Everything you need to know about sustainable denim

From a fabric known as Serge de Nîmes (twill from Nîmes) or Bleu de Nîmes (blue from Nîmes), via a US patent for a pair of work trousers by Jacob Davis and one Levi Strauss in 1873, and its introduction to the catwalk by Calvin Klein in the 1970s, the humble denim has come a long way. Now a staple of everyday wear and high fashion alike, jeans' status as a wardrobe item for pretty much everyone seems unlikely to be under threat any time soon. But denim's impact on the environment is something that can – and should – change.

Denim can be hugely damaging to and draining on the environment. Firstly, the fabric is made from cotton – a notoriously thirsty plant – which means it typically takes around 1,500 gallons of water to make just one pair of jeans. Cotton cultivation also tends to require the use of pesticides and insecticides, which pollute nearby water sources and soil, and can affect the health of those who work closely with it.

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Similarly, the classic blue hue associated with the garment comes at a cost. Harmful chemicals, including carcinogens, are often used in the dyeing process, while techniques like sandblasting and acid washing – used to achieve a distressed or worn look – can also be seriously harmful to the health of employees.

While cotton is a natural fibre, once it is mixed or woven with another it becomes more difficult to break down, meaning that most jeans that are stretchy will not actually be biodegradable.

So is there a sustainable alternative? Fortunately, yes.

One of the most recognisable terms within the world of sustainable denim is ‘organic’. When a material passes certain certifications, including for ecological or social efforts such as monitoring the use of pesticides and insecticides or improving working conditions, it can be labelled as organic. There are however, many other reasons why brands can describe their denim collections as ethical or sustainable. Our Legacy, for example, digitally prints its designs on uncoloured denim, eliminating the need to use harmful indigo dyes and excess water. Cos has removed metal rivets from its designs, making the pieces easier to break down and repurpose, while Nudie Jeans offers repairs for life, so there’s no reason to replace your pair each season.

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The use of innovative technological fabrics is also on the up. Last year, Nudie’s co-founder Maria Erixon Levin teamed up with the London and Stockholm collective BITE Studios to create BITE Denim – a low-impact, organic collection made with eco-friendly fabrics from producers Candiani and ISKO. The ever-innovative Stella McCartney has also looked to the Milan-based mill Candiani for her stretch jeans, which use a new plant-based, biodegradable fabric COREVA™. The plastic-free yarn is made from wrapping organic cotton around natural rubber. ISKO meanwhile boasts a unique R-TWO™ programme made with certified reused cotton and certified recycled polyester.

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Repurposing waste material is another approach to making the denim industry cleaner. Young Copenhagen based label (di)vision uses deadstock for much of its collection (deadstock means old fabric that hasn’t been sold, or is left over). These fabrics are sourced in Prato, Italy, and while their procurement means that some items are very limited, it also adds exclusivity to the collections. Another strand of the brand is called (di)construct, which sees one-off pieces upcycled and resold – these could include anything from vintage pieces to military materials. In a similar vein, Acne is about to launch its Repurposed Season 7 denim collection, which consists of garments constructed entirely from excess fabrics and materials.

One of the major forces in the sustainable denim world at the moment is the Ellen MacArther Foundation. The Foundation’s Make Fashion Circular initiative launched The Jeans Redesign in 2019, which saw 80 industry experts come up with a set of guidelines for creating denim pieces that align with the principles of a circular economy. A circular economy within fashion refers to clothes that are made to be used again and again, and are produced from recycled or renewable and non-hazardous means.

The now 94 participants include Ganni, Monki, Levis, H&M, Frame and a number of other big names. These brands must continue to produce a minimum amount of circular economy products and regularly report on their progress.

But there’s far more to making denim sustainable than simply declaring the use of organic cotton – this certainly doesn’t mean that it’s completely harmless. Here, we’ve dug a little deeper to reveal how some of our favourite denim purveyors are constantly striving to be better.

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As a member of The Jeans Redesign, H&M has investigated each step within its production process and begun using plant-based pigments, biotechnology and digital textile printing in its Innovation Stories series. In autumn 2021, the brand launched a collection made from 100 per cent recycled denim, while the latest capsule released this month boasts water-saving dyeing technologies and laser printing technology – it’s been given a very competitive Environmental Impact Measurement (EIM) score by sustainable textile solution company Jeanologia.

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H&M’s ladies denim concept designer Victoria Allen says: "We started in 2013 with our first jeans having 5 per cent recycled cotton content. Today, all of our &denim ladies products have a minimum of 20 per cent recycled content and we have even been able to introduce 100 per cent recycled cotton to selected styles. This is true progress in my eyes and goes hand in hand with the company goal of working towards 100 per cent sustainably sourced or recycled materials by 2030."

As the world’s first denim brand certified by both the Nordic Swan Ecolabel and the EU Ecolabel, which both assess a product’s life cycle, Tomorrow Denim is a brilliant all-rounder in the sustainable denim world. The brand has improved upon the four main stages of the denim production cycle, from its raw materials (100 per cent organic cotton and 100 per cent recycled polyester) to its use of water – 90 per cent is saved compared to standard practices and no hazardous chemicals are allowed anywhere near the process. The results are a durable and reusable product that needs fewer washes and can be broken down easily at the end of its life.

This LA-based brand with Swedish roots and member of The Jean Redesign conglomerate has recently released its innovative PURE collection, which features ten pieces made using drastically less water than usual – around 98 per cent less, in fact. PURE has been created in partnership with Saitex USA, which is considered one of the cleanest denim manufacturers in the world. The company’s closed-water system uses only 1.25 litres of water per garment and 98 per cent of this amount is recycled, while the other 2 per cent is evaporated and repurposed.

Frame has also worked with Candiani to produce three pioneering fabrics for its (bio)degradable collection. Comfort stretch and super stretch feature Candiani’s plant-based, biodegradable fabric COREVA™ that breaks down much faster than conventional yarn does, while rigid is 100 per cent cotton, so it completely degrades without releasing any toxic bi-products.

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New York-based DL1961 boasts celebrity fans including Meghan Markle and Gigi Hadid. Yet while the cuts are adored for their flattering fits, they’re also a virtuous purchase in terms of their production process. The brand has partnered with material sciences company RecoverTM, which breaks down waste clothing and creates new material by weaving it with eco-friendly fibres such as Tencel and Reprive. This new fabric is then transformed into a collection of jeans using recycled water and solar energy.

Founder of DL1961 Sarah Ahmend says: "Every single pair of DL1961 denim embodies our core principles of sustainability, technology and performance. Whether it was being the first adopters of 4-Way stretch, developing the first jean made with Tencel, or using waterless finishing processes, we have always been at the forefront of denim innovation. Our latest collaboration with RecoverTM is no exception. By using post-consumer waste cotton in our denim, we are able to create a more circular manufacturing process.

"To put it simply, those jeans you threw out last year, or that tube top that you wore everyday in college, have been broken down, woven into a brand new cotton fibre and now has a new life as part of your favourite pair of jeans. This year, as part of our awareness campaign around sustainability, we are launching our Digital Tag Project which is a QR code-linked traceable tag that gives detailed metrics of the manufacturing particulars of that pair of jeans. We hope to roll this out for all products by the end of 2022."

According to Pangaia’s Denim Advisor Jonathan Cheung, "Denim is the most influential category of clothing we have. It’s worn by more people, over more countries, on more occasions and for more time than any other piece of clothing. A pair of jeans should last years, if not decades. Given that information, making denim more sustainable would be one of the best things we could do in fashion. Our goal at Pangaia is to make denim that is beautiful, versatile and long lasting, with the best ingredients we can get."

As one of the most revered sustainable brands of the moment, it comes as no surprise that Pangaia has developed its very own denim-like fabrics – PANNettle™ is made in partnership with Candiani from wild Himalayan nettle (known for its strength and thermoregulating properties) and organic cotton. PANhemp™ has been developed with Turkish mill Orta and is a blend of rain-fed hemp (which needs only rain irrigation), organic cotton and natural indigo sourced from the Indigofera plant. Even the sewing threads are 100 per cent cellulose and contain no polyester, so garments are easier to recycle.

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"Both PANNettle™ and PANhemp™ have a unique character - they look different to each other, and will fade differently too," says Cheung. "I believe we can do magical things. Many years ago, I wondered if it was possible to make jeans that give back to the planet more than they take, be able to completely recycle them and transform them into new jeans or tees, sweatshirts, whatever… It turns out, we can. And we will."