Here’s the scoop on the basic environmental effects of a pair of denim jeans….
We all love jeans and most people have a few pairs each, however there is some staggering facts about their creation.
1 PAIR OF JEANS:
WATER USAGE – 8,745L OF WATER (from growing the cotton to landfill) – that’s the amount an average person drinks in nearly 12 years!!
CHEMICALS USAGE – At least 30 different harsh chemicals are used to create one pair of jeans!!
CARBON DIOXIDE CREATION – 33.4kg CO2 (e) – same amount created driving 69 miles in an average car
Jeans are pants made from denim or dungaree cloth. They were invented in 1873 by Jacob Davis and Levi Strauss. Denim is a strong twill (a textile weave) fabric that is made out of cotton and typically dyed blue with indigo dye.
WATER FOOTPRINT:
The Better Cotton Initiative says it takes: 10,000 L of water to produce one kilogram or 2.205 pounds of cotton fabric. Therefore 4,535 L of water is required for each pound of cotton created. Therefore 1.66 lbs of cotton for one pair of jeans x 4,535 litres = 7,528 litres need for the production of the cotton per pair of jeans. According to Levis Resources water is used in other steps including making the fabric, cutting, sewing, packaging, transportation, washing and wearing and accounts for another 1,217L.
So the total = 8,745L of water that goes into the water footprint of an average set of jeans.
CHEMICAL FOOTPRINT:
Chemicals used in making a pair of jeans include all the fertilizers and pesticides used for growing the cotton as well as those used for the manufacturing. There is over 30 types of chemicals used in the creation of one pair of jeans. According to Source Denim, some of the chemicals include silica, sodium hydroxide, potassium permanganate, acetic acid, ammonia and sodium hypochlorite.
CARBON DIOXIDE FOOTPRINT:
According to Levis Strauss and Co. life cycle analysis of jeans, they say it creates 33.4kg of CO2(e) which is equivalent to 69 miles driven by the an average car in the USA or 246 hours of TV on a big plasma screen TV. This carbon dioxide is created from processes that occur from the cultivation of the cotton through to the disposal of the jeans.
So that’s the scoop on some of the basic environmental issues with denim jeans. As a side note, there are quite a few companies now that are focusing on using less water and chemicals when creating jeans. There are also companies creating jeans that are biodegradable (Candiani Denim) and that are designed for the circular fashion economy (The Jeans Redesign by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation) . This is a step in the right direction and will be discussed in an upcoming blog. Stay tuned.
If you would like to make your business more sustainable, here are 5 tips!
If you have any other questions about sustainability, please contact Elizabeth Cross below / MODACIRCOLARE.COM
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