Let’s begin with the company who put denim on the map: Levi Strauss. From the company’s website they state that “Sustainability is sewn into the fabric of everything we do — from how our clothing is made to the work we do to help protect our planet.” Levi Strauss has been a leader in sustainability since its inception in the 1800’s. In 1991, it introduced the “terms of engagement” which set the standards for workers' rights, a healthy work environment and an ethical engagement with the planet. For the past three years, Levi Strauss has been working on bringing jeans to the market that are 100% cotton that have a hollow yarn architectures. They had polyester woven into the yarn, but after weaving into denim, they were able to dissolve it out. The result is denim that wicks away moisture and holds warm air in. Furthermore, they feel that educating the public and being transparent is equally as important as it is to produce jeans ethically and sustainably. In fact, in 2016 the company hosted an event with all of their competitors to share their knowledge about the best water saving practices.
G-Star Raw is another international sustainable denim company that has put the planet first since the beginning. After years of researching every aspect of denim trade, G-Star Raw developed eco-friendly techniques. With help from the tech world, the company created new sustainable washing methods and the cleanest indigo dyes the denim industry has ever seen. G-Star Raw has a core belief that jeans should be manufactured ethically and sustainable. Their Code of Conduct for suppliers has been strictly enforced for the past decade, as has the attention to sustainable fabric. Furthermore, the company developed an alternative to the use of cotton for denim by utilizing recycled, organic and used garments, and sea waste as materials for the yarns they produce. Additionally, G-Star Raw also banned the use of Angora, and only sources the highest quality wool.
NOORISM is a New York based denim company that is founded by Noor Zakka. What makes this jean company uniquely sustainable is that they only use upcycled denim for their collections. Established in 2015, Zakka began her journey after seeing the negative impact that fashion industry had on the environment and set out to make an alternative to the cheap, fast fashion that is produced every season.
Mud jeans is taking a somewhat different approach to sustainable denim with its program “Lease the Jeans.” Under the program, customers can lease jeans for one year after which Mud will collect and recycle them. The program is currently only available in Europe and costs €7,50 per month. After the recycled denim is collected, 80% of that goes into a new pair, hence saving water from thirsty cotton crops and no waste from discarded clothing.
Finally, Reformation is the latest clothing company to add sustainable denim products to their already successful line. Ref jeans are currently made with deadstock and other super environmentally safe yarns. They save nearly 1500 gallons of water by eliminating wasteful and traditional methods of manufacturing denim and forgo toxic dyes.
The denim industry needs to stop and reset itself. It should not take 1500 gallons of water to create a simple pair of jeans. With so many alternatives to cotton, we should all be looking at the bigger picture.