Why We Use Second-Hand Denim
It’s no secret that there is a lot of waste and contamination directly produced by the fashion industry. As fashion lovers ourselves, this is an issue that concerns us. We want to keep enjoying fashion, but not at the expense of ruining beauty and life around us. At M&J we believe there are alternatives that allow us to express ourselves through fashion while also taking care of the environment and those who make our clothes.
Some info that concerns us regarding brand-new denim products:
- Approximately 2,900 liters of water and large amounts of chemicals and energy are used up to produce a single pair of jeans.
- The denim industry contributes to wastewater and harmful gasses being released into our atmosphere and environment.
- Aquatic ecosystem food chains are affected through toxic water produced by textile effluents containing indigo and other dye types.
- Workers involved in the sandblasting process, used to give denim the “worn out” look, are at the risk of developing tuberculosis or silicosis.
Things don’t look too bright on the recycling side either.
- 1% of collected clothes are actually being recycled
- Several of the non-recycled clothes are sent to landfills or are incinerated, both being bad for the environment
- Although denim is made with 100% cotton, it can take a very long time to decompose
- Literature reveals that the amount of waste jeans generated annually is estimated as 2.16 million tons and only 35–50% of this amount is collected in Western Europe in order to reuse or recycle it after sorting, and less in many other countries
We believe that in order to make a change for good in the fashion industry we have to make a mindset shift from consumption to conservation. Using second-hand denim is one of the ways in which we can keep perfectly good jeans from ending up in landfills through giving it a second life cycle. Together we can make a difference in the fashion industry to minimize the waste and pollution produced while still enjoying the creativity and beauty of fashion!
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