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How to Recycle Jeans

How to Recycle Jeans

Jeans are one of those things that can be reused, recycled, repurposed, re-anything really in so many different ways, that there really is no excuse for tossing them.

If you love your old jeans and they still fit, even if the bum is falling out them (better yet), in 3 seconds flat, you can turn them into shorts or a short skirt. Just cut them to length and you are done. For shorts, you can roll them up to cover the threads if you don't want the threads to show. 

If you can sew, then there are at least a thousand different things you can do with jean pockets, fabric, belt holder, hem - from bags to bracelets and aprons and more. Just google it.

Jeans, like any fabric, cannot go in your recycle bin, so if you don't want them anymore, take your clean jeans to your local Op Shop. (And they will even give you 10% off your next purchase to thank you.)

If you know of any traders who turn your old jeans into aprons, bean bags, bunting and other things, please let us know and we will add them to our Recycling Locations list. 

Image: Shutterstock

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Science Notes

Denim is one of the strongest and most durable natural fabrics, but it is also environmentally expensive to create. Jeans are made mostly from cotton and cotton is the 3rd larges consumer of water in the world after paper and oil.

Making one pair of jeans, as a general rule uses just under 10,000 litres of water. 

In 2007, Levi conducted a life cycle assessment study on the impact of cotton cultivation and customer care in jeans. You can find the study on their website or contact us and we will send you a copy. 

Related Tip
Washing your jeans every 10 times you wear them instead of every 2 times reduces water use by up to 80%.

Line drying instead of using your dryer reduces energy use by around 62%. (Source: Levi)