Artistic Garment Industries, the Bangladesh-based denim manufacturer known as AGI Denim, said its K-2 facility has reached Silver status under Kontoor Brands’ Indigood freshwater reduction program, marking the first time one of its mills has secured a performance rating through the initiative.
The company attributed the milestone to expanded water recycling and reuse across its manufacturing lines, which it said is cutting the volume of freshwater needed for garment washing. AGI Denim framed the recognition as evidence that circular water management is becoming central to reducing the resource footprint of denim production, describing progress as keeping water in circulation longer rather than continually drawing on fresh supplies.
Kontoor’s Indigood program, launched in 2019 around a foam-dyeing technology that cuts water use in indigo dyeing by as much as 90 percent compared with conventional methods, was broadened in 2021 to cover other water-saving measures across a mill’s operations.
The Wrangler and Lee parent now works with more than 30 mills worldwide, independently auditing freshwater use against a 2018-2019 baseline. Under the program’s tiers, mills achieve Bronze status for freshwater savings of 30 to 59 percent, Silver for 60 to 89 percent, and Gold once savings exceed 90 percent, with Gold mills also required to keep freshwater use below five liters per meter of fabric produced.
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AGI Denim’s Silver rating follows a broader sustainability push at the company, which has set a target of cutting freshwater consumption 80 percent by 2027. In its first sustainability report, the company said it reduced freshwater consumption by 826 million liters in the 2022-23 fiscal year, supported by three in-house water treatment plants and a rope-dyeing process it calls Double Zero, which it says generates no wastewater during dyeing and finishing.
The company is not alone among Kontoor’s mill partners in reaching a recognized tier. Cone Denim became the first North American mill to earn a performance status under the program when it achieved Bronze in 2023, a milestone the manufacturer said reflected years of internal water-conservation work.
Kontoor has said its own freshwater conservation push, which has run since 2008, surpassed a goal of saving more than ten billion liters ahead of schedule, with facilities such as its Torreon, Mexico plant verified as using zero freshwater in laundry operations.
For AGI Denim, the Silver designation adds a third-party-verified data point to its sustainability claims at a time when apparel brands face growing pressure to document water stewardship across their supply chains rather than rely on manufacturer self-reporting. The company said it plans to continue expanding recycling and reuse initiatives across its facilities as it works toward its 2027 freshwater target.