GreenYour.com

Whether it's a torn back pocket, a broken zipper, or a split in the derrière, repairing your jeans reduces potential landfill waste and lessens the negative environmental impact of producing a brand new pair.

How to repair your jeans

Both advanced and newbie repair-artists alike will find comfort in knowing they're saving some money while breathing new life into the old favorites.

• DIYers fixin' tips: If you're comfortable with a needle and thread, you can do the mending yourself. Sometimes you can just close the hole with a few stitches, but for bigger jobs, you may wish to try a patch. Fabric stores usually carry denim patches—or multicolored butterfly ones if you prefer something more festive. And although a sewing machine is not mandatory, working by hand is more difficult with heavier fabrics like denim. Websites such as Sewing Web, Greenspun, Howstuffworks.com, and eHow.com offer tips on how to mend jeans or other clothing items.
• Swap your way to mended jeans: Check out a local Swap-O-Rama-Rama event. These are clothing swaps/sewing workshops where participants contribute and then exchange used or unworn and unwanted clothing items before embroidering/altering/customizing/repairing their new finds at on-site sewing stations. You never know… your pair of faded, holey jeans might be someone else's mending holy grail.
• Hire a pro: For large tears or if you're scared of (sewing) needles, take your jeans to a local tailor. Or send your afflicted jeans to the experts. New York-based Denim Therapy charges an estimated $7/inch (plus shipping) to mend any unwanted holes, tears, tatters, or structural problems. It works on a custom basis, accepting casualties from the likes of both the Gap and Dolce & Gabbana, as well as everything in between.

Of course, if your jeans are damaged beyond repair, donate them to a charity. Although the jeans may not be able to be resold for a charitable cause or given to someone in need, the fabric can be salvaged and reused.

Repairing your jeans helps you go green because…

• It prevents them from being discarded in the trash where they might eventually enter a landfill.
• A new pair of jeans doesn't have to be created to replace the old pair. Manufacturing jeans, especially ones made from non-organic cotton, has proven environmental drawbacks.

The detrimental environmental impact of the denim industry is rooted in the production of conventional cotton, considered to be the world's most pesticide-intensive crop. While only 2.4 percent of farmland worldwide is dedicated to cotton, it accounts for 24 percent of global insecticide sales and 11 percent of global pesticide sales.[1] In total, $2 billion worth of chemicals are sprayed on global cotton crops each year, almost half of which are classified as hazardous by the World Health Organization.[2]

The various chemicals used to treat conventional cotton can harm beneficial insects and soil micro-organisms, pollute ground and surface water, and adversely affect the health of humans and wildlife—including fish, birds, and livestock—alike. Additionally, up to 70 percent of seeds used in conventional cotton farming in the United States are genetically modified organisms (GMOs).[3] The production of jeans is also water intensive. It requires an estimated 1,800 gallons of water to grow enough cotton to create a single pair of jeans.[4]

In addition to the waste associated with manufacturing a new pair of jeans, there's the issue of adding discarded jeans to landfills. An estimated 10.6 million tons of textiles were generated in 2003, with the average American discarding about 68 pounds of clothing and textiles on an annual basis—85 percent of which end up in landfills.[5]

Glossary

• genetically modified organism: A GMO is results from merging the genetic make-up of two organisms to create a desired byproduct that could otherwise not be found in nature. Engineering GMOs is a common practice in conventional farming, and studies have shown that GMOs pose significant environmental risks such as killing off living, natural organisms and becoming immune to pesticides.

External links

• Blue Jeans Blog
• ilovejeans.com