Denim and jeans: An overview

The story of denim starts with cotton fibre grown in a field, which is then spun into yarns, indigo dyed and woven. The most important garment made from denim is jeans, which can be further dyed, digitally printed or washed with a variety of techniques. Among different washing techniques, enzyme washing and reduced water techniques stand apart for their environmental friendliness. A variety of finishes are also applied on denim jeans for creating functional properties and to improve their wear comfort. Denim as a fabric has many other novel variants and can also be used for non-apparel applications. Both denim and jeans manufacturing processes raise environmental concerns, and some viable options include washing with reduced water techniques, recycling of denim waste and effluent treatment.