Every recycled material has a story. The recycled denim used in Tommy Jeans’ new Spring 2020 collection tells a tale of two industries: apparel and hotels.
The denim brand’s latest line of denim is made from 100 percent recycled pre-consumer cotton waste that blends scraps from the apparel industry’s factory floors and the hotel industry’s bed linens. Even the stitching and trimmings are made of recycled materials, with thread coming from recycled PET plastic bottles, canvas patches made with 100 percent recycled polyester and buttons and rivets made from recycled metal.
The recycled denim collection is now available on the Tommy Jeans website and ranges in price from $79-$129.
The line includes men’s and women’s denim, with key pieces such as a pair of long denim mom shorts with a high waist and green inner detailing that reminds wearers the material is recycled. Fits include slim and relaxed styles, as well as a tapered carpenter, all with the classic Tommy logo prominently displayed on the front pocket. A cropped denim jacket and overalls also make their way into the recycled denim collection.
This taps into Tommy Jeans’ larger sustainability initiative for 2030, which sees improvements made to inclusivity, equal opportunities for all, circular product design and environmentally conscious production methods. The brand already uses laser finishing techniques to reduce water, chemical and energy usage, and this recycled denim line uses 100 percent recycled denim, while the industry standard is just 30 percent.
Recently, parent company Tommy Hilfiger announced winners for its second-annual Fashion Frontier Challenge, a program that supports young professionals committed to changing the fashion industry for the better.
The program named Apon Wellbeing and A Beautiful Mess, companies that help factory workers and refugees, respectively, winners of €75,000 (about $81,000) and a year-long mentorship with experts from Tommy Hilfiger and global business school Institut Européen d’Administration des Affaires (INSEAD). The winners also received a place in the INSEAD Social Entrepreneurship Program (ISEP).
