Denim: we love it, we can’t live without it, we’d look at you really weird if you told us you didn’t own it. Good denim is simply one of the foundational pieces to every wardrobe. It also, unfortunately, is one of fashion’s worst offenders when it comes to environmental stress.
What’s so dirty about denim?
To start, the denim industry requires a ton of water. Some studies show up to 1,500 gallons of water is required for a single pair of jeans – with far too much of it (if not all) going unrecycled. Additionally, most denim is created using conventional cotton, a plant that’s been infamously nicknamed the dirtiest crop on earth as a result of its depleting farming methods, harmful chemicals, and poor labor practices. Add a fast fashion mentality to all of this (AKA the business model that encourages weekly new arrivals and somebody’s-not-getting-paid-for-this low prices), and you’ve got a lot of dirty denim out there.
A better way to blue jean
We knew we had to do something to clean up all this dirty denim, so when we set out to make our first-ever line of organic jeans and denim jackets, we opted for better practices throughout the whole process:
Better fabric
We started with GOTS-certified organic cotton. Organic cotton farming forgoes the use of synthetic pesticides and other harmful chemicals, contributing to cleaner air, healthier soil, and better livelihoods for those involved with its production. Further, having our organic cotton certified by the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) ensures the organic integrity of the fabric and verifies that its processing and manufacturing meet strict environmental and social criteria.
Better factories
Ethical manufacturing is a core value of everything we produce. The factories that produce our organic denim pieces are SA8000-certified: one of the world’s strictest standards for social responsibility. The standard utilizes credible and authorized third party audits to ensure fair and ethical working conditions, covering topics like child labor, forced labor, health and safety, discrimination, disciplinary practices, working hours, management, and more.
Better planning
True to our slow fashion ethos, our denim line was years in the making. From initial designs, to working with our partners to get the fit and feel just right, to bringing it to life in a sustainable manner that didn’t cut corners on quality, safety, or wages, our denim was done with intention.
Shop the full collection of sustainably-made, organic cotton denim here.
