The Ellen MacArthur Foundation gives jeans a sustainable work-over

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation has issued new guidelines designed to lessen the impact that denim manufacturing has on the environment.

The organization has unveiled ‘The Jeans Redesign,' a set of guidelines that spans garment durability, material health, recyclability, and traceability to ensure a more ethical product. The requirements were drawn up with the help of more than 40 denim experts from various fields ranging from academia to manufacturing.

According to the guidelines, jeans should be free of hazardous chemicals and conventional electroplating, they should be produced using cellulose fibers from regenerative, organic or transitional farming methods and they should withstand a minimum of 30 home laundries.

Gap, H&M, Lee and Tommy Hilfiger are just some of the brands that have already signed up to the initiative, with the initial pairs of ‘redesigned' jeans set to go on sale next year, and pieces crafted according to the guidelines will be allowed to display a special logo indicating this fact.

"The way we produce jeans is causing huge problems with waste and pollution, but it doesn't have to be this way," said Francois Souchet, Lead at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's Make Fashion Circular initiative. "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 not the first big environmental initiative from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation: in March the organization highlighted the fashion and beauty brands tackling the issue of plastic waste with its ‘New Plastics Economy Global Commitment.'