#KnowYourJeans Journal Every pair of jeans has a story… do you know yours?
www.slowfashion.global
About the #KnowYourJeans Journal April at Slow Fashion Movement (SFM) was doused in Indigo. Our #KnowYourJeans Campaign took consumers on a 4-week journey, highlighting “Happy Jeans” and “Sad Jeans” throughout the supply chain. From fibers to denim production/jeans manufacturing to consumption: there may be different reasons why jeans are sad or happy in the world. The “True Price” of jeans, which includes their social and environmental impact, is often hidden away in the pursuit of fast fashion. We believe that the design of jeans should consider the consequences on the planet and its people. Consumers also have a role to play in this: beside learning about Happy and Sad Jeans, we need to realise that we can convert Sad Jeans into Happy Jeans through our clothing behaviours.
www.slowfashion.global
This journal is a compilation of the SFM Community’s #KnowYourJeans journey. You’ll find excerpts from stories, blog posts and Instagram posts that were made possible by involving over 50 global volunteers, 10 local groups and 120 ambassadors. Consider this document a source of inspiration to keep learning. Question the state of your jeans and the industry through our stories. There’s much more to learn about the world of jeans and this journal is only the beginning. We hope it will be a stepping stone in your own Jeans Journey. Warm regards, Paula (Brazil), Puja (India), Lena (Netherlands), Shirley (United States) and Cynthia (United Kingdom) from the SFM Campaigns Team.
Journal design by: Cynthia Ko
Why should you #KnowYourJeans? Name 5 garments you cannot live without. We are pretty sure your favourite blue jeans will be on the list. Denim is so pervasive in our daily lives that we barely question ourselves on its provenance anymore: each of us owns at least one pair of jeans; many people have a denim jacket, a denim skirt, a denim shirt, or whatever else has ever been made out of denim. Few other fabrics have achieved, throughout time, an equal position in our wardrobe and culture. Denim is mainly made of cotton which, despite its natural origins, generates huge damages to the Earth. Its cultivation requires not only incredible amounts of water, but also pesticides, which pollute the soil, air and hydraulic resources. Dyeing and finishing processes are dominated by chemicals too and they can compromise the correct recycling process of denim goods.
www.slowfashion.global
The impact on people goes beyond the negative effects that chemical and synthetic fibers have on the human body. Throughout the entire production chain, denim is linked to human and workers rights, which are put in danger by a profit-driven system. In our constant commitment towards slow fashion and sustainability, we would like to start from the basics: denim is one of them. The consumption of denim is huge and on the rise: why not shed some light on it then? To be better consumers, we need knowledge and information first and foremost, and this is the starting point of our bright new #KnowYourJeans Campaign. Written by: Giulia, Italy Read more in: “A full month dedicated to the very protagonist of every wardrobe”
#KnowYourJeans | May 2021 | 3
The journey of #SadJeans and #HappyJeans
Extensive water and chemical usage through cotton cultivation Forced cotton labour and child labour
Fair and sustainable alternatives such as hemp or Tencel.
Underpaid or forced labour Sexual violence against garment workers
Living wages and safe work spaces for garment workers
Extensive water usage & pollution whilst dyeing Health hazards from toxic finishing
Natural dyes and clean finishings that don’t add pressure to the environment
Underpaid or forced labour Sexual violence against garment workers Health hazards
Living wages and safe work spaces for garment workers
Extensive jeans purchases but lack of use
Waste creation / Lack of recycling
Extensive washing, causing a decrease in durability
Caring for the jeans we own Conscious purchases of (pre-loved) jeans
Local, second-hand circulation Recycling & upcycling
Read more in: Slow Fashion Movement Campaign investigates
www.slowfashion.global
denim’s impact (Carved in Blue with Tencel and Cynthia Ko)
What’s in this journal? 1 - Fibers #HappyJeans
2 - Production
3 - Consumption
#SadJeans 4 - Community
www.slowfashion.global
#KnowYourJeans | May 2021 | 5
1. Fibers
www.slowfashion.global
#KnowYourJeans | May 2021 | 6
The cotton industry behind your denim... Denim jeans have become a clothing staple across the world thanks to its relatively low price and adaptability, but how much do we really know about how our jeans are made?
www.slowfashion.global
#KnowYourJeans | May 2021 | 7
Cotton isn’t as innocent as it seems Denim is primarily made from cotton, the most in-demand fabric on the planet that currently accounts for over 40% of global textile production. Despite being a natural fibre, cotton has been labelled the ‘world’s dirtiest crop’ because of the massive environmental impact that producing cotton has. It is an exceptionally thirsty plant and is often grown with large amounts of toxic chemicals from pesticides and herbicides. Organic cotton is undoubtedly better than standard cotton for the environment. When crops are grown organically, they use fewer, natural pesticides that are much less damaging to the local environment. Additionally, the crop rotation and crop diversity in an organic farm is beneficial for local biodiversity and prevents soil erosion. However; there is still an environmental impact due to land and water use... See more Written by: Jenna, United Kingdom Read more in: “The Cotton Industry behind Denim”
www.slowfashion.global
Image by: Enna, United Kingdom
#KnowYourJeans | May 2021 | 8
Cotton also embodies social injustice The cotton industry is rife with exploitation and numerous reports have found instances of child labour, forced labour and unfair working conditions. According to World Vision, children have been put to work in cotton fields in all the biggest cotton producing countries including China, India, USA, Brazil, Uzbekistan and Turkey. Children are made to plough, sow seeds and spray toxic pesticides and pick cotton. As a result, many children are at risk of mental and physical damage from overworking, stress, threats and beatings from managers, and chronic and acute pesticide poisoning. Additionally, forced labour is not uncommon within the cotton industry where people are coerced or made to work in cotton fields without choice.
www.slowfashion.global
Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan have been the focus of many campaigns to end forced labour although the practice is found in numerous other countries. The Guardian recently reported the forced labour of Uighur muslim populations within Xinjiang, China, leading to US sanctions on cotton import from the accused areas. The majority of workers within the cotton industry are facing unfair conditions, unfair rates of pay and industry corruption. Only around 45,576 cotton farmers are certified fairtrade while over 90 million more are not. Cotton farmers are faced with huge costs for seeds, pesticides and water and are barely able to make enough money to live. Written by: Jenna, United Kingdom Read more in: “The Cotton Industry behind Denim”
#KnowYourJeans | May 2021 | 9
If not cotton, then what? Perhaps Tencel... We had the chance to speak with Tricia Carey, business developer at Lenzing, about the “botanical fibres” produced by the company and their employment in the fashion industry and beyond. Lenzing’s starting point is wood, whose cellulose is processed and transformed into the fibre. Wood has countless benefits: “As soon as a tree starts to grow it begins to protect our environment – by absorbing CO2 greenhouse gas” and cellulose is the most common organic compound on Earth, making it the best solution to meet the “growing population’s demands and preserving resources at the same time” (Lenzing). The most used trees are Eucalyptus, but also beech trees, that grow quickly, do not require artificial irrigation, pesticides or gene manipulation. Lenzing makes 3 generations of generic fibres – Viscose, Modal and Lyocell.
www.slowfashion.global
Modal and Lyocell are branded as TENCEL™. TENCEL™ Lyocell is the youngest fibre and is known for its low environmental footprint as well as its high strength, which allows it to be used in a wide range of end uses. It is produced in a closed-loop production process, environmentally friendly and with little waste. Trees are pounded into “chips”, and then blended with water and solvent. 99.5% of the solvent is recycled and, thus, the waste is incredibly low. Written by: Giulia, Italy Read more in: “In conversation with Lenzing’s business developer Tricia Carey”
See more Images by: Enna & Ipsita, United Kingdom #KnowYourJeans | May 2021 | 10
2. Production www.slowfashion.global
#KnowYourJeans | May 2021 | 11
See more www.slowfashion.global
How do we get there?
Image by: Cynthia, UK / Netherlands
Where do we want to go?
Image by: Laura, Italy
Image by: Duda, Portugal
Where are we now?
See more
See more #KnowYourJeans | May 2021 | 12
Why Indigo is beautifully toxic... Indigo has been used to dye silk, linens, cotton and leathers but is most well known as the trademark colour of denim. Denim fabric is naturally white, but since it was made into the first pair of jeans, manufacturers have been dyeing it the classic blue colour. Denim jeans, jackets and other attire have grown so popular that in 2018, more than 4.5 billion pairs of jeans were sold worldwide. A huge percentage of these jeans would have gotten their colour from indigo dye. So, when we talk about the impact of fast fashion and the cotton industry, we also have to look at the shocking damage done by the 40,000 tons of indigo produced each year too. Every stage of the synthetic indigo lifecycle is shockingly bad for the planet. Firstly, synthetic indigo is made with large quantities of petrochemicals, otherwise known as oil.
www.slowfashion.global
Multiple processes transform the petrochemicals into indoxyl sulphate, the key component of indigo dye. These processes employ other toxic chemicals such as caustic soda, formaldehyde and sodium phenyl glycinate. Additionally, as the dye is being made, it produces toxic waste and large volumes of contaminated water that cannot be recycled. Once the synthetic has been created, mordant is used to bind the synthetic indigo dye to the denim and excess mordant is washed off. Mordant is highly toxic and consists of heavy metals like aluminium and chromium that are poisonous for plants, animals and humans that consume them. Heavy metals can be neurotoxic and carcinogenic, potentially causing various bodily cancers and brain damage. Written by: Jenna, United Kingdom Read more in: Environmental Impact of Indigo Dye
#KnowYourJeans | May 2021 | 13
More toxicity: Jeans and violence against women Denim Day has been running for the last 22 years, always landing at the end of April (sexual awareness month). It serves to spread awareness of a sexual assault case in Italy in 1998 whereby the rape conviction was overturned on the grounds that since the victim was wearing tight jeans, she would have helped the abuser to remove them, thus eliciting consent. This case shook women all around the world for its blatant misogyny and pure ignorance surrounding consent. The following day, female MPs in Italy came into work wearing jeans in protest, with banners saying ‘Jeans, an alibi for rape’. Too often women’s outfits are questioned in rape trials, whether a woman is nake d or fully clothed should not determine consent. So, Denim Day is a day of protest against these harmful attitudes towards sexual harassment. www.slowfashion.global
It is not only in the consumption of jeans whereby sexual harassment comes into play. The sexual abuse embodied within a pair of jeans begins right at the bottom of the supply chain. This includes the cotton farmers, workers in ginning factories, textile workers spinning and weaving the fabric and most notably the garment workers stitching the fabric into a sellable item. 50% of women working in garment factories in South-East Asia have experienced sexual harassment in the past 12 months.
See more Image by: Naomi, Honduras/USA
Written by: Alice, United Kingdom Read more in: Exposing the sexual abuse in the denim industry
#KnowYourJeans | May 2021 | 14
How are responsible jeans made? Denim is a complicated garment. If you count up all the steps involved in making a pair of jeans, there are almost 50 of them! That can sound a little overwhelming, so Simply Suzette has broken the denim supply chain down into a digestible bite size overview, including the best practice involved in each link of the chain. So how are responsible jeans made?
Step 1: Raw materials
Step 2: Fabric production
Step 3: Cut & Sew
Step 4: Wash
Step 5: Packaging & Shipping
Some of Simply Suzette’s favourites are: regeneratively farmed cotton, recycled cotton, organic cotton, Fairtrade cotton, e3 cotton, hemp, Refibra, and Tencel.
There are genius innovators out there helping us reduce our reliance on traditional dyeing methods, enabling us to reuse water and eliminate waste water runoff with technology such as bioengineered indigo, foam dyeing methods, and indigo that is free of anilines and hydro sulfites.
Automated cutting allows for a machine with an automated moving blade to cut rolls into parts of garments, for better worker safety, since the traditional cutting method required for employees to handle cutters manually. On top of this, the cut pieces are repeated perfectly to reduce waste!
Wastewater has been a major issue with processing denim. After denim has gone through the washing process, toxic sludge is left and disposed of in unethical and unsustainable ways. That’s why Effluent Treatment Plants are just as important in the washing process as in dyeing of the indigo.
Tags, Label, Hangers, Hang Tags, Polybags, cartons, all contribute to the waste that comes from this industry. Brands should consider not only the materials used but consider the wider system used with the packaging – for example, how will it be collected and recovered at all points where waste is generated?
Written by: Giulia, Italy Read more in: Supply Chain 101 by Simply Suzette
www.slowfashion.global
#KnowYourJeans | May 2021 | 15
Denim brands and their road to sustainability AG Jeans, a premium denim player launched in 2000, has continually revamped its manufacturing. “We’ve slowly taken steps to implement a more sustainable, efficient business approach, in terms of how we wash jeans and how much energy and water we consume,” says Zihaad Wells, VP of design at AG. From using recycled water for their production process, to using laser technology for finishing to partnering with some of the most charitable organizations in the world, like Water For People, Boxed Water, and Heal the Bay, AG likes to get its hands dirty to help keep the world clean.
Relatively a newcomer in the Denim Section Warp + Weft has also made sustainability a priority. Since its 2017 launch, the N.Y.-based brand has produced jeans using just 10 gallons of water per pair, and 98 percent of that paltry amount is recycled at its own water treatment plant. Its jeans also use half the amount of dye and energy as traditional denim, thanks to ultra-absorbent Tencel in its fibers (also made in-house) and upcycled plastic and old denim; while finishing is done via waterless Dry Ozone technology, replacing bleach which also uses harmful chemicals.
In 2020, Levi’s introduced the most sustainable pair of jeans: the product of more than five years of research in circular denim design and a partnership with Swedish recycling textile technology start-up Re:Newcell. This has been one of Levi’s many such initiatives to prove the company’s ambition and ingenuity. Available through the brand’s WellThread collection, the jean is made using organic cotton and Circulose, a material made from recycling worn-out old denim fabrics. The collaboration with Re:newcell is an important step in Levi’s garment-to-garment recycling.
Written by: Amrita, India Read more in: How some brands are actually making denim “cool”
www.slowfashion.global
#KnowYourJeans | May 2021 | 16
Reinventing denim production Enrico Forin is the development and marketing manager at Advance Denim and has an extensive knowledge of denim and the fashion industry at large, thanks to several years of first-hand experience in the field. We had a chat with him about denim production, but also about China, prejudices and the Xinjiang scandal.
“Interest is, unfortunately, more appealing than ethics, and thus both producers and consumers are at the mercy of bigger designs. One of the problems around sustainability/ ethical production is indeed the lack of international regulation: if we do not legally agree on workers’ rights, or production’s standards, or anything else in between, then we cannot synchronize our efforts and move towards a better industry. Simply because what is legal in one country may be illegal in another.
The biggest truth we extrapolated from this conversation is that, while there are great margins of improvement - in the denim industry, in the fashion system and probably in the whole society - it is important to understand that a completely impact-less production is mere utopia. As someone said,
Advance Denim has been the first Chinese mill obtaining GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) certification, but we have several other certifications, such as Global Recycled Standard, Blusign, Confidence in Textile and so on.”
“being naked is the #1 most sustainable option, we would like to be #2”.
www.slowfashion.global
At this point you may know how polluting and wasteful cotton farming is, so at Advance Denim we purchase cotton from the greener producers available on the market, and we are very careful with certifications.
Written by: Giulia, Italy Read more in: In conversation with Advance Denim, reinventing denim production
#KnowYourJeans | May 2021 | 17
3. Consumption
www.slowfashion.global
#KnowYourJeans | May 2021 | 18
Loving water = Loving your jeans Wearing and caring for our clothes is the best thing we can do to fight fashion’s waste problem, so before you buy anything, Simply Suzette challenges you to ask these questions: Do I really need this? Can I find this second hand? What is it made out of and where was it made? Is there a repair service? What will I do when I am done with it? Upcycle, restyle, or resale? Caring for our jeans is also super important to extend the life of them! One phrase Simply Suzette always likes to use for starters is
“The Dryer Is The Devil.” Aside from never putting your jeans in the dryer, try to extend the times you wear them before washing. Written by: Giulia, Italy Read more in: Supply Chain 101 by Simply Suzette
See more Image by: Duda, Portugal
www.slowfashion.global
#KnowYourJeans | May 2021 | 19
Denim 101: How to care for your jeans Image by: Evania, United States
See more Image by: Slow Fashion India
www.slowfashion.global
#KnowYourJeans | May 2021 | 20
Upcycling or recycling: Consumer choices One way of reducing waste is to reuse, or upcycle, the material to create more fabulous clothing. While we may not all possess the sewing skills required to create the most intricate upcycled denim piece, other brands are doing that for us. What is upcycling? Upcycling is the process of taking existing fabric and turning it into a new garment, either by changing it completely, or just a little bit to give it new life. While denim is one of the most polluting fabrics out there, it is also one of the most durable, which makes it the perfect fabric to upcycle with. Considering that 300 million pairs of jeans are made annually in the denim hub of Xintang province of China alone, it’s not a bad idea to start upcycling these jeans rather than throwing them into landfill.
www.slowfashion.global
How is this different from recycling? Recycling infers breaking down the fabrics in the garment to turn them into something else. This could be turning plastic bottles into material for clothing, or even turning jeans into home insulation, with the Blue Jeans Go Green initiative. However, this process is very labourintensive, as it involves breaking down the garment to repurpose the threads. This reduces the durability of the threads, so the more recycled the cotton is, the weaker the garment will be.
See more Image by: Lilian, Honduras - Tanvi, India Laura, Italy
Written by: Alice, United Kingdom Read more in: An Upcycled Revolution: 5 Brands that Are Changing the Denim Game
#KnowYourJeans | May 2021 | 21
To buy or not to buy?
In conversation with Kuyichi & Simply Suzette Simply Suzette: “We all have great intentions to actually shop more sustainably but there’s this gap between our intentions versus our actions. And right now it seems like most of us are choosing to shop by price and I think Zoé wanted to talk about the mental game to the way our industry is structured right now with discounts and how those systemic issues or processes in the industry fuel this mental game…” Kuyichi: “What we try to do with Kuyichi is that we do not do discounts. Because discounting actually makes this urgency to buy. You think “Oh this is the last shot I get to get this item and it’s also a discount of price”, so in your mental systems this triggers you to buy something that you maybe don’t even want. This kind of urgency and scarcity can also be the thing that’s actually making us consume in an unsustainable way because you don’t think about what you buy.”
www.slowfashion.global
Simply Suzette: “For me as a consumer like just growing up, I used to always take advantage of sales and it used to be something I would wait for also. I would be like: Okay, I know the sales is coming up at this time, so I would wait [instead of] buying something full-price. But that also meant that I didn’t really care for the item as much or that I didn’t have as much of a connection because it didn’t cost so much to me or it wasn’t worth as much to me. So I was in this “game” playing between chasing these sales and this sense of urgency where I needed to get it like now rather than actually thinking about something and taking the time to think: Do I actually really need this, why do I want this piece, am I just buying it on sale?”
See more Image by: Tanvi, India
Watch event
#KnowYourJeans | May 2021 | 22
So, what shall we do now?
A dialogue with: Triarchy, Candiani and True Price What are the main challenges in sustainable denim? Candiani: “Everything has to be redesigned from the very beginning, including the [mentality of] industry and the consumers.” True Price: “Most consumers are aware of the harm, but we should also give consumers perspectives and tools to radically change. [...] “I think what is key in all of this is that we find a language, a framework to assess and calculate what sustainability and circularity means.”
www.slowfashion.global
What advice would you give to people who equally love denim but want to reduce their footprint and impact? True Price: “I think sometimes the consumers underestimate their power. Companies are willing to listen to their consumers so keep on pushing for more sustainability and transparency, [especially] towards bigger brands and choose carefully.”
Is there some hope for the future? Triarchy: “We see our jeans as vehicles to educate consumers, because it’s something that EVERYONE has a pair of.” Candiani: “The next 5 years will be very interesting [for the garment industry]. Everyone should document it, as it is something that could generate interest from the end consumers and citizens. “
Triarchy: “It is definitely daunting but if you stick to those morals, it makes it easier. Because anything that wasn’t sustainable would not even be an option. The more we push manufactures for sustainable options, the more they would want to create them.”
#KnowYourJeans | May 2021 | 23
4. Community
www.slowfashion.global
#KnowYourJeans | May 2021 | 24
#MyJeansJourney
Reflections on #HappyJeans and #SadJeans from our global ambassadors “Wearing my favorite vintage denim dress from 1999. Purchased from a mid range Canadian brand that has since gone out of business. This dress lived in my closet for 10 years before I wore it for the first time. It wasn't an aesthetic that was considered trendy or attractive by many female fashion standards. These constructed social standards were the reason my desire to wear this dress in a public setting was met with judgement and discouragement. But, this is still an aesthetic I love. I loved it in 1999, and I love it today. If we all decide what we love and what we truly want, especially on our bodies, we will start to develop our own, seasonless, trendless but personal and empowered sense of style. A style based on who we are, and who we want to be.”
Lidia, Spain
“You can #crymeariver but all the above factors make most of our jeans, including the one I am wearing from @zara #sadjeans. But I have turned them into somewhat of #happyjeans by wearing these 5 year old jeans at least 30 times. Last month I saw a tiny hole in them so I upcycled them into ripped jeans. So are your jeans happy (preloved, vintage, upcycled or from sustainable brands) or sad (fast fashion)?”
Caine, Indonesia
@slowfashiondiariesofmrsd, United Kingdom
@0j0la, Puerto Rico
“This is a story of how a couple pair of #SadJeans turned into some #HappyJeans denim skirts. My well-worn jeans from a fast-fashion retailer had met their end of service. They were sad not to be going out into the world anymore and also sad because of the negative impact they made on the world. Then along came the upcycling fairy, Auerstyle with scissors and a sewing machine and they were magically transformed into a skirt. The act of transforming the formerly #SadJeans made them #HappyJeans because they weren't in a landfill and had a new life. The new skirts filled a hole in my closet and we lived happily ever after. Joici, Brazil
www.slowfashion.global
@auerstyle, USA
Erika, Latin America
Shagun,India
#KnowYourJeans | May 2021 | 25
#MyJeansJourney
Reflections on #HappyJeans and #SadJeans from our global ambassadors “These are #happyjeans, because they are very special and have clouds that we painted with textile paints. They were lying in my wardrobe for ages, as they looked too plain and I just knew they were made to have little clouds on them. Now they are very unique and hopefully inspirational for people to design their own clothes and making plain clothes special so Lidia, people can wear them instead of buying new ones! So Spain we stand for creativity and slow fashion! :) as it takes so much water to make cotton, we should try make the most of what we already have in our closets!”
Leticia, Brazil
Tanvi, India
Helene, France
Elisa, Italy
@cozyshop.ie, Ireland
Sara, Portugal
www.slowfashion.global
Dhanya, United Kingdom
“You may be forgiven for thinking what has a pair of jeans got in common with a toilet 🤔 Well, a lot actually. ⠀ The average European toilet uses 3.5 litres of water per flush and a person can visit the bathroom on average 4-10 times per day (unless you’re a 🐫) The water being used to flush the toilet is chemically treated drinking water. Insanity 🤯 Insanity exemplified by the the fact 785 million people lack basic water services and 884 million people do not have access to clean drinking water (Source: WHO) There are closed loop green solutions available that use grey water but they tend to be expensive and don’t fit everyone’s budget. ⠀ Now for the jeans. It can take up to 10,000 litres of water to make ONE pair of jeans. Once again utter insanity. Think about how many pairs of jeans fast fashion brands are churning out per year with a total lack of regard for the environment! Think about all of those hazardous chemicals which are discharged into watercourses which don’t break down in nature and are being used for drinking water and crop irrigation. ⠀ Water is a sacred resource. No correction it is now classed as a commodity since it started trading on Wall Street 🤯🤯🤯 Either way, isn’t it time we started to actually treat water with the respect it deserves?” @im_not_a_snob, Sweden
#KnowYourJeans | May 2021 | 26
Learning about jeans from...
Our local Slow Fashion Groups
www.slowfashion.global
#KnowYourJeans | May 2021 | 27
Slow Fashion Pakistan for #KnowYourJeans An autobiography of Denim Jeans.
I wished I was not born.
My earliest memories are of growing as a small plant in a small village. We were around 40000 brothers and sisters growing together in one acre. We were usually very thirsty. We used to drink a lot of water every day still our growth wasn't very fast. When I was 35 days old, I had the first flower on me. I thought of leaving the field and moving to some other place but it actually took 180 days.
It was really difficult to get over these feelings. Then some people stitched us as beautiful jeans. The thought of roaming in a city made us excited. But before that we had to suffer sunblast. It was more dangerous for the poor laborers in fact . Any how we reached a brand's outlet and were purchased by a beautiful young girl. She wore us the very next day and visited different places. We really had fun and forgotten that we had separated from other family members. We expected to enjoy in the same way every day. But we remained in the wardrobe for most of the time. She used to wear different jeans. We didn't get many turns until one day she handed us to her mother calling us as "useless". We were perfectly fine and protested in our way but nobody listened to us.
Someone picked up our cotton and we reached in a factory. My sister and I were spun into fine yarn. We both were being weaved into Denim. They started coloring us. I was personally feeling guilty for having drunk the water that one person could drink for 2 years and 6 months. Turning a lot more water dirty and causing death of many aquatic organisms made me tremble with fear.
www.slowfashion.global
We were given to her maid. Her daughter wore us for several months. Then she got new jeans, so she discarded us. Although we were still intact and strong and could be used for many years but she cut us into small pieces and used us for dusting her furniture. She didn't bother to wash our pieces and using again. She simply put us on the trash. We were not treated with kindness in the world of Mankind.
Visit @slowfashhionpakistan "For Team Slow Fashion Pakistan, the #KnowYourJeans Campaign was like a journey that we embarked on with an intention to spread the word and educate masses about Slow Fashion Movement and its great cause. The outcome of the process, however, was a huge learning on our part too. Our target was small but our achievement was big." - Nayab, Pakistan
#KnowYourJeans | May 2021 | 28
Slow Fashion India for #KnowYourJeans
Visit @slowfashion.india
www.slowfashion.global
#KnowYourJeans | May 2021 | 29
Slow Fashion France for #KnowYourJeans
Suivez @slowfashion.france
www.slowfashion.global
#KnowYourJeans | May 2021 | 30
Slow Fashion Arabic for #KnowYourJeans
@ ﺗﺻﻔﺢslowfashion.arb
www.slowfashion.global
#KnowYourJeans | May 2021 | 31
Slow Fashion Brazil for #KnowYourJeans “A pair of jeans: almost everyone’s darling in western society. However, at the same time, jeans are a toxic mechanism for the environment: contaminating rivers and killing people who work closely to the process of transforming cotton into denim. We learned in the campaign that nowadays, companies are working on innovative solutions to prevent contamination and meet circular initiatives., but above all, we learnt that, without changes in consumer behavior nothing will change. With that said, we understood that wearing jeans that already exist is a strong solution. It can be the ones you have in your closet or your preloved jeans. Through our ambassador’s actions, we understood that mending, repairing and upcycling jeans are political actions. It connects to the main reason denim exists, that is to say to be a resistant fibre. Hence, repairing our existing jeans is resisting the fast pace of consumerism we live in.” - Paula, Brazil
Visite @slowfashion.brazil
www.slowfashion.global
#KnowYourJeans | May 2021 | 32
Slow Fashion Latam for #KnowYourJeans UPCYCLE DE JEANS Recomendaciones de nuestra comunidad
EN AMÉRICA LATINA
Visita @slowfashionlatam www.slowfashion.global
#KnowYourJeans | May 2021 | 33
Slow Fashion Turkey for #KnowYourJeans
@slowfashion.turkey
www.slowfashion.global
#KnowYourJeans | May 2021 | 34
Slow Fashion Indonesia for #KnowYourJeans
@slowfashion.indonesia
www.slowfashion.global
#KnowYourJeans | May 2021 | 35
Slow Fashion Portugal for #KnowYourJeans
Visite @slowfashion.portugal
www.slowfashion.global
#KnowYourJeans | May 2021 | 36
Slow Fashion Italy for #KnowYourJeans
Segui @theonlyslowfashion.italia
www.slowfashion.global
#KnowYourJeans | May 2021 | 37
Slow Fashion UK for #KnowYourJeans
“Within the borders of the UK, there’s little to say about cotton cultivation … but consumers need to know that their jeans may be related to Uighur slavery or other injustices. Trendy GOTS certificates do not always tell the whole story. On top of that, fashion trends in the UK keep changing and the “beautiful” finishing on top of jeans usually has a toxic backstory. At Slow Fashion UK, we wanted to make these stories real again by showing what wearing certain jeans, whether they’re Happy or Sad, actually means to both the planet and its people...”
Visit @slowfashion.uk
www.slowfashion.global
#KnowYourJeans | May 2021 | 38
About Slow Fashion Movement
With special thanks to:
We're building a global community of Slow Fashion campaigners to transform the fashion industry. At Slow Fashion Movement, we believe in empowering people to take collective action and create a social tipping point. With 50+ global volunteers, 18 local groups and 120 ambassadors all over the world, we are taking a stand against fast fashion. The majority of the current fashion industry is failing us. They prioritize short-term economic gain over the long term health of people and planet. SFM is our counter-culture against the fast fashion mindset. We envision a world in which fashion has a healing impact on the environment and those who make our clothes. Consumers, business and governments value the earth and the workers' well-being. And all of us put our money where our mouth is and act, buy, produce and legislate in line with our values.
slowfashion.global @slowfashion.movement @slowfashion-movement @slowfashionmovement.global
www.slowfashion.global
For sharing their expertise in the #KnowYourJeans campaign