West Coast Denim Makers Share Ideas at SJ LA Sustainability Summit
Members of the West Coast denim community recently gathered in downtown LA for the SJ LA Sustainability Summit, organized by Sourcing Journal.
The Nov. 13 event was held at the historic Herald Examiner Building, now home to Arizona State University’s California Center Broadway campus.
Guess? Inc.’s Director of R&D & Innovation Ryan Hahn, speaking with SJ Denim Executive Editor Angeles Velasquez, outlined Guess’s ongoing commitment to sustainable materials and practices.
That commitment ranges from the implementation of new technologies like Jeanologia Airwash and Jeanologia Colorbox dye system to the elimination of hand-scraping and the use of PP spray, according to Hahn. The company has also committed to ensuring all the raw materials used — including hardware — are at least 50% organic, regenerative or recycled.
“All of us legacy brands have a responsibility to the industry we helped start,” Hahn said. “We want to innovate in places we are passionate about.”
Another company putting its ideals and values into work on the factory floor is AG. Ron Balatbat, AG Jeans Men’s Design Director, received the 2025 MAFI Fashion Innovator Award from Marco Valverde, principal with Baker Tilly,an accounting firm that presents the award annually to companies that create enduring products and design with intention.
Balatbat explained how AG’s Jeans of Tomorrow capsule collections explore technological innovation and eco practices, such as the first fully biodegradable jean.
“What if every element of a jean was designed with the end in mind?” Balatbat said. “The goal was to inspire a new way of thinking.”
Panelists also discussed next-generation ideas from Lab Denim and HMS (Hand Made Stones).
This was especially timely, Velasquez noted, as stonewashing is about to hit the 50-year mark.
Currently, 60% of the denim market continues to use pumice stones, according to Thiomas Leary, Global Sales Director & Business Partner for Baytech-HMS, which manufacturers a reusable stone that can used in place of pumice stones and eliminates sludge creation and removal from the stonewash process.
The other panelist, Dustin White, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of LAB Denim, explained how his company’s technology eliminates the cost of denim finishing. LAB Denim machines are a patented indigo-free, post-weave colorization technology that uses renewable algae-based pigments and printing technology to create denim without indigo dyeing, washing and finishing.
“Denim was the first fabric we tackled because it’s the hardest,” he said.
