Let’s talk dirty denim and why we don’t like it!
When I used to work as a denim designer, I would spend days bleaching, shredding, cutting and reconstructing countless pairs of jeans. I learnt the process of making denim and all the negative impacts it has on the environment.
As I started to transitioning my closet to a more sustainable one, I discovered Everlane. After reading about their manufacturing process, I was impressed by the innovative solutions they implement to better the traditional process. This post is dedicated to sharing how they do it why a more conscious fashion choice matters.
Everlane denim is manufactured by Saitex, a factory with sustainable solutions to drastically reduce their impact on the environment and improving the traditional unsustainable practices in 3 simple ways.
1. Wash
Everlane denim is washed with a closed water system, allowing for 98% of the water used to be purified through a five step filtration process and only 4 liters of water is used in the process due to natural evaporation.
“It’s so clean you can drink it” - Everlane
Traditionally, the gallons of water used during this process is polluted with indigo dye, chemicals, enzymes, acids, and artificial softeners to achieve the desired feel and look. Often, the water is left unfiltered and gets washed back into the water system, polluting the water system.
2. Dry
At Everlane, washed denim is 85% air dried and then finished with a commercial dryer, saving a lot of energy. The entire facility is also powered by solar panels on the roof.
3. Toxic byproduct
Sludge is the toxic byproduct of manufacturing denim that is often dumped back into the ecosystem and considered to be a health and environmental hazard because it pollutes our soil, air, and water.
At Saitex, sludge is shipped to a brick factory where it is mixed in with concrete to create bricks that are used to build homes. So far, the factory has built ten homes. Amazing!
Throughout the whole process of manufacturing denim, every step has been reconsidered. Their efforts in producing denim with sustainable and ethical practices is why we love Everlane’s clean denim.
Check out how I style my favourite Everlane bottoms in the previous post!
Source: Everlane
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