As someone who loves fashion and cares about the environment, you’re probably always on the lookout for sustainable product options for clothing. In recent years, it’s become glaringly obvious that even small choices can make a big impact on the environment. Who knew that what you decide to wear can be such an important decision, especially if you trend toward buying fast fashion. These are cheaply made products that people are quick to toss in the garbage once they become damaged or out of style. But it turns out your fashion choices go beyond style.
According to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the fashion industry is responsible for a whopping 10% of annual global carbon emissions. That’s more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined. Plus, approximately 20% of wastewater globally comes from dying and treating fabric. What the world needs now is a fashion industry committed to reducing its water usage and cutting carbon emissions, as well as consumers who are willing to support eco-conscious clothing companies.
Luckily, one easy and effective way to make more sustainable fashion moves is in the world of denim. Just one pair of jeans takes nearly 1,000 gallons of water to make. So, if you’re a fan of denim, you’ll be happy to know that you can choose from plenty of eco-friendly denim collections. In this blog post, we’ll look at some of the best sustainable options out there, so you can feel good about the jeans you’re wearing.
Sustainable denim is made using eco-friendly production methods and materials that are better for the environment and for the people who make them. This can include using organic or recycled cotton, low-impact dyes, and water-saving production techniques. Sustainable denim is also often made in a more ethical way, with workers receiving fair wages and working in safe conditions. Now that we know what sustainable denim is, let’s dive into some of the best collections that we know you’re going to love, including some inspired by the experts at Vogue.
AG Jeans is touted in Vogue’s article on the 15 Sustainable Denim Collections You Should Know About Now. This company is motivated by the concept of starting small but thinking big. Its “The Jean of Tomorrow” is 100% biodegradable. From the materials to the manufacturing process, AG Jeans is making sustainability a priority. Its jeans are made with hemp, a highly sustainable crop. The company uses TENCEL™ Lycocell thread, made with certified biobased fibers from renewable wood pulp. In place of plastic or metal for buttons, the company uses Corozo, a tightly wound organic fiber made from the South American Tagua tree. To use less water and chemicals, AG Jeans uses Distilled Indigo, a clean, pre-reduced indigo dye. It even uses soy-based ink on its clothing labels to make recycling easier. In terms of its green manufacturing process, AG has installed two impressive state-of-the-art water filtration systems at its factories in Los Angeles and Mexico to recycle its wastewater. This effort saves more than 100,000 gallons of water daily.
One of our other favorite sustainable jean collections comes from East London Vintage (E.L.V.) Denim. Its name comes from the fact that all its products are designed and produced in East London. This company sources all its materials from unwanted post-consumer waste denim. It’s essentially keeping jeans from heading to the landfill and making them new again. Upcycling on such a large scale helps E.L.V. Denim work toward its zero-waste policy. It also makes it a point to only work with studios in its area that have a sustainable policy in place. What’s even more amazing is that the company only uses less than 2 gallons of water for each pair of its gender-neutral jeans—compare that to the 999 gallons normally used. This pioneering company is gaining attention for its green efforts and was also featured in Vogue’s article on sustainable denim.
According to DL1961, 95% of used clothes could be recycled, but tragically, only 15% actually are. That’s a tough statistic to hear, but the good news is that companies like DL1961 are working to take those clothes that are recycled, along with plastic waste, and transform them into new denim. It’s no wonder the company was also highlighted in Vogue’s denim article. It starts by taking used materials, shredding them into tiny pieces, and entwining those pieces with eco-friendly fibers to create yarn. That yarn is then weaved into other fabrics and dyed with Dystar Liquid Indigo pigments, one of the cleanest pre-reduced Indigo dyes on the market. DL1961 manufacturing facilities comply with International Social & Environmental Quality Standards. These state-of-the-art facilities use waterless laser and Ozone technologies to construct and hand-finish its jeans. The company also uses less than 10 gallons of water, and 98% of the water it uses is treated and recycled in-house.
Another brand that’s always a good idea to check out is Patagonia. True to its activist roots, the company has several eco-friendly denim options. The company uses organic cotton and low-impact dyes in its jeans, and it also has a program called “Common Threads Recycling,” which encourages customers to bring their old Patagonia clothes in for recycling. Patagonia is a leader in the outdoor clothing industry, and its commitment to sustainability extends to all its products, including its denim. While the company is not featured in Vogue’s list of green denim, its stellar environmental focus makes it too important not to mention.
As you can see, there are plenty of sustainable denim options out there, so you don’t have to compromise your style to be eco-friendly. Whether you’re into classic jeans, high-performance stretch, or high-end fashion, you can find the pair of perfect jeans to complement your green lifestyle.
If you love learning about sustainability and want to learn about all the latest in tech, trends, and news, look no further than eveelife.com. We are on the move to help eco-oriented people like you make informed decisions to live your best life, sustainably.
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Published January 4, 2023 8:55PM
Eveelife is an eco-oriented lifestyle platform that helps consumers make more purposeful choices about how they live and what they consume. We do it by curating content and products that help them make more conscious, carbon-free choices while amplifying their EV ownership experience.
