First-year student launches denim donation drive - The News Record

The average American throws away 81 pounds of clothing every year — roughly 26 billion pounds annually in the U.S. alone, according to a 2016 survey by retail giant Sears.

Erek Hansen, a first-year chemical engineering student at the University of Cincinnati, decided he wanted to do something about it.

Related: This fashion initiative at UC aims to save the planet

Since he was 9 years old, Hansen has worked with Blue Jeans Go Green, an initiative of North Carolina-based nonprofit Cotton Inc., that collects denim to be recycled and used as cotton fiber insulation. Each year, a portion of the insulation is given to community-focused building initiatives, like Habitat for Humanity, to service communities in need.

The program began in 2006 and has since kept more than 1 million pieces of denim out of landfills, according to the program’s website. Blue Jeans Go Green will accept any type of denim, including jeans, jackets, shirts, skirts and more. The organization will accept items of any color, and it also accepts most denim scraps.

Hansen operates his own nonprofit branch at his hometown in Toledo, Ohio, which he began simply by hosting jean drives and encouraging community members to recycle unwanted denim. By the end of his first year, Hansen collected more than 1,700 pairs of jeans and garnered recognition from National Geographic, which earned him a partnership with Blue Jeans Go Green.

After he left Toledo to attend UC, Hansen decided to bring the project to Cincinnati and launched a semester-long jean drive. The university is currently competing with Florida State University to collect the most denim.

Hansen is determined to help UC win the competition. He aims to collect 1,000 pairs of jeans by the end of the semester.

“If we beat Florida State, that would be a good benchmark for our success,” Hansen said. “[It’s] one step closer to a greener environment.”

Related: Here’s how you can live more sustainably on campus

With less than a month left, Hansen is asking everyone to contribute. If you have any old denim that you’re willing to recycle, consider dropping it off at one of the collection boxes in the Siddall and Daniels residence halls, Langsam Library or Tangeman University Center.

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