Circular jeans brand Mud Jeans has joined the Ellen Macarthur Foundation Circular Economy 100 (CE100) Network.
Named an “emerging innovator” by the foundation, Mud Jeans specializes in organic and recycled denim. The Dutch brand takes back old jeans, and through an innovative recycling method, gives them a second life. The process ensures that all raw materials are reused and that waste is eliminated.
Along with a free repair service and circular and reusable packaging, Mud Jeans also reduces its carbon footprint by using a closed-loop water stream for production and Cradle-to-Cradle indigo dye from DyStar.
The brand is known for its “Lease A Jeans” program that allows members to pay a low monthly fee for a pair of jeans. When the jeans are worn out, or if the consumer feels like a change, they can send in the garment and switch to a new pair. Mud Jeans then recycles the old pairs.
As part of its pledge to the foundation, Mud Jeans set 2020 goals to develop a jeans fabric that is made of 100 percent recycled post-consumer textile fibers and to make 50 percent of rivets, buttons and zippers recyclable. The company is also researching 100 percent cellulose-based fabrics.
Mud Jeans is one of four new companies to join the Ellen Macarthur Foundation, including Du Pont Biomaterials, Lucart and Procter & Gamble. Existing members include C&A, H&M, Bestseller and Marks and Spencer.
The foundation supports organizations’ efforts to develop new sustainable opportunities and helps them realize their goals for a circular economy faster. In order to be eligible, CE100 applicants should have an innovative business model and product design, renewable energy systems and additional projects designed to accelerate a circular economy.
Emerging innovators are businesses with a turnover of less than $20 million, but are believed to be trailblazers in the sustainability sphere.
