Before You Chunk Your Jeans, Consider This...
I have a huge problem with my jeans: they don't last. I'll wear them for a minute but inevitably the material that rubs in between my thighs will wear thin and I would be adding a new pair to my online cart before the previous had even had a chance to fade. I'll admit: I'm a curvier girl with thicker thighs. And although I believe in the phrase "thick thighs save lives", they surely don't save my wardrobe. Or the planet. Previously, when I would wear a hole in the leg of my jeans, I would trash them. After all, I thought that they were no longer useful. But the more jeans I got rid of, the more I began to wonder what effect I was having on my environment. Was there something that I could be doing differently? Could that fabric still be salvaged?
Did you know that denim is one of the most polluting textiles produced? I didn't! So before you trash your pair of unused or damaged jeans, consider these "scary-yet-real" statistics:
1. It takes about 2000 gallons water to just produce the cotton and manufacture one pair of jeans.*
2. 15 million tons of clothing will potentially end up in a landfill.**
4. Discarded non-biodegradable clothing takes 20-200 years to decompose.***
5. When discarded clothing does biodegrade, it produces methane, which contributes to global warming.***
At Create + Restore, our goal is to find ways to reuse the materials that are already in circulation. We want to make quality goods that are not only stylish, but that will reduce the amount of waste in the environment. We provide opportunities for denim and t-shirt material to be reused through our Fabric Recycling Program. Drop off your used denim and t-shirts at any event we're attending. For your first donation, you'll receive a discount to shop that day, plus you'll start earning reward points. Denim and t-shirts that are not salvageable will be reused for products like pillows, purses and poufs. Denim and t-shirts that are still in good condition will be sent to local ministries and women's groups. For more information about our Fabric Recycling Program, click here. And to partner with us and host your own Fabric Recycling Drive, email us at contactus@createdandrestored.com.
* https://curiosity.com/topics/there-are-2000-gallons-of-water-in-your-jeans-sort-of-curiosity/
*** https://www.thebalancesmb.com/textile-recycling-facts-and-figures-2878122