Founder and creative director of Nudie Jeans, Maria Erixon partnered with CEO Palle Stenberg in 2001 to launch a denim brand built on sustainability—but not the high-tech kind that parts of the industry are adopting.

Erixon’s vision of sustainability begins with high quality, ethically sourced fabric and designs that fit well. Her theory—and a successful theory when you consider the scope of the brand—is to build a pair of jeans so perfectly crafted that consumers don’t wash or get rid of them until they literally break. And when they do, the brand offers free repairs and the chance to upcycle them in exchange for a 20 percent discount on a future pair.

It’s a strategy that has helped spawn Nudie’s resale business, the Re-use collection, which offers worn jeans that are washed, repaired and resold.