To the earth and back: Unspun’s Genesis jeans
Hong Kong- and San Francisco-based robotics and digital apparel company, Unspun, which builds on-demand custom jeans for every customer, recently launched Genesis jeans.
The made-to-order, relaxed fit denim garments are the fruit of Unspun’s commitment to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s jeans redesign project. Launched in 2019, the project promotes a continued emphasis on the need for minimum standards pertaining to the durability, recyclability and traceability of denim jeans, as per the principles of a circular economy and circular fashion. Unspun joined with the project in April 2020.
Unspun operations lead, Annika Visser, commented on the launch: “Through our tech, we eliminate the need for inventory, we throw traditional sizing out the door and make jeans on-demand with body scans using your mobile phone. What would it all be worth if we don’t also make sure that our physical products are intentional, traceable and circular?
“We put impact first in everything we do and take a lot of care when we source components for our jeans. Each of our styles has their own sustainability story and our mission is to make all our products circular within the next year.”
Unspun’s Genesis denim is made with 99% GOTS-certified organic cotton denim from Tat Fung/Panther Denim and 1% Lycra, which have been washed using 100% recycled water and Greenscreen-approved chemicals. (Part of Unspun’s sustainability mission for 2021 includes designing out all cotton that is not recycled, organic or BCI-certified and eliminating all virgin poly from its fabrics.)
Non-electroplated raw zinc buttons (by trims manufacturer Dorlet), which can be removed and reused, plus “smart thread for disassembly” by Resortecs, round out Unspun’s pro-circular, more easily recycled approach to its Genesis jeans.
Eon, which describes itself as “the leading Internet of Things platform across fashion, apparel and retail”, affords the jeans their traceability credentials through supplying its scannable CircularIDs (which help to ensure responsibility of material sourcing and manufacturing, as well as an ongoing circular life).
Reducing the amount of dye the company uses, switching to 100% biodegradable and compostable packaging and pursuing low-impact modes of shipping are reportedly all next on Unspun’s agenda for 2021.
Image: Unspun.
