The Ellen MacArthur Foundation Wants to Redesign the Denim Industry - Vogue

In the sustainable fashion conversation, denim gets a pretty bad rap. It’s collectively considered one of the “worst offenders” as far as its environmental impact, mostly due to the water required to grow the cotton, the repeated wash cycles denim is often put through, the prevalence of Lycra and spandex in stretch jeans, and the hazardous chemicals required for trendy washes and finishes. Denim wasn’t always the bad guy, though: If you look back to its early days at the turn of the last century, denim was made to last. It was durable, 100% cotton that only got that faded “lived-in” look once you’d actually lived in it. As denim evolved from hardy workwear to the foundation of our daily wardrobe, creating jeans got a lot more complex—and a lot less natural.

We’re hardly about to stop wearing jeans, though. In fact, here at Vogue, it just so happens to be “denim week”—it kicked off on Monday with a cheeky video starring Teyana Taylor and Iman Shumpert, who later hosted a party in Los Angeles with top denim brands. Let’s call it serendipity that the Ellen MacArthur Foundation chose to introduce its latest initiative this week, too: a set of guidelines that will help denim companies reduce their waste, eliminate pollution, and eventually implement “circular” manufacturing practices. “Jeans are one of the most iconic clothing items in the world,” says project manager Francois Souchet. “This was our chance to create a shared vision of what good [denim production] looks like, and to bring everyone together to achieve it.”

Billed as “The Jeans Redesign,” the plan was conceived by more than 40 denim experts from academia, brands, retailers, manufacturers, collectors, sorters, and non-governmental organizations. We’re highlighting a few of the most game-changing suggestions below. Some of them might surprise you.

1. Metal rivets should be removed entirely or reduced to a minimum.

Did you know the rivets on your jeans don’t really serve a purpose? At least not anymore. Levi Strauss & Co. first added rivets to denim work pants back in 1873 as a way to reinforce the pockets and corners, but today’s jeans are securely stitched; at this point, the rivets are just decorative. They’re also very difficult to remove, which is a problem if you’re trying to deconstruct a pair of jeans to repurpose or recycle the denim. Souchet and his team are calling on denim brands to stop using rivets, but he isn’t expecting an immediate response; most brands worry their customers would react poorly to the aesthetic change. “By [at least] limiting the number of rivets in a pair of jeans, you can increase the amount of fabric you can get back and use to make new clothes,” he offers.

2. Jeans should be free of hazardous chemicals and conventional electroplating. Stone finishing, potassium permanganate (PP), and sandblasting are prohibited.

Even a true denim-head likely doesn’t know what most of those terms mean. Electroplating, for instance, is the process of coating rivets, buttons, zippers, and other hardware with metal by means of an electric current. “The major environmental issues associated with that is the generation of hazardous wastes, which can contain heavy metals, and effluent disposal, as well as odor and noise,” Souchet explains.

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