J. Crew has launched a new programme in partnership with Habitat for Humanity, in which it will buy back old pairs of jeans and recycle it into insulation material for the housing company.
So far, J. Crew has only dabbled in denim recycling. Since 2014, the company has offered a limited denim recycling programme with a company called Blue Jeans Go Green, which recycles the material.
The new effort brings in Habitat for Humanity, which will help ensure that all of the recycled denim gets put to good use.
To incentivize customers to recycle their denim with J. Crew, the brand is offering US $ 20 towards a new pair of jeans for every pair brought in.
This is a big swing for J. Crew, which has continued to live in the shadow of its far-more-successful sister brand Madewell. In the second quarter of fiscal 2018, the brand’s sales dropped by 5%, while Madewell’s grew by 29%.
“Our denim recycling programme allows us to help our customers dispose of waste responsibly by giving their jeans a new life in the form of housing insulation and keeping them out of landfills.” – Gonzalo Pertile, Director, Corporate Social Responsibility, J.Crew
The brand’s denim recycling efforts are in line with a trend running through the fashion industry toward minimizing the amount of waste and excess material introduced into circulation.
“This is one of the steps we’re taking as we embark in our sustainability journey. We believe that some challenges require strong partnerships to make the most meaningful impact.” – Gonzalo Pertile, Director, Corporate Social Responsibility, J.Crew
Ever since the Burberry clothes-burning scandal in July, fashion consumers have become aware of the problem of wasted excess clothing.
