a leading fibre producer headquartered in Austria, with production sites worldwide. Lyocell is a fibre which comes under the MMCF materials group, (Man-Made Cellulosic Fibres), traditionally derived from wood pulp. TENCEL™ wood pulp is sourced from sustainably certified and managed forests - with FSC® and PEFC™ certifications. You may recognise these certification markings on paper products, like coffee cups.

Production: To produce TENCEL™,  wood pulp is dissolved in a closed-loop process, where 99% of the organic solvent used to produce lyocell is efficiently recycled. The solution is then pushed through a spinneret to form fibres that are spun into yarn and turned into fabric through weaving or knitting.

The key difference with TENCEL™ LUXE lies in its structure—it’s a filament rather than a spun fibre. Following the same journey up until the extraction process, where a continuous filament is extracted.  This allows the lyocell to behave more like Silk, but as a plant based alternative.

TENCEL™ vs standard lyocell: The key difference between sourcing generic lyocell and trademarked TENCEL TM lyocell lies in the production process, product performance and environmental impact. 

In 2021, Lenzing expanded its innovative fibre identification technology to TENCEL™ products, enhancing supply chain transparency and traceability. This technology embeds a unique physical tracer into the fibres to verify authenticity and protect against counterfeiting. By ensuring that TENCEL™ fibers meet Lenzing’s high standards for responsible production and environmental impact, this system guarantees both accountability and trust throughout the supply chain.

Generic lyocell may not guarantee responsible production or other sustainability claims, there are many TENCEL™ imposters in the market so it is important to be sure you’re sourcing correctly and transparently.

Our Denim available in PFP is a 100% BCI Cotton with Oritain ™ tracing.

Oritain™ : Oritain uses advanced forensic science to trace the origin of cotton back to its source. By analysing the unique chemical fingerprint of cotton fibres, Oritain verifies the authenticity of the cotton and ensures it is grown in compliance with ethical and sustainable standards. This traceability guarantees that the cotton we use meets high environmental and social benchmarks, providing peace of mind for both brands and consumers.

Better Cotton Initiative (BCI): Dedicated to making global cotton production more sustainable. BCI supports farmers with training and resources to:

• Use water efficiently.

• Maintain soil health and biodiversity.

• Reduce reliance on harmful pesticides.

• Promote fair labor practices.

Through this program, farmers improve yields and livelihoods while reducing their environmental footprint. By working with BCI cotton, we contribute to a more responsible cotton supply chain that benefits both people and the planet.