Have you ever counted how many pairs of jeans you actually have in your wardrobe, and yet you still think about buying another pair? Hopefully we wear them until they fall apart. 150 years ago they were used as hard-wearing workwear, today they are part of our lifestyle. If we want to live more sustainably, the best place to start is with blue jeans. In this article, we tell you why it makes sense to take a close look at jeans.

The biggest challenges in jeans production are the material, the dye, social standards and the long transport routes. 

Material: Most jeans are made from conventional cotton. Unfortunately, cotton cultivation is associated with very high water consumption, the use of pesticides/chemicals and monocultures. As a result, the fertility of the soil is heavily polluted and biodiversity is impaired. Jeans made from organic cotton, recycled cotton and jeans with the GOTS label help you to reduce your ecological footprint.

Dyeing: One of the most important dye groups for dyeing blue jeans is synthetically produced indigo blue. An important component of this is aniline, which is extracted from petroleum. It is suspected of being carcinogenic and can probably cause genetic defects. We consumers assume that these substances are not contained in our clothing. A study by Stiftung Ökotest in cooperation with our stakeholder Femnet e.V. took a closer look at several jeans. Unfortunately, the results were sobering. Only the Kings of Indigo label scored very well. The dyeing and finishing of textiles also cause enormous water pollution in the countries of production. An easy way out is to do away with blue and wear so-called undyed jeans. This is definitely the better choice for the environment and for you.

Finishing: Have you ever heard of dry denim? This means that the fabric is untreated, the jeans have not been washed or bleached. So no used look was created in the laundry, but you have to enter these jeans yourself. Please inform yourself about the negative effects on the environment and people of trends like the used look. You are definitely better off with dry denim.

Social standards: Unfortunately, many suppliers are not able to prove that they pay living wages. If you want to support the observance of human rights, look out for the labels of the Fair Wear Foundation and the GOTS. They have been independently and transparently verified. Not all suppliers can afford certification. Then look closely at what they can tell you about their supply chain. Brands that focus on social standards, disclose factories for the entire value chain can be just as good a social choice.

Local production: We don’t get to see very much here in the western hemispheres as most production takes place in China and Turkey. A pair of jeans has travelled up to 30,000km due to global supply chains, more than many of us. Here it helps to look where there are local labels and suppliers that produce in Europe, for example.

Second-hand: Let’s face it, we could probably last quite a long time with the jeans we already have and don’t need new ones at all. If we do, a better alternative than buying new is to buy the jeans second-hand. The resources don’t have to be recreated and they are kept in the cycle longer. They are designed to last a long time. Second-hand also has the advantage that many washes have probably already removed pollutants. Maybe you will try it out. Especially with your favourite brands, you know your size and even save. Or you can earn money by giving away your jeans that you no longer need.

Repair: Some labels like Nudie Jeans already offer free repair services. In Berlin, the A-Gain- Guide can help you. Clothes Doctor is also a good place to go online.

Upcycling: Many designers, e.g. Bridge & Tunnel from Hamburg, focus on upcycling and create great products from old jeans. You can also donate your old jeans there.

Circular: We already reported on how to keep jeans in a value cycle, the so-called “circular jeans“, in our article on Mud Jeans. They are pioneers when it comes to keeping the garment with such a big impact in the cycle for a long time, e.g. by leasing the jeans.

We also find the recycling art project from Berlin Anewkindofblue very exciting.  A New Kind of Blue is a Berlin-based design studio looking for locally embedded solutions to global problems, with the circular economy as a starting point.  Designers can read about what jeans need to look like to be recyclable at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s The Jeans Redesign Project.

Sources:

https://www.oekotest.de/kosmetik-wellness/Jeans-Test-Nur-eine-Damenjeans-ist-empfehlenswert_10748_1.html

https://bridgeandtunnel.de/

https://anewkindofblue.com/

www.kingsofindigo.de

https://a-gain.guide/de

https://clothes-doctor.com/

https://mudjeans.de

https://green-lifestyle-magazin.de/jeans-so-schlecht-sind-die-lieblingshosen-fuer-die-umwelt/

Of course there are a way more great designers and initiatives out there. We just pricked a few.

Photo by Ryan Moreno on Unsplash

We are interessted in circular textile production processes and using „waste“ as ressources for something new. In urban spaces, like our home town Berlin, we see are lot of interessting sourcing opportunities for the production of clothes and shoes. Cities are main driver of consumption. They produce enormous amounts of waste and pollution (circular.berlin). What if, we use that waste and transform it into something good. To source and produce locally seems to be a good starting point to create a possitive impact. Sustainable production comes with the usage of natural materials or recycling of materials. By recycling plastic waste and other waste, resources can be conserved.  Let’s do a thought experiment and think about waste streams in urban spaces, which could be a sourcing opportunity for textile production. Think about plastic bottles, alt paper, coffee grounds, organ gene shells, dogs hair or used textiles.

PLASTIC

In 2019, 6.28 million tonnes of plastic waste were generated in Germany, mostly due to private housholds. By law, the recycling rate for plastic packaging should be 63% in 2022. Germany is the biggest exporteur of plastic waste in Europe. We could start to think about taking responsibility and try to make something good with that. Of course, the best way would be, to engage in zero waste initiatives and adapt our byuing behaviour. We will always consume something. For exemple unifi (REPREVE Polyester & Nylon) is using post-consumer plastic waste for the production of recycled nylon and polyester, which could be used in textile production.

ALT-PAPER

14.8 million tones alt paper were collected in Germany in 2019. The waste paper return rate lies by 78%, which is quite good. But the generale consumption of paper is rising in the last years. The per capita consumption of paper, cardboard and carton is higher in Germany than in any other G20 country. The rapidly increasing quantities of packaging in online trade in particular contribute to the high consumption. Paper has a fairly high energy consumption during production. The best way is to reduce our paper usage. When it comes to textile production, we could recycle alt-paper into cellulosic based fiber yarns, like Ioncell from Helsinki is doing.

USED CLOTHING

According to the Association for Textile Recycling, the amount of old textiles collected in Germany is about 750,000 tonnes. 50 per cent of the collected textiles can be reused. These textiles are usually exported.  Another four per cent are further processed into cleaning rags or other recycled products (e.g. sound insulation mats). On the other hand, according to the Federal Association of Consumer Organisations, 1.6 million tonnes of textiles are consumed each year. This corresponds to a per capita consumption of 20 kg.  This means that the Germans have the highest consumption of textiles worldwide. There are different companies working at transorming post-comsumer textile waste into new ones. Evrnu for exemples uses post-consumer cotton garments to produce cellulosic based NuCycl fibres. And Ioncell could do so either. Aquafil (Econyl) uses post-consumer textile waste, to produce nylon 6 fibres. Kleiderly from Berlin transforms old textiles in f.eg. plastic hangers.

COFFEE GROUNDS AND ORANGE SHELLS

In Berlin there are lots of coffee houses which serve fresh brew coffee and also fresh made organe juice. It is possible to use the coffee ground for the production of S.Café (Singtex) nylon or the organge shells could be used to produce a vegan leather or silk alterative.

DOGS HAIR

It is possible to use combed-out undercoat of dogs as wool alternativ in textile production. In Germany, 80 tonnes of dog wool, a high-quality raw material, are thrown away every year. Berlin has many dogs. Modusintarsia creates Chiengora, a dog hair based wool fibre.

CONCLUSION

Germany produces so much waste plastic, paper, used textiles. Before thinking to re-use that waste, we have to think about our consumption habits. First and foremost, our consumption should be mindful. Less consumption, less waste. That should have the greatest effects and is inevitable.

When we look at the type of waste streams in Berlin, we clearly see, that there are enourmous potential to use these waste streams from plastic, alt-paper, used clothes, biobased waste like coffee grounds or organge shells and dog hair as sourcing chance for textile production in urban spaces. In the further areas of berlin corn, hemp, flax sheep wool could be natural sourcing alternatives to. Of course, we would need the appropriate factories in the city. Berlin has the know how and a vital chemical industry as well as recyling facilities to do so.

Sources:

https://textile-network.de/de/Fashion/Von-wegen-Orangenhaut

https://www.evrnu.com/nucycl

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https://unifi.com/

https://www.aquafil.com/de/

https://www.aquafil.com/de/sustainability/econyl-garn/

https://www.evrnu.com/nucycl

https://www.remap-berlin.de/blog/zero-waste-blog/97

https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/daten/ressourcen-abfall/verwertung-entsorgung-ausgewaehlter-abfallarten/altpapier

https://www.nabu.de/umwelt-und-ressourcen/abfall-und-recycling/22033.html

https://www.boell.de/sites/default/files/2019-11/Plastikatlas_2019_3._Auflage.pdf

https://www.destatis.de/DE/Presse/Pressemitteilungen/2021/03/PD21_N016_51.html;jsessionid=9C96987F2D86E734055E7F35FFA35CE2.internet741

https://www.bettina-hoffmann.info/de/blog/2019/10/kleine_anfrage_papierverbrauch.php

www.circular.berlin

photo by Jonas Tebbe/unsplash