Jeansland Podcast
This is why I do this. Jeansland is a podcast about the ecosystem in which jeans live. There are an estimated 26 million cotton farmers around the world, and about 25% of their production goes into jeans, which could mean 6.2 million farmers depend on denim. I read estimates that at least 1 million people work in retail selling jeans, and another 1.5 to 2 million sew them. And then there are all the label producers, pattern makers, laundries, chemical companies, machinery producers, and those that work in denim mills. I mean, the jeans industry, which is bigger than the global movie and music business combined, employs a lot of human beings. And many of them, like me, love jeans. The French philosopher and existentialist Simone de Beauvoir, when visiting New York, said, "Everyone in the New York subway is a novel." I never met her, but I guess she made the observation because of the incredible diversity of people who ride the subway system. I'm convinced the people in our jeans industry are like those in the subway. They are unique, with rich and complex stories to tell, and I want to hear them. And deep inside me, I think you might feel the same way.
https://jeansland.co/
Jeansland Podcast
Ep 61: Building the Denim Finishing Industry with Alice Tonello
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Before there was a denim finishing industry, there was nothing.
This week, Andrew sits down with Alice Tonello, Chief Brand & Strategy Officer at Tonello, a second-generation company that helped build that industry from scratch. In 1981, her uncle Osvaldo, a maintenance technician in a dye house, saw brands trying to figure out how to wash jeans and built the first machine to do it. No roadmap. No precedent. Just a need and a solution.
From there, the conversation follows the full arc. Stone wash to laser. From early processes to technology that now replaces manual work entirely. From 100 liters of water per garment down to something closer to 20 when the system is done right.
They get into what actually drives innovation. Not just machines, but proximity to production, tight feedback loops, and people who understand the process end to end. What “Made in Italy” means when it’s tied to engineering, not marketing. And why staying private changes how you make decisions.
There’s also a bigger question running underneath the entire conversation: will the industry ever allow a pair of jeans to be worth what it actually costs to make well? In this episode, we begin to explore that question.
Thank you to our sponsor Inside Denim.
Alice Tonello
Chief Brand & Strategy Officer at Tonello
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