What does Abrasion mean?

This is the process of making garments look and feel worn and aged, in which the garment’s fabric surface is scraped or rubbed, thereby causing abrasion. The item most frequently used by industrial laundries are pumice stones.

Heddels explains Abrasion

Any way in which denim is treated to look worn, aged, or “vintage” qualifies as abrasion; thus there are many ways to “abrade” denim.  While washing denim with pumice stones is most frequent, some manufacturers also blast denim with sand or rub with sandpaper.

From a individual consumer perspective, wearing raw denim in active circumstances (e.g. running, hiking, concert-going, etc.) over a period of time is also considered abrasion.  While we at Heddels do not condone purposely accelerating the abrasion process (so as to achieve quicker fades), some choose to do so by dragging their raw denim through gravel or using a razor to create higher contrast whisker and honeycomb fades

Additional Resources

A short video of Nudie denim undergoing various abrasion techniques: