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Isko Receives EU Ecolabel for Earth Fit Collection

Turkish denim manufacturer Isko has become the first denim mill in the world to receive the EU Ecolabel certification for its Isko Earth Fit platform dedicated to sustainability.
EU Ecolabel is the official environmental label in the European Union, and is based on a commitment to environmental sustainability. Last year, Isko was awarded the Nordic Swan Ecolabel certification for its responsibly innovative approach.
The Isko EU Ecolabel products will be launched in May as part of the new collection.
Made with eco-friendly raw materials like organic cotton, Better Cotton, preconsumer recycled cotton and postconsumer recycled polyester from PET bottles, Isko Earth Fit offers responsibly innovated denim fabrics in a variety of shades.
“Being conscientious comes from research, attention, deep commitment and pointed awareness about what is happening to our planet,” said Fatih Konukoglu, chief executive officer of Isko and a board member of the parent Sanko Group. “Here in Isko, to produce means to care — care about people, environment, products. This firm’s belief is the heart of our nurturing approach. We believe in the future. That’s why we continue to invest in protecting our planet.”
Anita Winsnes, managing director and chief executive officer of Nordic Swan Ecolabel, said, “It’s great that the world’s biggest denim manufacturer shows

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Grana Sprints at Start of New Year

MAD DASH: Grana’s not tiptoeing, but sprinting into the new year with brick-and-mortar growth, a Tmall shop concept and a recently hired executive for the U.S. market.
The company recently tapped Ariella Werner-Seidler as U.S. experience director, where she’ll be charged with handling leasing and merchandising of the company’s physical spaces. She’s overseeing the rollout of the company’s New York pop-up — possibly in SoHo — that’s scheduled for an April opening.
The company in the second quarter has plans to open on Alibaba Group’s Tmall shopping platform. There are also plans for a physical pop-up showroom in Shanghai, slated for the second quarter. Grana remains tight-lipped on any other details about those plans.
The company’s dabbling in brick-and-mortar will not be akin to traditional retail and instead uses a showroom concept that allows visitors to try product on and place orders, with merchandise then shipped to the store or a customer’s home.
“We see [brick-and-mortar] as a really important short- to medium-term brand-building exercise to reach more people….For us, it’s not a core sales generator. It’s really just a supplementary way to acquire customers,” cofounder and chief executive officer Luke Grana told WWD in December.
The company this month began taking preorders for its

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Verdura, Belperron to Return to TEFAF Maastricht

The Verdura and Belperron company is set to return to the Netherlands for the TEFAF Maastricht fair.
The brands made their joint debut at the event last year. This year’s fair will occur from March 10 to 19.
New and vintage jewelry will be displayed, this time focused on the Thirties and Forties eras. Verdura’s lots will particularly home in on the “Out of this World” collection, which focuses on an expanded range of designs created in collaboration with Salvador Dalí.
“This collaboration explored themes of love, loss and faith amidst the atrocity and devastation of World War II,” the company said.
Said Verdura and Belperron president Nico Landrigan: “[The fair] is like walking through a museum for sale and to get to participate in that show is a great honor. It is not just the fair, but who goes to the fair is jaw-dropping — to see who is there. They are not there to see-and-be-seen like some social events. They are there because they don’t want to miss great treasures that have just been discovered or made, they are connoisseurs. It really attracts the great collectors of the world.”

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Repreve Lifts Unifi Results in Second Quarter

Led by a strong performance from its flagship Repreve brand of eco-friendly yarns made from recycled materials and other value-added products, Unifi Inc. posted gains in operating income, volume of goods sold and adjusted earnings for the second quarter ended Dec. 25, while net sales dipped slightly.
Operating income increased 4 percent to $9 million for the second quarter from $8.6 million a year earlier. Net sales were $155.2 million for the second quarter compared to $156.3 million for the year-ago period.
Unifi, based in Greensboro, N.C., said strong premium value-added performance in Asia and Brazil mostly offset weaker sales in the domestic market.
Volume, measured by pounds sold, increased by more than 10 percent for the second quarter and first six months of fiscal 2017 compared to the second quarter and first six months of fiscal 2016, driven by the strength of the international premium value-added portfolio.
“We are pleased with another quarter of solid results, as strong performance internationally counterbalanced headwinds in the domestic market, driven by weak retail sales and elevated inventory levels,” said Tom Caudle, president of Unifi. “In the short term, we expect margin pressure in the International Segment due to increased import tariffs on raw materials for our

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