Arrival
We visit the traditional Candiani weaving mill in the Parco de Ticino Nature Reserve and are warmly welcomed upon our arrival by Eduardo, the General Manager at Candiani. There is much to see, learn, and discover on the large production site in the middle of the Parco de Ticino.
The nature reserve covers an area of more than 90,000 hectares, was founded in the 1970s, and is one of Europe's largest river protection areas.
environmental requirements of the traditional company
Eduardo reports on the high environmental demands imposed by the company's unique location. Candiani, of course, has a pre-treatment facility for its water on the premises. After that, the wastewater goes to the municipal sewage treatment plant, which is owned by the municipality and of which Candiani itself is the largest shareholder.
Our tour then begins in the fiber warehouse, where large bales of fiber, primarily cotton fibers, from all over the world are stored. Here, I also pass our GOTS-certified bales, which we exclusively use for our denims from Candiani.
From the fiber to the raw yarn
From the fiber store, we move into a room where the bales are cut open and pulled apart to process them into raw yarn strands. This raw yarn, also known as roving, is wound onto large spools called cones, and then, depending on the desired material mix, a thin elastane thread is added in the spinning machine, which is spun into the center of the cotton fibers.
The processing of the yarn
Then the yarn blends go to the dyeing line. Here, the yarn is pre-treated in a two-stage process before being dyed. Depending on how dark the blue tone should be, there are five to 15 dye baths in which the yarns are dyed with indigo, then washed out and dried. The dyed yarn is then re-spooled onto the warp beams and is now ready for the loom machines.
Candiani has a large number of looms – particularly interesting are three old weaving machines, traditional denim looms, which Candiani still operates. In the large hall, there is a constant rattling. The machines work, and the typical denim look with two different threads, the indigo thread in the warp and the cotton thread in the weft, becomes visible on the fabric surfaces. One floor below, in the basement, I see the woven fabric widths again: rolled up into giant rolls. Here, the finished fabric rolls undergo various finishings. For example, surfaces are singed, heated, and fixed.
qualities and new recipes
Then, of course, we also stop by quality assurance: Here, the rolls are meticulously inspected on large testing machines. Every meter is examined by the employees on the machine and marked as soon as a weaving defect is discovered.
For our last stop, Eduardo then takes me to the denim lab, where new jeans washes and formulations are developed and tested. This is truly a science in itself. The full range of possibilities is explored, such as abrading and roughing up the material with stones to lighten the denim fabrics.
During the tour, the high demands and standards that Candiani places on its own production become visible. It was an incredibly valuable experience to examine everything up close.
We felt the passion for the sustainable development of the GOTS-certified company at every turn.
