Avalo, The LYCRA Company, Neela, and Soko Unveil 'Naturalls,' a Capsule Collection Celebrating More Sustainable Denim

Plant-based, low-carbon denim collection debuts at a Climate Week NYC event spotlighting the mounting pressures facing natural fiber farmers

NEW YORK CITY, NY, UNITED STATES, September 18, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Four fashion innovators – Avalo, Neela, The LYCRA Company and Soko – today announced Naturalls, a new capsule denim collection designed to highlight sustainable innovation across the supply chain. Created with plant-based materials and sustainable processes, the collection will be unveiled during Climate Week NYC (September 20–27, 2026), at an event designed to bring attention to the growing resource pressures facing natural fiber farmers over the coming decades.

Named Naturalls, the collection was designed by Gordon Muir of Labor Made Inc as a tribute to the farmers whose work makes the denim industry possible. Spinning, weaving, and garment making was developed by Neela. It includes work pants, jackets, aprons, and other workwear-inspired pieces, drawing its silhouettes from the practical clothing worn in the fields where the fiber begins.

The collaborators deliver innovation and sustainability from start to finish. It starts with Avalo Low-Footprint Cotton which uses zero irrigation, 75% less fertilizer, and creates half the emissions of conventionally grown cotton. The LYCRA Company contributed Renewable LYCRA^® fiber, made with 70% renewable content, bringing the stretch, fit and comfort consumers expect from denim while helping reduce the carbon footprint of the fiber by up to 45% compared to equivalent LYCRA^® fiber made with fossil-based resources.* Neela brought its expertise in denim development using artistic blends to curate fabrics that best represent the core idea of the capsule collection along with adding an inherent technique in fabric engineering, to achieve the buttery soft denim while ensuring sustainable practices to the collection's construction. Soko, a textile finishing innovation company, applied two of its proprietary technologies to the collection’s finishing process. The first is Hydrogel, an innovative technology that transforms water into a gel, allowing multiple finishing treatments to be performed in a single bath, reducing water consumption by up to 85%, energy use by up to 68%, and processing time by up to 50%. Alongside Hydrogel, Soko presents RARE, its collection of naturally derived mineral pigments. RARE combines natural mineral pigments with a natural binder to create authentic, timeless shades that celebrate the earth's beauty.

“Every piece of clothing starts in a field, with a farmer and a plant working harder than most people realize to keep up with a changing climate. Naturalls is our way of putting that reality in front of the designers and product developers who buy and build with denim every day. We are proving that sustainability in this industry doesn't have to be a tradeoff between innovation and impact.”
— Tricia Carey, CCO, Avalo

"LYCRA^® fiber transformed denim decades ago by making it more comfortable, versatile and relevant to everyday life. Today, we're continuing that journey with Renewable LYCRA^® fiber, helping bring renewable content into stretch denim without compromising the fit, comfort and performance consumers have come to expect. Naturalls demonstrates what can happen when innovation happens across the entire value chain, from the field to the finished garment."
— Ebru Ozaydin, Product Category Director, Denim and Ready to Wear, The LYCRA Company

“Garment finishing plays an essential role in shaping both the look and the environmental impact of denim. It is also a stage where significant amounts of water, energy and time have traditionally been consumed. With Naturalls, we wanted to show how innovation in finishing can significantly reduce these resources while preserving the authentic look, feel and character that make denim unique. This project demonstrates how every stage of the value chain can contribute to creating a product that is not only more responsible, but also truly desirable.”
— Luca Braschi, Marketing & Technology Manager, Soko

We're living in a collaboration era, and that spirit became the driving force behind Naturalls. As the mill behind this collection, our intent was to create something bigger, smarter, and more natural. This collection is designed in a way that represents innovate fiber solutions and eco-friendly manufacturing with a strong focus on fabric aesthetics, hand feel and visual appeal.
— Zeeshan Ahmed, GM, Business Development, Neela

“Our vision was to develop a new take on functional workwear, inspired by the workers who do the unsung jobs, the Farmers who created the fibre used in the collection - these are the real heroes. The Naturalls Collection began there.”
— Gordon Muir, Labor Made Inc

Naturalls will debut at a dedicated event during Climate Week NYC, one of the world's largest climate gatherings, drawing more than 100,000 attendees across over 1,000 events. The event is designed to spotlight the new realities that are shaping the fashion world — water scarcity, extreme weather, oil and fertilizer shortages — and the roles to be played across all levels of the supply chain.

For these four partners, Naturalls is intended as more than a capsule collection. It signals to the broader industry that companies can address the challenges of textile sustainability through innovation and collaboration.

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About Avalo
Avalo Inc. is an AI-power crop evolution company based in Durham, North Carolina. Their novel Rapid Evolution Platform™ uses interpretable machine learning to commercialize impactful crop traits faster and more affordably than conventional breeding or GMO. Their mission is to create a more sustainable, efficient, and equitable food system by creating resilient and productive crops that require less inputs. Avalo Inc. was founded in 2019.

About The LYCRA Company
The LYCRA Company is a leading global fiber and technology solutions provider to the apparel and personal care industries, committed to offering sustainable products made with renewable, pre- and post-consumer recycled ingredients that reduce waste and help set the stage for circularity. Headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, United States, it owns the LYCRA^®, LYCRA HyFit^®, LYCRA^® T400^®, COOLMAX^®, THERMOLITE^®, ELASPAN^®, SUPPLEX^®, and TACTEL^® brands. The LYCRA Company adds value to its customers’ products by offering unique innovations that meet the consumer’s need for comfort and lasting performance. Learn more at thelycracompany.com.

LYCRA^® is a trademark from The LYCRA Company
*Comparative Life Cycle Assessment: LYCRA^® fiber with Bio-derived PTMEG vs. LYCRA^® fiber with Fossil-Derived PTMEG, Ramboll, 2026.

About Neela
Neela by Sapphire Fibres Ltd. is a denim mill by Sapphire group based in Pakistan, specializing in sustainable and innovative fabric solutions for global fashion brands. Established in 2016, with state-of-the-art technologies and ethical design approach, the diversified fabric range focuses on advanced constructions, eco-friendly fibers, and fashion forward design aesthetics for customers across the US and Europe.

About Soko
For three generations, Soko has combined Italian craftsmanship with advanced textile innovation to help shape the future of garment finishing. Built on a strong foundation in textile chemistry, Soko develops technologies that simplify manufacturing, reduce resource consumption, and unlock new creative possibilities for the global apparel industry. Through its dedicated Projects Division, Soko collaborates with brands, mills, manufacturers, and technology partners to develop tailor-made solutions for their specific challenges and creative ambitions. Working on a project basis, Soko transforms innovative ideas into scalable industrial realities through technical expertise, creativity, and close collaboration.

Nick Schwanz
Avalo
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