With the world’s love affair with denim seemingly unwavering, we take a look at the denim brands making this traditionally polluting wardrobe staple more sustainable:
Most closets will have some form of denim hanging in them – from the jeans you wear every day, to jackets, skirts and shirts – but as the Stacey Dooley Investigates: Fashion’s Dirty Secrets documentary highlighted, denim can be incredibly damaging for the environment, with up to 3,700 litres of water used in the life cycle of a single pair of jeans.
“Denim is an incredibly interesting material; it is ubiquitous, versatile, and durable,” explains Charlotte Turner, Eco-Age senior account manager. “But it also has a significant impact on the environment, from the water and chemicals it takes to produce the cotton and other raw materials needed to create it (often including elastane and polyester), to the energy and other inputs (and outputs) from treating, distressing, and finishing the materials and garments.”
Thankfully, an increasing number of brands are innovating in this space to find ways to reduce the environmental impacts of this material, from organic and non-cotton options, recycled fibres, low water treatments, and raw fabrics that don’t require any finishing at all.
Here are some of our favourite ethical denim brands: