Pass On Your Jeans - Denim Jeans & The Circular Economy
Although some of us will give our old jeans a new lease of life, either by upcycling and wearing again as something new or by donating them to charity or selling them on, plenty of denim jeans are still ending up in landfill or left languishing in the back of wardrobes.
To minimise denim waste, Levi's and other denim brands are pushing towards a more sustainable, circular business model.
A new initiative from Levi's encourages people to pass on their jeans once they stop wearing them. This echoes the brands "buy better, wear longer" ethos that encourages the purchasing of quality denim jeans over fast fashion alternatives that are likely to have a shorter lifespan, and potentially more damaging environmental impact thanks to their production methods and the shorter length of time they'll remain viable as an item of clothing.
It might seem odd that a jeans company is urging consumers to actually buy fewer pairs of denim jeans, but Levi's are increasingly at the forefront when it comes to big brands and sustainability.
Each year fashion brands manufacture a massive 6 billion pairs of denim jeans which comes at an enormous cost to the planet. Levi's aim to highlight overconsumption in the fashion industry, which creates 100 billion garments every year for just 8 billion people.
With many brands moving towards greater sustainability and with the rise in the circular economy, Levi's isn't the only denim brand with innovative initiatives to encourage customers to buy fewer pairs of jeans and pass them on at the end of their life.
Other circular initiatives
UK sustainable denim brand Lucy & Yak have a Reyak initiative which is part of their goal in becoming a more circular business.
Their aim is to keep their denim in circulation for as long as possible with incentives such as vouchers on offer to customer who return their worn Yaks when they are done with them.
One returned the Yaks are then either recycled or recirculated to extend their life. What's great about this is that it doesn't just apply to Lucy & Yak denim products, but on their entire range!
It's great to see that companies big and small are making a real effort to minimise waste and adopt a more circular approach, and we can definitely get behind the notion of buying well and buying less frequently as we've discussed in the past.
To help prolong the life of your clothing, the Holé button cover in either original black or metallics, is the ideal way to help keep your tops in pristine condition.