Gap, Cotton Inc. Partner in Denim Drive

Gap is offering shoppers in the United States and Canada a 30 percent discount on a new pair of 1969 jeans if they donate used denim at a Gap store through Oct. 20. The promotion is part of “Cotton. From Blue to Green.,” Cotton Inc.’s denim drive to collect old jeans to be converted into UltraTouch Denim Insulation by Bonded Logic Inc., a Chandler, Ariz.–based maker of thermal and acoustical insulation products for multiple industries. The denim insulation made from the donated jeans will, in turn, be donated to needy communities.

This isn’t the first time Gap has partnered with Cotton Inc. on a project. Earlier this year, the two companies hosted a denim drive that collected more than 270,000 pairs of jeans that were converted into insulation for 500 homes and special projects, including Hurricane Katrina rebuilding efforts.

“We love this partnership with Cotton Inc.’s ’Cotton. From Blue to Green.’ denim drive because it merges the ideas of fashion, environmental sustainability and helping others,” said Marka Hansen, president of Gap North America, in a statement. “Earlier this year, we partnered with Cotton Inc. on their first-ever national denim drive with a retailer, and it was met with such success that we wanted to give our customers another opportunity to recycle their old denim, help communities in need and update their fall wardrobe with the latest 1969 jeans.”

Gap, which has more than 690,000 fans on Facebook, produced “Pants-formation,” a quirky video for the site that shows hipsters whose frayed jeans morph and encase the wearers in denim houses. The denim house–wearing hipsters then race around San Francisco’s alleys, parks and streets on bikes and on foot until they end up at a Gap store, from which they emerge wearing new 1969 jeans and, presumably, goodwill toward man.

Cotton Inc. launched “Cotton. From Blue to Green.” in 2006 and has partnered with companies such as American Eagle Outfitters, Bloomingdale’s, National Jean Co., Ernest Sewn, G by Guess, Guess by Marciano, Lands’ End, Rock & Republic and Saks Fifth Avenue.—Erin Barajas