From denim scraps to ‘sustainable’ fibre
Guatemala City’s the New Denim Project, a family-run design lab focused on circularity, has collaborated with American professional surfer Kelly Slater’s “sustainable”, Los Angeles-based fashion brand Outerknown on a new, green-minded collection, created using recycled cotton and fibre made from denim scraps.
The fibre is generated by mechanically breaking down recycled cotton and pre-consumer denim scraps supplied by local apparel production facilities in Guatemala.
Each piece in the collection has been made with 30-80% recycled cotton, with no added dyes. The colour of each garment, whether neutral or blue, is drawn from “actual recycled denim”.
A closed-loop production process on the Guatemalan enterprise’s part ensures that “nothing” goes to waste. Cottonseed and cotton lint left over from the recycling process is given to local coffee growers to aid their composting, for example.
“If we want humanity to move forward, we must build ideas that contribute to a collective economy. We must encourage upcycling in our businesses, our homes and daily life activity. The world cannot continue absorbing our waste,” the New Denim Project said.
Image: Outerknown/The New Denim Project.
