The production process at TRIGEMA

From yarn to ready-to-ship product

Our TRIGEMA Change® collection is additionally manufactured according to the strict Cradle to Cradle® regulations. This requires that all components can be safely returned to the ecosystem. For this reason, we have chosen organic cotton, a naturally degradable vegetable fibre, as the starting material for our TRIGEMA Change® collection. Of course, the other ingredients that are part of the TRIGEMA Change® products must also consist of an equally degradable material.

Manufacture of fabrics

Every day, knitting machines produce up to ten tons of fabric from different yarns. TRIGEMA uses only yarns from German and European spinning mills for processing. All yarns are STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX® certified. In three-shift operation, around the clock, large circular knitting machines knit fabrics of a wide variety of textures – from cotton single jersey to double rib and fine rib to highly functional fabrics.

The organic cotton from which the products of the TRIGEMA Change® collection are made comes from a GOTS-certified family business in Turkey and is processed by a spinning mill into fine cotton yarn. We source the conventional cotton yarn from also certified spinning mills in Germany, Austria and Turkey. The yarn used for the TRIGEMA Change® collection is made of 100% organic cotton. Although this yarn is more difficult to process and significantly more expensive than synthetic fibre, it ensures that the outer fabric and seams have homogeneous properties and can be dyed with the same substances.

After the harvest in Turkey, the fibres of our organic cotton are cleaned, combed and spun. The cotton processed in this way into a fine yarn is then delivered to us to the Swabian Alb, where our fully automatic knitting machines produce a flexible, lightweight sweat quality. This creates a textile surface from the yarn, whose original fibre can still be clearly identified by the brownish-white colouring. In addition to organic cotton, organic fruits and vegetables are also grown in the vicinity of Izmir.

Equipment

In our equipment, the fabric undergoes various finishing processes. First, the fabric is pre-treated in state-of-the-art washing and bleaching plants. The systems operate with minimal water and energy consumption. Bleaching is particularly environmentally friendly due to the exclusive use of a hydrogen peroxide bleach. As a result, all textile garments produced in-house from Gr. 104 to 5XL certified according to STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX®. After bleaching, the fabric is dyed in the cold dyeing plant. In the final step, it is made ingress-proof by a mechanical process.

Then our Cradle to Cradle®-optimised colours and finishes are applied. Conventional dyeing and finishing chemicals remain in or on the fibre and thus have a significant influence on the biological compatibility. If they adversely affect the organism in question during carrying or in the process of decomposition, they impair health, disrupt the degradation process or damage soil and groundwater. All substances classified as “hazardous” according to human ecotoxicological evaluation were therefore filtered out from the dyes and replaced by positively defined active substances.

A single colour contains numerous pigments and substances, which in turn consist of different ingredients. Optimization according to Cradle to Cradle® is therefore a comprehensive and highly scientific process. After two years of cooperative research work with the Environmental Institute EPEA Switzerland, we have succeeded in this optimization. Today, we have dyes and finishes that are all harmless and can be recycled into the biological cycle under composting conditions. We use these substances and organic cotton to produce our TRIGEMA Change® products. During the finishing process, the fabric goes through various processes, baths, machines and tensioning frames before it is – wrapped on rolls – ready for cutting.

Cutting and tailoring

Before trimming, which is done digitally and fully automatically at TRIGEMA, a computer determines the optimum material consumption. With the help of a specialized CAD program, the individual cutting parts are arranged on the computer in such a way that the textile surface is optimally utilized and that there is as little distortion as possible. Up to 150 layers high and up to 11 metres long, the fabric webs are laid out on the cutting tables before being processed and cut by the cutting machines at a rate of 18 to 20 metres of fabric per minute.

Sorted by articles and marked with production cards, the cuts are transferred to the sewing shop. Hundreds of experienced fashion sewers assemble the cut parts in our three factories in Burladingen, Altshausen and Rangendingen and produce the finished products.

Yarns, buttons and labels for our Cradle to Cradle® certified products from the TRIGEMA Change® collection are sourced from authorized suppliers in Switzerland and Germany. The sewing shop manages these ingredients and ensures that these Cradle to Cradle® products are also processed with the appropriate yarn.

Processing

Ready-made clothes are embroidered or printed. In embroidery machines embroider individual motifs, names and logos of industrial and business customers. Several twelve-headed automatic embroidery machines produce the high-quality embroideries with a total of over five million stitches per hour. Pre-sewn clothes are accentuated by coloured motifs in our screen printing shop. Up to 14 different colours can be printed fully automatically. In addition, our digital printing press can print individual motifs on individual tops. This enables us to offer you as a customer the opportunity to design your TRIGEMA garments yourself.

Quality control, storage and sale

After completion, each TRIGEMA product undergoes a careful quality control before it is assembled and prepared for shipping. For this purpose, we sort the models by article number, color and size in our warehouse, which extends over three floors in the main factory. As soon as we receive your order, the sales staff will order your product in the warehouse. From there, it is immediately transferred to the shipping department, then packed and sent to you addressed on the journey.