Akka Denim

​Founders:  Miles Chinn, Nick O'Donnell, Hill Law
Based In: London, Hong Kong, & Shanghai

Getting to Know Akka Denim's Missions with Co-Founder Miles Chinn:

"Our philanthropic call to arms was in 2013 with the Rana Plaza factory disaster in Bangladesh. Being advanced manufacturers, this atrocity was too much for us to process professionally moreover personally." -Miles Chinn

The Rana Plaza Disaster in Dhaka, Bangladesh took the lives of 1,132 people while injuring more than 2,500. These people were taken too soon because the factory building, which did not meet safety regulations due to a poor foundation and illegal construction, collapsed. This atrocity is not an outlier either in the garment industry, as there have been more incidents reported in Bangladesh alone since 2013.

Akka's 32 oz. Monster Denim *Photo from Akka Denim

Blame and shame should go all around; from the large, fast fashion corporations trying to make a quick buck, to the consumers who continue to buy goods from these brands with blissful ignorance. Thankfully, there are some companies out there that want to make a difference and reverse the trend of fast fashion. Enter Akka Denim: a denim company that is a charitable organization for children who are negatively effected by the garment industry.  ​

"Akka was created that very same week (of the Rana Factory Incident) with our vision is to support children's charities. These charities have been created to support people and local communities whose lives have been significantly affected as a consequence of today's global thirst for fast fashion." 

In addition to charity, Akka is also working on improving the fashion industry's wasteful tactics. During a visit to a garment factory in Guangzhou, China, Akka Denim's founders saw first hand what is known as "Full Width", a way of cutting garment panels in large quantities.  Once the panels are cut, the rest of the fabric is thrown away, not recycled. In fact, most of the leftover textiles are burned on a daily basis. While the method is cost effective and efficient, it is also one of the many reasons that fashion is the second leading industry in terms of waste produced. Instead of letting all that fabric become pollution, Akka takes the "garbage" from other companies (upcycling) and uses it to make their own garments and  selvedge denim.

More than Just a Denim Brand... *Photo from Akka Denim

*Photo from Akka Denim

Sadly, many European Union retailers and makers see the upcycled, selvedge fabric as too expensive. They refuse to give up however! Akka Denim has been working on developing  transparent, Blockchain manufacturing methods which, unfortunately, are being turned on deaf ear by many in the industry. Only 3% of companies use methods like these despite the benefits of "increasing transparency and responsiveness, helping the end-consumer definitively identify if a product is manufactured by a given brand, ensuring authenticity, and helping organizations quickly trace contamination to its source and mitigate against costly, and a potentially reputation-damaging, mass recall of products." With more brands like Akka, hopefully this trend will turn around.

The knowledge and teamwork of Akka Denim has really helped push their mission forward. The founders of the brand have been together since 1994 and have done everything in the fashion world: from distribution of luxury brands to founding big name streetwear companies (Evisu anyone?!).

One of a Kind Creations! *Photo from Akka Denim

"We are a tight crew that operates at the highest level, developing next generation consumer trends: from late 90's retail, to fashion philanthropy under #HelpUsHelpYouHelpThem and creating tomorrow's fabric technologies, to consulting for Global brands requiring unique marketing strategies."

Currently, the Akka Denim Team has launched their 2020 #OurchivFutur collaboration series by giving away the last of their fourth generation upcycled, selvedge denim to artists. They don't just leave the creativity up to others though, in 2016, Akka entered into the 2015-2017 Denim World Championships with the first ever, handwoven denim jeans! The jeans, which weighed in at 32 oz. (plus they did an unreleased 48 oz.), were truly one-of-a-kind! Watch the video below to understand how they made the (beautiful) monster!

"Akka is a next generation brand solely about helping others in the face of adversity, not just those living in poverty but equally supporting creativity and the arts. We are very proud of our ethos which is reflected in our strong denimhead community around the world." 

The future is exciting for denimheads if companies like Akka Denim keep popping up to not only innovate, but to make the world a better place. The drive behind Akka is truly incredible and may they continue to have success and grow! Check out some of their current releases below:

Upcycled 15 oz. Selvedge Jeans

*Photo from Akka Denim

Straight Leg 14 oz. Selvedge Jeans

*Photo from Akka Denim

Chinos

Midwash Jeans

*Photos from Akka Denim