Leading fashion brands and manufacturers are to transform the way they produce jeans, tackling waste, pollution, and the use of harmful practices, thanks to new guidelines published by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
The Jeans Redesign Guidelines set out minimum requirements on garment durability, material health, recyclability, and traceability. Based on the principles of the circular economy, the guidelines will work to ensure jeans last longer, can easily be recycled, and are made in a way that is better for the environment and the health of garment workers. The Jeans Redesign – created by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Make Fashion Circular initiative – brought together more than 40 denim experts from academia, brands, retailers, manufacturers, collectors, sorters, and NGOs, to develop the Guidelines.
Confirmed participants to date include Arvind Limited, Bestseller (through the Vero Moda brand), Boyish Jeans, C&A, GAP, Hirdaramani, H&M Group (through the H&M and Weekday brands), HNST, Kipas, Lee®, Mud Jeans, OUTERKNOWN, Reformation, Sai-Tex, Tommy Hilfiger. The Guidelines have been endorsed by clothing collectors and recyclers Bank and Vogue, Circular Systems, EVRNU, HKRITA, I:CO, Infinited Fiber Company, Lenzing, Recover, re:newcell, Texaid, Tyton Biosciences LLC, Wolkat, and Worn Again. They have also been endorsed by the NGOs Fashion Revolution andTextile Exchange.
The Guidelines build on existing efforts to improve jeans production, including the open source guide created following C&A and Fashion For Good’s joint initiative to develop C2C Gold Certified™ jeans. The Jeans Redesign will drive others to join the project and produce jeans in line with the Guidelines at scale. The first pairs of the redesigned jeans will be on sale in 2020.
“The way we produce jeans is causing huge problems with waste and pollution, but it doesn’t have to be this way. By working together we can create jeans that last longer, that can be remade into new jeans at the end of their use, and are made in ways which are better for the environment and the people that make them. This is just the start. Over time we will continue to drive momentum towards a thriving fashion industry, based on the principles of a circular economy.”
About the guidelines
The respect of the health, safety, and rights of people involved in all parts of the fashion industry is a prerequisite, along with working conditions improvement in manufacturing globally. Beyond this, the Guidelines provide minimum requirements for jeans on durability, material health, recyclability, and traceability.
Durability
- Jeans should withstand a minimum of 30 home laundries, while still meeting the minimum quality requirements of the brands
- Garments should include labels with clear information on product care
Material Health
- Jeans should be produced using cellulose fibres from regenerative, organic or transitional farming methods
- Jeans should be free of hazardous chemicals and conventional electroplating. Stone finishing, potassium permanganate (PP), and sandblasting are prohibited
Recyclability
- Jeans should be made with a minimum of 98% cellulose fibres (by weight)
- Metal rivets should be designed out, or reduced to a minimum
- Any additional material added to the jeans, should be easy to disassemble
Traceability
- Information that confirms each element of the Guideline requirements has been met should be made easily available
- Organisations that meet the requirements will be granted permission to use the Jeans Redesign Logo on jeans produced in line with the Guidelines
- Jeans Redesign Logo use will be reassessed annually, based on compliance with reporting requirements