With a history in China dating back to 1987, Advance Denim Limited has fully committed to continuously improving its manufacturing business, setting a goal to be the world’s most innovative and sustainable denim mill. This commitment has been the foundation of Advance Denim in Shunde, China and will be the focus of Advance Denim’s newest mill, Advance Sico, in Nha Trang, Vietnam.
The Vietnam facility is already paying dividends. Advance Sico is responding to the huge demand in the country by increasing its production capacity 25 percent by the end of 2022.
As the company continues expanding, Advance Denim believes its five founding principles of innovation, service, quality, sustainability and people will drive success at both facilities.
People will always be one of the most important foundational principles at Advance Denim, since the company believes that its long-term growth is dependent on the talent, growth and happiness of its more that 1,000 employees.
In building Advance Sico almost three years ago, Advance Denim has benefited from the shared experience of Chinese technicians and Vietnamese experts. This has helped them create a team that is not just skilled and knowledgeable, but also focused on the teamwork needed to build a global denim mill. Advance Sico is adding to this skilled workforce by working closely with high-quality universities and colleges to offer internships to qualifying students.
The company hopes that the work culture and opportunities offered at Advance Sico will lead to similar results as its ongoing training programs in China, where 90 percent of those interns become full-time employees.
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Sustainability remains at the heart of the Advance Sico mill
Just like its people, sustainability will always be at the center of Advance Denim’s growth. And as such, Advance Sico in Vietnam will follow the lead of Advance Denim’s mill in Shunde, China, setting a goal to be the most sustainable mill in the country.
Taking steps toward that goal, the manufacturer is partnering with Archroma to produce all of its denim with 100 percent liquid indigo. In an effort to implement a cleaner, safer dye process, Advance Sico also uses its own proprietary BioBlue dye method to eliminate the toxic chemical, sodium hydrosulfite.
Next, Advance Denim is currently installing a state-of-the-art wastewater recycling system into the Vietnam mill. The company is targeting 100 percent wastewater recycling to establish a closed loop denim production.
Following the lead of many experts who agree that recycled cotton is one of the optimal fibers for sustainable production, Advance Denim is spearheading new recycling technologies and aims to raise the bar on not only sustainability but on quality and durability. The mill is using its expertise in sustainable innovation to create a 100 percent-recycled cotton denim.
The Advance Sico facility is ground zero for the company’s ability to optimize recycled yarn development. The constant innovations in yarn spinning have resulted in a 100 percent-recycled yarn with a unique construction that can limit strength loss in production, enhance fabric softness and enrich the yarn’s vintage slub character.
Advance Sico is the first denim mill in Vietnam to be Control Union-certified across GOTS, OCS, GRS and RCS standards.
The investments in Advance Sico do not stop at sustainability. The company is installing a cutting-edge enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to provide a central database that connects to every process in the mill. This state-of-the-art ERP system will use advanced digitization to monitor factory productivity and ensure that Advance Denim is making the highest-quality denim possible.
Advance Denim is committed to the growth of Advance Sico in Nha Trang, Vietnam, but understands that this growth must follow the company’s founding principles of innovation, service, quality, sustainability and people. Wherever Advance Denim manufactures its apparel, the company believes that its passion for true vintage denim—made in the most sustainable way possible—will further aid its future growth.
Learn more about Advance Denim Limited here.