Denham

With its own code of conduct, Denham ensures that all suppliers, factories and partners comply with proper working conditions and rights. This code of conduct is based on the eight labour standards from the Convention of the International Labour Organisation and the UN Declaration of Human Rights. It contains agreements on, among other things, correct working hours, safety and the welfare of employees.

The factories located in the European Union (EU) are subject to European labour legislation, which ensures ethical working conditions. Denham’s suppliers and factories located outside of Europe are usually certified by various bodies that regulate working conditions. For example, by BSCI, SA8000, Sedex and also the GOTS certificate has criteria concerning working conditions.

In the summer collection of 2020, almost 20% of the denim collection consists of GOTS organic (Global Organic Textile Standard) certified cotton, as well as OCS organic (Organic Content Standard) certified cotton and BCI cotton (Better Cotton Initiative). Would you like to know more about the different certificates for cotton and what they entail? Then click here. Denham aims to use certified cotton (organic and/​or recycled) in 50% of their entire collection by 2025.

In addition, the brand also uses Tencel (from wood pulp from sustainable forestry), organic linen and recycled hemp in its clothing. The bio-stretch denim is a stretch fabric that does not contain (micro) plastics. All labels in the clothing are made from recycled polyester and the company also wants to use recycled elastane in its clothing.

Because the dyeing and finishing of jeans is a very polluting process, most denim mills Denham works with are GOTS or Oeko-Tex 100 certified, which means that the textiles are tested for the presence of harmful chemicals. Some of the mills also use innovative techniques that require less water, energy and/​or chemicals.

In 2019, Denham launched the ​‘bring back your jeans’ recycling project to recycle post-consumer waste into new textiles. They do this in partnership with Candiani. The recycled textiles are used for new jeans, which consist of 21% recycled cotton.

Another project from 2017 focused on circularity is ​‘Re-cut’. Re-cut is a parka designed and made entirely from old military parachutes.

Unfortunately, several Denham garments are made from blends of cotton and elastane, for example. This makes the garment more difficult to recycle. The garments that are made of 100% (organic) cotton are easier to recycle, especially shirts and other dresses.

A large part of the collection is produced within Europe, for example in Portugal or Romania, but there are also factories in China, Turkey and India, so the length of the chain depends on the garment. For example, on the website you can specifically choose garments made in Italy or Japan.

Denham has included animal welfare in its own code of conduct to ensure that no animals have to suffer unnecessarily for its products. Furthermore, the brand is fur-free, and no mohair or angora is used. All down or feathers used are certified according to the Responsible Down Standard (RDS). When wool is used in the clothing, it is always a residual product from livestock farming, so no animals are killed for the wool. By 2025, Denham wants all wool used in its clothing to comply with the Responsible Wool Standard.

Denham does not follow the rhythm of the traditional fashion seasons but makes a distinction between summer and winter collections. There are also collaborations with artists or illustrators, with whom one collection is released each time.

Denham focuses on quality products with a long life span. They also provide a handwash service and a free repair workshop. They also provide tips on how to use the jeans in order to guarantee their longevity. In addition, they advise consumers to buy ​‘virgin’ jeans. This means that the jeans have not been pre-washed or treated to achieve a worn look. For virgin jeans, fewer chemicals and water are used, and the jeans will also last longer.

Denham is a transparent company. All factories, suppliers and partners are mentioned on the website, with a short explanation of the identity and functioning of the company in question.