Eco-Denim Innovations From CleanKore and HMS Target Cleaner Workwear Supply Chains

Deep indigo saturation, that satisfying fade under stress, the abraded softness of a well-worn hem: workwear denim earns its authority through punishment. Wash it constantly, bend it at the knee a thousand times, drag it across a job site. The category is built for endurance. But the supply chain that creates those qualities runs on some of the textile industry's most chemically aggressive processes, and two clean-tech innovators announced a partnership this month that targets both ends of the problem simultaneously.

HMS (HandMadeStone) and CleanKore announced a strategic partnership to advance sustainable denim manufacturing from fiber to finishing. The two companies will showcase their combined eco-advanced technologies at the Jeanius Hub during Kingpins Amsterdam at the Sugar Factory, April 15-16, 2026, framing the collaboration around what they call a "Denim, Reimagined" approach.

The division of labor tracks exactly where the damage happens. U.S.-based CleanKore transforms the dyeing process through patented technology that eliminates potassium permanganate (PP), the chemical spray that laundries have long used to achieve the bright white abrasion effect central to denim's visual identity. While traditional dyeing methods saturate the yarn with indigo dye, CleanKore preserves the interior of the yarn and prevents the dye from penetration, resulting in a yarn with a large white center surrounded by a perimeter of dye. That structural difference is consequential for workwear specifically: because the white core is engineered in from the mill stage, the fade that develops through heavy use is clean, consistent, and controlled rather than patchy. CleanKore keeps yarn cores white while only dyeing the surface, eliminating potassium permanganate and reducing water and energy use significantly.

HMS contributes composite washing stones designed to replace both pumice stones and conventional washing chemicals, thereby eliminating sludge production, reducing water use, and supporting consistent results in finished textiles. The pumice problem is grimmer than most brands advertise. Pumice stones placed into washing machines abrade denim during wet finishing, but they absorb chemicals during the wash and degrade, creating sludge that must be disposed of. Each kilogram of stones results in three kilograms of sludge. "It's an insane amount of sludge being created globally," said Beyza Baykan, founder of HandMadeStone. HMS's patented hydrophobic, reusable composite stones replace traditional pumice, eliminating toxic sludge and delivering elevated, vintage aesthetics with a drastically reduced environmental footprint. For workwear brands, that means the hand-feel and surface texture buyers expect are preserved without the disposal liability.

The pilot will be led jointly by HMS and CleanKore, with support from select partner mills and laundries. "Through this pilot, we want to generate real data, measurable reductions in water, chemical use, energy consumption, and sludge, as well as improvements in fabric performance and finishing quality," CleanKore CEO Darryl Costin Jr. and HMS CEO and founder Beyza Baykan said jointly.

The commercial framing matters as much as the environmental one. The companies plan to introduce a "fully integrated, planet-positive solution" across global markets, and both technologies are positioned as replacements for existing inputs rather than additions. Potassium permanganate and pumice are costs brands already carry; eliminating them, not supplementing them, is the argument. "This collaboration brings two innovation engines together. CleanKore is transforming the beginning of the denim journey, and HMS is transforming the end," Baykan said. Kingpins Amsterdam, where sourcing decisions of real scale get made, will be the first test of whether mills and laundries are ready to follow.