Converting Denim Into Green Insulation
There are many uses for recycled denim, including turning them into potholders, backpacks, purses and quilts.
But Cotton Inc. and American Eagle Outfitters have another way of fashioning old blue jeans into a new product. They are taking pairs of donated blue jeans and turning them into insulation.
The two have partnered in a program called quot;Cotton. From Blue to Green.quot; American Eagle customers who bring in any brand of old jeans receive a 20 percent discount coupon redeemable at any American Eagle store.
The program, which lasts until Oct. 18, is also being conducted at 47 U.S. college campuses, including Cornell University and the University of California, Los Angeles.
Denim is collected and then turned into UltraTouch denim insulation, made by Bonded Logic Inc. in Chandler, Ariz.
Cotton Inc. launched the recycled-denim program in 2006. By 2007, denim insulation made from recycled blue jeans was used in 30 houses built by Habitat for Humanity of Greater Baton Rouge [La.].
The first retailer to participate in the quot;Cotton. From Blue to Greenquot; program was G by Guess specialty stores in 2007. Other retailers that have participated include Gap and True Religion stores. So far, enough denim insulation has been made under the program to insulate 1,300 homes.
Last year, Levi Strauss & Co. launched a grant fund to encourage organizations to use recycled-denim insulation in construction projects.
The denim giant donated more than 200,000 pairs of jeans in 2008 to insulate the renovated California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. Levi's also uses recycled-denim insulation in its San Francisco headquarters. —Deborah Belgum
