Apr 21, 2021   SOURCE: BusinessWire

AGI Denim Debuts Partnership with Panda Biotech to Expand Sustainable Hemp Offerings

AGI Denim and Panda Biotech are pleased to announce they have entered into a global production partnership. AGI Denim will combine its innovative and industry-leading denim manufacturing technologies with American-grown industrial hemp processed and cottonized at Panda Biotech’s state-of-the-art facility in the United States, the largest in the Western Hemisphere, and believed to be the largest in the world.

The partnership is an exciting step forward for innovation within the industry. Today’s eco-conscious consumers increasingly demand high-quality, yet sustainable products that conserve the Earth’s precious resources and reduce its carbon footprint. Both companies expect to play a leading role in discovering how sustainable, hemp-based fibers and materials can be used to create high-quality denim.

Panda Biotech’s hemp is an easily traceable, US-grown product that offers complete visibility and quality assurance within an industry that is still trying to address the issue of transparency within its supply-chain. The collaboration allows both companies and their brand partners to identify, track and trace the hemp fiber as it moves along the supply chain from raw to finished goods — providing peace of mind to consumers who will know exactly where their products originate. AGI Denim is the first company to partner with Panda.

“This partnership with Panda Biotech is an excellent opportunity for AGI, and we are thrilled to be working with a team of people who share the same passion for sustainability within the industry that we do. What we found most compelling about this ground-breaking, female-led company is the traceability angle that goes right back to the American farmer,” said Hasan Javed, Executive Director at AGI Denim. “Given hemp’s incredibly positive impact on the environment, we strongly believe that it is the future and the way forward. We’re excited to see what innovative new materials will come from this collaboration.”

“We are excited to work with AGI, and applaud their commitment to implement transformative processes that will better both the environment and the jeans they manufacture,” said Dixie Carter, president of Panda Biotech. “The pace of fashion is unsustainable. We are on the cusp of great change as brands and manufacturers make increasingly aggressive commitments to producing sustainable products with renewable processes. Industrial hemp will play a pivotal role in satisfying this growing market demand.”

As an existing leader in circularity within the industry, AGI has already made great strides in developing innovative alternatives to traditional denim manufacturing and processing methods. Just this year, they were awarded a Gold Level, Cradle-to-Cradle Certification for their latest hemp-based fabric material, Hemp X. And, by using Panda Biotech’s proprietary cottonization process, AGI Denim looks forward to utilizing even more environmentally friendly materials in their upcoming denim collections. With the company’s exclusive one-year deal with Panda for the Pakistan denim industry, AGI Denim expects to further scale its use of sustainable raw materials at its new facilities.

A perfect blend with cotton and other fibers, industrial hemp offers a host of environmental benefits that make it an exciting option for future use within the industry. It’s proven to absorb more CO2 per acre than any forest or commercial crop and requires a fraction of the water needed by most major crops. In addition, hemp can grow in a wide variety of climates and soil types, is naturally resistant to most pests, and grows very tightly spaced — allowing it to “outcompete” most weeds.

“As we transition to a future that embraces more sustainable agriculture and processing practices in textiles,” added Javed, “industrial hemp can help lead the way.”

About AGI Denim

AGI Denim is one of Pakistan’s leading vertical premium denim manufacturers. The company’s history dates back to Artistic’s inception in 1949 and has since evolved and rebranded itself as AGI denim. As a market leader, keeping abreast of the changing times, we produce quality denim in an innovative culture that seeks out and uses only the latest equipment and machinery. We pride ourselves on maintaining production methods that ensure a safe and productive work environment for our employees. This commitment to doing business in a socially responsible and sustainable way has not only earned us a LEED Gold certificate but also the patronage of some of the world’s top retail and designer brands. In the second half of 2021, AGI Denim plans to commence production in a new industrial park with over one million square feet of state-of-the-art infrastructure and cutting-edge technology at Pakistan’s first LEED certified Spinning mill and a LEED Platinum Denim fabric facility.

About Panda Biotech

Based in Dallas, Texas, privately held Panda Biotech, LLC is a first mover in the emerging U.S. industrial hemp fiber and hurd industry. Panda Biotech’s executive leadership has extensive experience developing, financing, constructing and operating large-scale infrastructure facilities in clean energy. They have developed 22 projects representing approximately $12 billion in invested capital. The company is currently developing large-scale, industrial Hemp GinTM facilities. Panda’s first facility, the “Panda High Plains Hemp Gin” LLC (“PHPHG”), is located in Wichita Falls, Texas, and will be operational in March 2022.

The Panda Biotech decortication processing facility will be financed in part with proceeds from the sale of up to $100 million tax exempt, green bonds issued by the Mission Economic Development Corporation. The proceeds of the bonds will be lent to PHPHG, a subsidiary of Panda Biotech. The bonds will be senior, secured obligations of PHPHG. Panda Biotech has engaged Citigroup Global Markets Inc. to act as underwriter with respect to the bonds and expects the bonds to be marketed in May.

Additional information on Panda Biotech can be found at www.pandabiotech.com, and @PandaBiotech on Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.

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