Since the last time I sat down to write an editor’s letter, the denim industry lost two influential designers, Adriano Goldschmied and Roy Slaper. It has also witnessed significant changes in its manufacturing landscape, with Cone Denim winding down production in China to focus on Mexico and Orta, one of Turkey’s pioneering mills in sustainability and fashion, closing its doors. The frequent LinkedIn updates of sales reps moving from one mill or brand to the next have ramped up. Meanwhile, the cadence of special drops and capsule collections has slowed.

In short, you could say the denim industry is feeling the blues. Sourcing Journal’s inaugural executive sentiment survey, which polled 142 executives across the apparel industry this summer, found that 46.7 percent of them have a “cautiously optimistic” view of their supply chain operations heading into 2027, and just 2.9 percent are “highly optimistic.”

Much of that unease stems from mounting costs, and the pressure is being felt across the supply chain. In “Producers Under Pressure,” we examine the tough financial and climate picture cotton growers are facing. In “Energy Shifts,” denim manufacturers discuss how rising energy prices are forcing them to rethink production and efficiency.

Yet despite these challenges, jeans remain a cornerstone of consumers’ wardrobes, a creative canvas for emerging designers and an incubator for innovation. With this issue, we hope to restore some of the joy that has kept consumers coming back to denim for decades—and inspired generations of creative and technical talent to make the industry their home.

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