Taiwanese Denim Manufacturers Target European Markets

Premium fabrics made from natural fibres were to the fore at a special showcase of Taiwanese denim specialists at Kingpins Show Amsterdam on 19-20 April.

The exhibition, held as part of Amsterdam Denim Days, features fibre and yarn companies, fabric mills, wash houses, full package manufacturers and trim providers.

Making its debut at Kingpins Show Amsterdam, the Taiwan Textile Federation (TTF) had a special zone featuring four denim fabric manufacturers.

Annie Liu, from the market development department at TTF, told WTiN that the showcase was designed to complement TTF’s presence at Kingpins Show New York, where it already exhibits each year.

“We are looking to expand in the European market,” she said. “Some Taiwanese denim companies that have been focused on the US are now looking to broaden their range of clients. Kingpins Show Amsterdam is a big show – there are a lot of brands visiting here.”

She added: “Taiwan’s denim manufacturers are focused on combining functionality with denim through different fibres and innovative technologies.”

The Taiwanese mills on show in Amsterdam presented a diverse range of denim textiles.

496 Fabric Lab

Specialising in jacquard denim, 496 Fabric Lab produces high-value fabrics for leading brands and designers. The company, established in 2012 and based in Taipei, uses natural fibres such as cotton and wool.

Examples of its denim fabrics include a tassel indigo in 72% cotton / 28% polyester, which proved especially popular at Kingpins Show Amsterdam, and a wool denim fabric in a blend of 56% cotton / 36% polypropylene / 4% polyester / 4% wool.

Commenting on the percentage of wool in the fabric, Wayne Chiang, the 496 Fabric Lab founder, said: “You don’t need much wool in the fabric to give it the properties of wool. Also, the price of wool is very high now, so we are substituting wool more with other fibres.”

496 Fabric Lab offers a bespoke service to its customers. “Normally we do customised patterns,” said Chiang. “Customers want exclusive fabrics. Some just buy the pattern we create for them as they find that is easier.”

The USA is the company’s biggest market. “We supply premium denim brands in the USA, such as Supreme,” added Chiang.

496 Fabric Lab also supplies leading British brands and designers including Paul Smith, Vivienne Westwood, Faustine Steinmetz, Haizhen Wang and Marques’ Almeida, which won the sophomore LVMH prize in 2015. Other customers include the Japanese denim brand Evisu.

Tai Yuen

A vertically integrated manufacturer from spinning to garment production, Tai Yuen, based in Taipei, makes cotton and blended yarn, denim, piece-dyed cotton, long-staple fine weaves, and bonded, laminated and jacquard fabrics.

Monica Hsu, the Tai Yuen marketing manager, said that it specialises in blending different materials in order to enhance the performance of its fabrics. At Kingpins Show Amsterdam it presented denim fabrics made from a diverse range of natural fibres.

These included UMORFIL Beauty Fiber, a functional fibre first launched in 2012 by Camangi Corporation, a technology and textile company based in Taipei. UMORFIL is said to offer advanced moisture management and exceptional softness thanks to its use of collagen peptides from fish scales, which are bonded together with viscose fibre using biotechnology.

Tai Yuen, which spins the yarn for UMORFIL, includes the fibre in a range of its denim fabrics, typically as 50% of the fibre composition.

“Denim fabrics featuring UMORFIL possess antibacterial properties and therefore don’t need to be washed very often,” said Hsu. “They also have good moisture management and are friendly to sensitive skin.”

She added that UMORFIL is eco-friendly, as the fish scales used to extract the collagen peptides are recycled from the waste on Taiwan’s coastline, while the viscose fibre used in UMORFIL is certified in line with OEKO-TEX Standard 100. In addition, at the end of its life, a garment made from UMORFIL will decompose naturally in the earth due to the properties of the material.

Also on show at Tai Yuen’s stand in Amsterdam were denim fabrics blending cotton with Tencel, as well as functional materials including Coolmax, Thermolite, and Solar Touch.

Tai Yuen also uses a large volume of organic cotton. According to Hsu, the company is the largest organic cotton denim fabric producer in Taiwan, and supplies such fabrics to major brands including Adidas and Muji.

“We source organic cotton fibre from India and Pakistan,” she said. “We have a good co-operation with Cotton USA and we are a BCI [Better Cotton Initiative] supplier.”

Of Tai Yuen’s denim fabrics around 70% are woven, with 30% knit. The company’s biggest market is Japan, with the USA and Europe also important. Its largest customers include Levi’s, Lee, Armani, Gap and Uniqlo. Hsu said it is aiming to sell more to Europe.

As well as Kingpins, Tai Yuen also exhibits at ISPO, OutDoor (held in Friedrichshafen, Germany), Texworld, and the Future Fabrics Expo in the UK.

Cheng Shiang

Tencel is the fibre of choice for Cheng Shiang. The company, based in Changhua in the north of Taiwan, produces a wide range of woven denim fabrics, ranging from 4oz to 12oz, with a monthly capacity of 1.5 million metres.

“In terms of fibres we mostly use Tencel as it’s more soft and eco-friendly and feels much smoother than other fabrics,” said May Chen, the Cheng Shiang owner and sales director.

The company produces a wide variety of blends with Tencel, including with cotton and linen, such as a 64% Tencel / 25% cotton / 11% linen fabric. Lurex is also used, mostly at 10%, for extra sparkle. Also available is a range of cotton / polyester stretch denim.

Cheng Shiang produces jacquard fabrics; textured denim to give different looks such as a twill or dobby; and a special kind of printed denim, which Chen said creates a “sparkly look that doesn’t wash off.”

Most of Cheng Shiang’s fabrics are supplied to wholesalers for the fashion market. “We work closely with our customers about meeting the latest demands, trends and so on,” said Chen. Markets include Asia, Africa and the US. The company is also aiming to grow in Europe.

Nien Hsing

Sustainability is a key focus for Nien Hsing, which produces denim fabrics and jeans. The company, based in Taipei, owns three denim mills, one dyeing mill and six garment factories located in Asia and South Africa.

Between 10% and 20% of Nien Hsing’s fabrics and garments are produced in Lesotho, with the remainder of its fabrics produced in Taiwan, and the rest of its garment production in Vietnam.

Every aspect of production is designed to be eco-friendly, including the dyeing process. Daniel Chiu, head of sales for the company’s textile division, explained that while most denim mills use powder indigo, Nien Hsing uses liquid indigo. “This means much less water use,” he said.

The company is reducing all outputs at its mills and factories. “We have cut emissions and water waste by 50% compared with last season,” he said. “We report this type of information back to our customers, such as Levi’s.”

Nien Hsing uses a wide range of eco-friendly yarns, including SCafe, which features coffee ground in a blend with polyester. The yarn, produced by the Taiwanese spinner Singtex, is designed to provide odour control and UV protection.

Fabrics from Nien Hsing featuring SCafe include a blend of 80% cotton / 18% SCafe / 2% Lycra, added for stretch.

Other sustainable yarns used by Nien Hsing include Unifi’s recycled polyester Repreve, which features in all Nien Hsing’s polyester fabric collections. Chiu said that it supplies Repreve fabrics to Levi’s, Gap and American Eagle.

Nien Hsing produces a range of stretch denim fabrics, including bi-stretch and super stretch, as well as warp stretch. Chiu said that this fabric only has stretch in the warp, with none in the weft, and is designed for consumers for whom a full stretch jean is too skinny.

All Nien Hsing’s fabrics are woven but it also produces knit-like fabrics with different constructions.

The company’s main market is the USA. “There is growing interest in eco textiles in the USA,” said Chiu. “Customers here are asking for more samples of eco-friendly fabrics to make garments. The eco trend began in Europe but it’s now growing in the US.”

Another important market is South Africa, with the fabrics and garments produced in Lesotho supplied to customers across South Africa. Chiu added that Nien Hsing is targeting more fabric sales in the European market.