SOKO CHEMICAL COMPANY ROLLS OUT SERVICE-BASED PROJECTS DIVISION

SSOKO IS EXPANDING beyond chemicals into consulting.

Florence, Italy-based company Soko sells a variety of products and treatments for the garment and fabric industry, but the chemical purveyor has always thought of going beyond that. Soko’s Innovation Hub (pictured), for example, merges technology with creativity and invites guests to express ideas and requests. Now, with the launch of its new servicebased Projects Division, Soko is taking its considerable industry and supply chain expertise and offering a full-service business approach for both mill, garment producer and brand clients.

“The industry has gotten more complicated lately, and whether a brand needs help elevating its sustainable standards, finding an alternative fabric or a new technical treatment, our Projects Division is all about solving problems along the entire denim and non-denim journey,” said Matteo Urbini, managing director, Soko. “We’re about helping our partners find solutions.”

The new division aims to evaluate, analyze and seek the best solutions for each target brand, whether questions are posed from the partner directly, or suggested by Soko. “This may be a combination of washing process optimization with new and customized finishing techniques to achieve whatever is required,” Urbini said. “No matter if the intention is to catch a new look on a specific fabric, a higher sustainability score in washing or a compliance standard, or just to create a collection, the division is intended to work on a broad scope.”

The Projects Division can also serve as a conduit for different parts of the supply chain that might have had issues communicating in the past.

Not everyone “speaks the same language” when it comes to industry partnerships and processes along the supply chain. “I have to be much less technical with a designer or brand owner than with a production manager,” said

Luca Braschi, Soko’s denim laundry expert and marketing technology manager. “So, with Soko’s Projects Division, we find the key that lets [each partner] understand what we can do for them.”

Soko’s service solutions focus on three areas – elevating expectations in sustainability, offering technical insight in chemical, process, equipment, etc., and providing overall inspiration, including aesthetics design – but in no way is the existing chemical business reduced or compromised. “The research and development that have always been Soko’s driving force will actually become even stronger and more autonomous, so that the chemical proposal will be increasingly specialized and selective in order to be able to respond to the growing challenges of the market,” said Urbini.

Soko’s Projects Division can help companies achieve higher sustainability scores in ways they might not have imagined, such as optimizing production processes that can save waste, improve sustainability and save time. If a brand wants to reduce water consumption by 70 percent, for example, Soko would provide —according to shades and looks and production plant—the most feasible and optimized process to achieve that target, supporting the brand from development stage to bulk production.

Based on its deep research on new and innovative products and processes, Soko can also help identify a range of options that perfectly boost the quality of the fabrics, like answering a fabric producer’s need to show buyers their products, along with detailed report about the best compatibility of fabrics to certain washes or technologies.

Additionally, as designers are always seeking new ideas and concepts, Soko’s Projects Division “enriches and spices up creative minds with new inputs and aesthetics.”

With so many companies competing against each other on price and product, Soko goes a step further. “We want to provide service and solutions to our customers, because anyone can sell an item off a menu,” said Urbini. “We’re Italian so I’ll give you a food analogy. We don’t just want to sell you the eggs; we want to look at the entire baking process, then guide you how to make the whole cake.”

“WE’RE ABOUT HELPING OUR PARTNERS FIND SOLUTIONS.” managing director, Soko marketing technology manager, Soko