Water Usage in the Denim Industry

The UN estimate it takes 10,000 liters of water to produce one pair of jeans, yes, one pair. Not only does this use a ridiculous amount of water it also poisons the water that it uses. Take into account that 2 billion pairs of jeans are produced every year and you have a crisis on your hands. To dye these 2 billion pairs of jeans 2 million tonnes of chemicals are used including but not limited to, cyanide, sodium hydroxide, sodium hypochloride, hydrochloric acid… the list goes on. Now we aren’t saying to throw away your jeans and never wear them again because the sad truth is that even though denim is one of the worst offenders, almost all modern garments are created in this way.

Our advice is to take a few steps to reduce your individual denim consumption, here are a few easy steps everyone can follow to do your bit to reduce stress on global water supplies.

Step 1: Buy second hand
Buying second hand can not only save water but will also save you money, best of both worlds right? As well as this buying second hand actually massively increases your choices as you are not limited to only the current seasons cuts styles and colours. Some of the coolest pieces I’ve seen have been bought second hand at charity shops, vintage shops or on Depop.

Fast fashion almost relies on your clothes falling apart after only a few wears to force you back into the cycle of buying the newest products. avoid this trap by taking a few simple steps to preserve the clothes you already have, wash your clothes on a colder wash and then avoid tumble drying t shirts and jeans. the tumble dryer is the enemy to integrity and can cause your garments to experience weeks of strain in just a few hours (also save the electricity and let the sun or your homes ambient warmth do the work).

When it comes to denim specifically I recommend washing as little as necessary. As for washing techniques such as freezing your jeans to eliminate odour I cannot honestly say I’ve tried or have heard any real success stories however please feel free to get in touch if you have an unconventional treatment method for your denim!

Step 3: Repair if you can’t wear!

Possibly the most important step of the process. once you’ve cherished your second hand Lee jeans from the 90’s for a few years they might start showing their age. This does not have to be the end of their life cycle! Since 2016 we have repaired almost every part of a pair of jeans, from the hems to the belt loops everything can be repaired and for a fraction of the price of a brand new pair.