Ethical Jeans

Finding an ethical pair of jeans

In this guide for ethical jeans, we look at the environmental impact of cotton and denim, including the chemicals involved in the production process. We also look at cotton sourcing and forced labour, and hear from the Workers’ Rights Consortium (WRC) about its investigation into sexual assault at Levi’s supplier factories, and examine the impact of the groundbreaking worker-driven programme that has been put in place to improve conditions.

We also weigh up cost, quality and quantity of jeans. The majority of the British public spends less than £25 on a pair of jeans – significantly less than some of our Best Buys which charge around £100 per pair. We consider whether this extra cost is worth it.

Jeans are the second most bought item of clothing in the UK within a fashion industry that has a significant carbon footprint – estimates vary from 2% of global emissions up to much higher figures.

Sustainable denim or cotton 

The name of "denim" is alleged to come from the French town of Nimes (de Nimes meaning ‘from Nimes’) in the 17th century. However, the material referred to as denim was actually made of silk and fleece, while denim is typically now made of cotton. It’s also been suggested that sailors from Genoa used to wear trousers made from a cotton wool and/or linen blend, and the word ‘jean’ accordingly came from ‘Genoa’.

The environmental impact of jeans can vary significantly depending on the materials used. We look at how sustainable some of the most commonly used materials are.

Cotton

Cotton is the primary fibre used to make denim. The UN estimates that a single pair of conventionally-made jeans requires a kilogram of cotton. Because of its water-intensive nature, cotton production makes up approximately 70% of water consumed throughout a pair of jeans’s life cycle. Opting for raw denim means it has a lower water footprint as it won’t have been washed and treated multiple times.

Organic cotton jeans

Organic cotton is more environmentally sound compared to conventional cotton, because the use of genetically modified seeds, synthetic fertilisers and toxic and persistent chemicals, such as pesticides, is not allowed. It also has a lower carbon footprint than conventional cotton. Products received a whole Product Sustainability mark if they were 90% or more organic cotton or a mix of organic and recycled cotton. They are marked on the score table with [O] after the brand name.

Recycled materials

Using recycled fibres in a pair of jeans can substantially reduce its environmental impact.

Many brands sell jeans containing at least some recycled materials, including for example ASOS, COS, H&M, Kuyichi, and Topshop. But the average recycled content is only 15-40%. It becomes more difficult to ensure durability over 40%, so manufacturers often combine the recycled cotton with other stronger fibres, such as virgin cotton or reclaimed polyester, the latter most commonly derived from post-consumer PET plastic bottles.

However, mixing cotton with synthetics can complicate future recycling.

Disappointingly, very few companies had ambitious company-wide policies on using recycled materials, or future plans to increase their use of them. MUD leads the way though: its ethos is to design jeans for recycling. By 2025 it aims to use 100% recycled cotton across its products.

Ethical Consumer awarded companies a whole Product Sustainability mark for products made from at least 90% recycled materials.

Alternatives to denim

Given cotton’s often significant human rights and environmental footprint (both expanded on in this guide), and the microplastic issues with synthetic materials, one might ask what other materials can be used to make jeans?

Fashion demands and trends have led to the inclusion of synthetic materials into jeans. Stretchy jeans are mixed with spandex or similar whilst poly denim jeans (made from a mix of fibres) are favoured for their cheapness.

Monkee Genes and Nudie use bamboo in their jeans. This fast-growing, water-efficient crop can be cultivated without pesticides and fertilisers. However, it commonly requires harsh inputs to make it comfortable to wear.

Heritage denim manufacturer Candiani Denim patented a plant-based yarn to make jeans stretchy, and Hiut, a Wales-based jean company included in this guide, has incorporated this material in some of its jeans.

Meanwhile Hewitt Heritage Fabrics is trying to turn UK-grown hemp and nettle into a cotton-like yarn strong enough to make denim. And in a similar thread, Homegrown Homespun is a project working to develop a UK industry for making jeans out of flax, a plant that requires minimal watering, pesticides or fertiliser. But the commercial viability of these initiatives remains to be seen. Pangaia makes jeans containing hemp and nettle but they cost over £200.

Is it possible to find eco-friendly jeans?

Hazardous chemicals for blueness and distressing

Historically, natural indigo dyes from plants were used to colour clothing. Today, synthetic dyes are commonplace as they’re cheaper and quicker to produce. The industrial production of synthetic indigo employs chemicals known for their toxicity such as caustic soda (lye), formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide. Synthetic indigo’s base ingredients are also derived from petroleum.

Many jeans come with a pre-‘lived in’ look. Sandblasting, which can cause deadly lung disease silicosis in workers who perform it, used to be commonly used to create this look. While sandblasting is still an issue, it is becoming less common and has been largely replaced by chemical-intensive washing processes using potassium permanganate.

Jeans and water pollution

In light of all these harmful chemicals, it is perhaps not a surprise that the jeans industry has contributed to the widespread issue of water pollution in many jeans manufacturing regions.

In Bangladesh and Mexico, the waste water from industrial denim jean facilities has contaminated water used to irrigate crop fields. A study by Water Witness International found effluent from denim production in Lesotho to have visibly polluted some waterways with blue dye.

One alternative is undyed jeans, which are an option from People Tree.

To address sustainability issues with dyeing, Korean scientists discovered a way to make indigo from bacteria, and a biotech startup called Huue in California has developed a process to create dye using microbes instead of petroleum. In Tennessee, a small resurgence of natural indigo production is arising which has been used in some collections of Levi’s, Patagonia and Nudie Jeans. But more needs to be done to address the serious issue of waste water leaching from factories.

Vegan jeans

The most common animal-derived ingredient used in jeans is a patch of leather which features the brand's logo.
 
Some companies use replacement materials for the patch, for example Thought and Nudie which use Jacron (a faux-suede material which Nudie says is made from paper and acrylic polymer). MUD and Monkee Genes are the only completely vegan companies in this guide – every other company sold products containing animal-derived ingredients.

The following brands currently advertise some pairs of jeans as vegan on their websites: Hiut, Howies, Kuyichi, Living Crafts, MUD, Monkee, Monki, Nudie, and Thought. Others may also offer products that don’t use leather patches.

Take action
Peta is campaigning to get Levi’s to become a trendsetter for popular brands by switching to vegan leather patches. Sign the petition on the Peta website.

Jeans for all genders

The pockets in women’s jeans are on average 48% smaller than pockets in men’s jeans, rendering them virtually pointless. It is a rather fitting analogy though – if pay still came in a packet, who would need the bigger pocket...

ASOS, Beyond Retro, G Star Raw, Levi’s, Nudie, Shein, and Tommy Hilfiger all sell jeans advertised as unisex, gender neutral, or genderless, so you can buy jeans without having to also buy into a binary.

What's a decent amount to spend on jeans?

The majority of the British public spends less than £25 on a pair on jeans.

It might be presumed that the massive markup charged by luxury brands like Levi’s and Diesel means that they are of superior quality and are less likely to fall apart. However, Which? carried out tests and it turns out that cheaper high street jeans were often able to out-perform luxury brands when it comes to fabric strength, resilience to wear and tear, and appearance after washing. For example, a £16.99 pair from H&M significantly outperformed a Levi’s pair on these metrics.

Our Best Buys weren’t included in the Which? analysis so we don’t know how they compare. However Nudie for example offers free repairs forever – if they were shoddily built and so needed repairing often, it’s hard to imagine it would be financially viable for the company to offer this service.

The cost per wear varies depending on how much you paid originally, and how often you wear the jeans during their lifetime.

If you buy...

• ... a new pair of fast fashion jeans at £15 each every six months, you'll end up spending £600 on jeans over the course of 20 years. This works out as 58p per wear.*
• ... a new pair of durable fashion jeans at £15 and take good care of them, you'll end up spending £15 over the course of 20 years. This works out as 1-2p per wear.*
• ... a new pair of quality jeans that are ethically produced and take good care of them, you'll end up spending £100 over the course of 20 years. This works out at 10p per wear*.
• ... a second hand pair of durable quality jeans and wear them for a long time you could potentially win on all fronts - lowest cost and highest ethics.
• If you just keep wearing the jeans you own already, then you don't need to do any maths!

(*Based on wearing jeans once per week for 20 years.)

Additional research by Anoushka Carter