The time is now

Sustainability in fashion is an increasingly hot topic and the dyeing and finishing company Tintex is on a steady path to becoming a global leader.

Mário Jorge Silva, Tintex’s CEO and Dolores Gouveia, trend advisor, merge paths to create collections that pleasantly surprise with their versatility, colour and texture. They are aware of a movement that values seizing the day and the origin of each product.

While visiting the Tintex factory, in Vila Nova de Cerveira, , we find ourselves struck by the constant dedication of a young and resourceful team. All around us state of the art machinery is working at full steam, giving birth to creative and innovative knitted fabric destined for brands such as Acne, Cos and Filippa K.

How was the Tintex Project born?

Mário Jorge Silva (MJS) – Tintex was born, in 1998, from a challenge made to me by several Portuguese companies, to establish a dyeing company that could serve their needs and would develop unique products.

Why was Vila Nova de Cerveira the place chosen to locate the dyeing facility?

MJS – At that time it was very difficult to license this type of facility so the company was built on top of the ruins of an old dyeing plant, which had closed due to bankruptcy. We initially kept a part of the building and over time invested in modern machinery and in renovating the facility. Due to being located far from industry centres, this shift meant high transportation costs for raw materials and employee relocation. Before creating Tintex, I was a director at another dyeing company in Barcelos and so even I had to move about 80 km to come here. But that was our only chance.

How did Tintex manage to become competitive while facing these disadvantages?

MJS: Since the very early days, we were determined to back fibres that could distinguish us and to be a point of difference for our clients. Our main focus was on lyocell, a fibre that comes from wood and is ecologically sustainable. Despite its many qualities, this fibre is very hard to work with, requiring constant process improvement dedication. With earnest, determined and persistent research, we were able to succeed in its development and by 2002 we had become global leaders on lyocell knitted fabric.

Originally, Tintex was exclusively dedicated to dyeing services. How did the opportunity to offer finished products come about?

MJS – It was also in 2002 that we combined efforts with a spinning facility in Barcelona. They had invested a lot of research into lyocell fibres, but were not having the proper return due to the difficulties they faced with finishing. The Spanish company was very old and had many market connections. It was from this symbiosis we went from a dyeing service to offering the finished product. We would transform lyocell threads and help ship the Spanish company’s product and at the same time we’d use their network to reach clients. In 2005 the partnership came to an end, because they were focused exclusively on lyocell fibres and Tintex aimed to develop other fibres and access clients directly. Afterwards, we focussed on building our own commercial department and developing other ecological fibres, such as fibres originating from corn, soybean and bamboo.

Was it during this period the company also increased its focus on global markets? Which ones did you focus on in particular?

MJS – By 2009 we’d started presenting at trade fairs, consistently visiting international clients and further increasing our commercial team. We established a network of agents in countries such as the UK, France, Belgium, and later in Italy and the US. Then in 2014 we decided to merge creativity and skill by hiring Dolores Gouveia, who went on to develop two annual collections for us. Currently our primary markets are in the Nordic countries, especially Sweden.

What changed with your arrival?

Dolores Gouveia (DG) – When I arrived, the company already had immense potential. It had technical skill and the advantage of having creative engineers. My primary task is to structure an integrated offer that has the spirit of a collection, whilst at the same time, accounting for global fashion and market trends and exploring Tintex’s product development potential.

MJS – When one works in production, understanding design can be a challenge. We had to adapt to changes. One needs to be ready to accept and understand the creative process.

DG – Yet through this combined knowledge we went further commercially. Getting into trade fairs like Première Vision, which has a rigorous selection process for applicants, enabled us to get into new markets such as activewear.

What sets Tintex apart from companies operating in the same market segments?

DG – The markets Tintex operates within are fashion, activewear and intimates. Our collections are developed in a hybrid way, in the sense that the products efficiently adapt to several instances of our daily lives. When the idea of athleisure started gaining momentum, we were already working with the concept of wide-ranging knitted fabrics intended for various contexts and market segments. The two most important criteria that differentiate Tintex’s offerings are texture and colour. That is what attracts and intrigues the customer. Our product is in fact technical, but with a clear-cut fashion attitude, that most producers of this type of product don’t usually offer.

MJS – Mostly it is the weaving and knitting companies who present knitted fabric and collections, as they obtain the finishing either in-house or by outsourcing. Since we are also in the finishing sector, we are concerned straight away with texture and the functionality of each product. We know how to alter surfaces and pleasantly surprise clients with unexpected features and sensations. The factor that differentiates us is our product coatings, which have celluloid and natural bases, for example, making them very comfortable to the skin, unlike polyester or polyamide. Tintex is currently working within three market niches that represent the future and show potential for tremendous growth: sustainability, athleisure and leisure.

In your opinion, why are sustainability, athleisure and leisure increasingly valued areas for consumers?

DG – We are faced with a new way of thinking. There’s a movement which has been brought about by millennials, who want to consume with increased awareness and who care more deeply about the origin and manufacture of the product. Then there are lifestyle circumstances, each day is more dynamic than the last. People have formal attire requirements, but want to go out afterwards wearing the same clothes. Or they’re at the office and don’t want to worry about their clothes getting wrinkled if they’re traveling to a meeting abroad. Time is essential. As are moments of leisure.

MJS – We don’t look at sustainability as cliché or a marketing stunt It has been an inherent value of our company, ever since we started our journey with lyocell treatment.

DG – It’s no coincidence that more than 60% of our clients are from Nordic countries. The pro-sustainability movement originated in those countries. They come to us because we speak the same language.

What are Dolores’ collections based upon?

DG – I research trend prediction services, information disclosed by trade fairs or gathered from clients and market studies. I comb through basically everything from Business of Fashion to Portuguese’s ‘Jornal Económico’. Every bit of information is useful in understanding the direction we should pursue. Then, there’s brand identity work, which is our very own interpretation.

MJS – In every step of the way, myself and the team get emails from Dolores, so that we are all up to speed on what is happening and all on the same page.

Would you consider that, with such unique products, Tintex might also dictate trends?

MJS – We are sure that these cotton-coated articles and the sustainable articles, for example, will have significant influence.

DG – Mário phrased it just right. We can be influential in a way, but I don’t believe one can dictate trends. What we can do is anticipate people’s desires, and offer them what they want before they know they want it.

Besides lyocell, what other innovative products can you highlight?

MJS – We just received the Hightex Award in Munich for a sustainable product that uses cork industrial waste which is applied using an innovative coating process. Among its properties, this product is waterproof, breathable and comfortable. We’ve also recently introduced two innovative lines of mercerisation and coating, allowing us to introduce totally unusual products to the market, which surprise people with their aesthetic and extremely smooth touch.

What percentage of your production is meant for export?

MJS – First, one has to differentiate between direct export and indirect export. Increasingly, our exports are indirect, yet combined exports make up a total of 80% of our sales. We have direct contact with the final client when we present our product to them at trade fairs or on visits, however should they request finished goods then we increasingly point them to Portuguese producers who transform our product and deliver it to the client.

Who are your international buyers?

MJS – Cos and Acne are our main clients. Afterwards, we have Filippa K, Ralph Lauren, Helmut Lang, Burberry, C by Chloé, Marc Jacobs, Patagónia, Vivienne Westwood, Lacoste, Armani and Kenzo among others.

In what ways does Tintex support Portuguese fashion design?

DG – ESAD College of Art and Design will represent Portugal at the Innovation Apparel Show from Techtextil, and we’ll be supplying our fabric. We collaborate with Seletiva Moda, who organise the Portuguese Fashion News competition using a similar approach. We’ve also made partnerships with designers and smaller brands, who use smaller quantities, such as Marques’Almeida. We welcome projects that might be interesting to us and we are increasingly being contacted by Portuguese designers who really like our product. Each project presents a challenge, because the whole must be cohesive and represent our identity in a meaningful way.

Since Tintex is a proud sustainable company, what are your concerns about environmental impact?

MJS – Ever since the company’s foundation, we’ve had a biological water treatment facility that complies with all environmental requirements and we continuously monitor our river. We’re proud to present numbers well below the legal limits. In our facilities, 25% of our electric needs are met by solar panels. Besides that, we’re renovating our dyeing machinery to reduce our water and chemical needs by 30%. Furthermore, we’re studying alternative, more ecological treatment processes to allow us to reach even more ambitious goals regarding environmental impact.

 

Etiquetas: Brands, Companies, Tintex