Atelier Noterman

PRODUCTION LOCATIONS

• Portugal
  • Green Dolphin team
  • Costa Correia / Fabrijeans team
• Brakel and Mechelen for repair project.

The company researched other possible production countries. A team visited facilities in Hungary, Romania, and Ukraine, but didn’t find a good fit. Atelier Noterman trialled production in Bangladesh, but felt it didn’t belong there. The brand decided to settle in Portugal.

WORKING CONDITIONS & LIVING WAGES 

Atelier Noterman states they contribute to good working conditions wherever they operate and that their partners ensure fair wages. Living wages are calculated via Meu Salario, a Portugese website which calculates how much a worker should earn to provide housing, food and healthcare per province. The garment workers also receive insurance, meal vouchers, bonuses, and two paid holidays. A team visits Portugal 3 – 4 times a year. The sizing labels are handwritten in a social atelier in Portugal near the production facilities.
For their repair project ATN collaborates with 2 social ateliers: ​‘t Uniek (Brakel) and Cilab (Mechelen).

MATERIALS 

Fabrics:

• Cotton
• Organic Cotton
• BCI Cotton
• Linen
• Elastane
• Elastomultiester
• Elastomer
• Polyester
• Recycled polyester
• Polyamide
• Lyocell

Yarn:

• Polyester

Haberdashery

• Buttons: Polyester, Zamak, brass
• Zippers: polyester or cotton tape, metal slider, brass elements

Labels and garment tags:

• Paper (with FSC Mix certificate)
• Polyester tape
• Cotton
• Recycled polyester
• Recycled post-consumer polyester GRS
• Polyester
• polypropylene
• Nylon
• Paper 

PACKAGING 

The brand has two different packaging methods throughout the supply chain.

• Denim trousers are packaged in carton boxes in stacks of 10 – 20 without any additional packaging.

• Chino’s are packaged in carton boxes in stacks of 10 – 20, but are also packaged in separate paper bags for extra protection.

WATER USAGE & CHEMICALS

When we hear denim, we hear water and chemicals. Luckily, over time the denim industry has created innovation dedicated to addressing these issues, trying to lower denim’s impact in the environment.

Atelier Noterman uses raw denim for its trousers. Raw denim refers to unwashed denim after the dyeing process. The denim is often dyed after the weaving process, but is not washed or treated afterwards to make the fabric softer of less stiff. To create the typical colour of denim, Indigo is used. Sadly, indigo causes significant environmental impact during its dyeing process. During the dyeing process, a toxic chemical is used that can only be removed with excessive water use. ATN uses Detox Denim, which uses Chitosan, a 100% natural and biodegradable substance, replacing the toxic chemical PVA. This switch allows the dyeing process to lower its water consumption and pollution, while also reducing energy consumption. 

Other techniques have also been developed and implemented to wash denim cleaner, using ozone washing and laser processing instead of more water and chemicals. This technique imitates sunlight to give jeans a ​‘washed’ look.

CIRCULAR PRODUCT DESIGN

Most materials are mainly cotton with a small percentage of elastane, which makes recycling possible. The brand hopes to design and produce collection to ensure an easy disassembly and increase reusability. For this project ATN has partnered with Resortecs. Their ambition is to have materials distinguished and processed for optimal recycling and circularity.

The brand is piloting a Bring Back System, where customers can bring in their old ATN trousers to any shop taking part in the system during 2025. From these shops the trousers are brought to the ATN headquarters in Kluisbergen where they are personally sorted. The brand is currently in dialogue with recyclers to find a more sustainable way to recycle the trousers and create as little waste as possible and instead create something valuable.

CIRCULAR BUSINESS MODELS

The brand has set up a pilot take back program where customers can bring in their discarded ATN trousers in exchange for a €10 voucher for a future ATN purchase.

Furthermore the brand is trialling a repair system for trousers with (small) production mistakes in collaboration with Infinitex and two social ateliers, ​‘t Uniek & Cilab.

DISTANCE & COMPLEXITY OF THE SUPPLY CHAIN

• Design: Kluisbergen, Belgium
• Fabric:
  • BCI Cotton: Brazil
  • Cotton: USA, Australia, Tanzania
  • Lyocell: Austria
  • Polyester: Italy, Pakistan
  • Polyamide: Italy
  • Organic Cotton: Uganda or Tanzania
  • Weaving: Italy, Turkey, Pakistan
  • Finishing: Italy, Germany
• Yarn: Portugal
• Haberdashery: Germany, Portugal
• Labels and garment tags: Portugal, Turkey
• Washing: Portugal
• Production: Portugal
• Packaging: Portugal
• HQ: Kluisbergen, Belgium
• Sells in: Belgium and The Netherlands

TRANSPORTATION

Atelier Noterman has chosen TN transport for transport from Portugal to Belgium, for their reliability, efficiency and focus on sustainability.

Trousers are distributed to retailers through Bleckmann and FedEX Express.

The brand doesn’t use any animal materials.

PRODUCT DESIGN

Atelier Noterman creates chino and slim fit denim trousers for men.

SLOW FASHION PROCESSES 

The brand has a steady collection to which they gradually add some designs.

Transparency on product

We can’t credit Atelier Noterman enough for their process transparency. On a dedicated ​‘ingredients’ page visitors can find all materials needed during production of their current collections plus a cost breakdown per item and step in the production process. This material list details the supplier, production country and composition of each item, down to the raw materials.

On this ingredients page people can also find where each stage of production is placed. 

• Design: Noterman Fashion
• Confection: Green Dolphin
• Washing: pizarro

TRANSPARENCY ON PROCESSES 

Their dedicated sustainability page lists all suppliers throughout their supply chain per category. Atelier Noterman is setting the bar for transparency. The brand openly shares the wages of their garment workers and their benefits. 

On their atelier page, the brand also shares a documentary of their production facilities to give people a look inside.