On Tuesday the 1st of April, we celebrated our ongoing partnership with Citizens of Humanity Group. For the first time, Citizens of Humanity's Creative Director, Marianne McDonald, travelled from Los Angeles to Auckland to celebrate the brand's long standing partnership with us. This special occasion marks a significant milestone in our collaboration and highlights the launch of Citizens of Humanity's latest sustainability initiatives: Eco Indigo Collection alongside its Regenerative Cotton Program - initiatives that further our shared commitment to sustainability and responsible fashion.
 

The Presence of Marianne McDonald at thisisFABRIC underscores the brand's deep commitment to craftsmanship, innovation, and the future of denim.

Marianne shared her first impression of New Zealand, “When we first walked off the plane, you see this sort of emblematic way that your country talks about your environment and what you have to persevere here. The Beauty and appreciation for it, which is one of the synergies between Citizens of Humanity  and thisisFABRIC. For us through our creative endeavours being able to make the world a better place to live in and to appreciate the natural beauty"

Citizens of Humanity is paving the way for the future of denim. Through partnering with farmers to farm cotton that has been farmed regeneratively - which means no soil-tilling, no herbicides and pesticides, and farmers planting cover crops on the off season so there's no additional carbon being emitted into the air.

What is regenerative cotton?

In our training with Marianne she explains, "It’s about fostering biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and being able to create a healthier environment overall. When we first endeavoured this program the farmers shared they’re so hand to mouth, the margins are so thin - in producing regenerative cotton what if they end up with a smaller yield. To bridge that gap Citizens guaranteed their cotton prices for them before they even grew it, and purchase. However in all the cases they were able to increase their yield without pesticides, no pilling and all of these things that point back to the ancient ways of farming, are now being reinvented in a sustainable way."

 

What is Eco-Indigo?

In Marianne's words, "Innovation is at the core of our DNA with the PILI project. We helped support new entrepreneurs who were trying to carve out a way to produce indigo which didn’t require any kind of petrochemicals  and so by doing that in the early stages of their development they were able to press forward knowing that they have a market for it. It took a few years for them to be able to produce the dyes made out of these bio-enzymes to dye the product. However we were able to give them the exact shade we typically use which has a brilliant blue colour and washes like a typical indigo product, but without any of the chemicals. Something many people don't realise is that Indigo is pronominally made from petroleum - so this is a big jump towards sustainable improvement."

Pictured, Alicia Joines, Marianne Mcdonald, Jacki Brescic, and Christie Hanratty.

Read more about the incredible work Citizens of Humanity is doing here.