Denim Again And Again – Can A Pair Of Jeans Be Truly Squeaky Green?

On the surface, denim seems like a harmless enough material - it's just tightly woven cotton that is dyed infinite shades of blue.

However, it leaps to mega eco-offender status due to the huge volume of water and pesticides necessary to transform cotton seeds into a full-fledged pair of jeans.

Some figures suggest that up to 10 tons of denim material are wasted each month in the manufacturing process, and while there are a few organizations here and there that turn that waste into home insulation, it would be even better if little or no waste was created at all.

Well, reco is striving to make that as close a reality as possible with their new line of 100% recycled denim jeans. 

Unlike other eco-friendly brands that still use organic cotton (a water intensive crop), reco denim fabric is woven out of a combination of virgin and recycled cotton, excess denim scraps, threads, rough edges and unused denim material.

This is more appealing because it eliminates pesticides and water from the formula and effectively upcycles material that was previously created.

Funded by Woody Harrelson and Alanis Morissette, the reco jeans manufacturing process reduces waste by nearly 60% which is unheard of in the denim industry.

Environmentally Friendly Qualities Of reco Jeans:

• Recycled denim fabric approved and certified by the Hong Kong Green Council
• Recycled thread stitching
• Non-Toxic buttons and rivets
• Tags created on 100% recycled, seed embedded paper
• Plastic shipping bag made from recycled materials
• Gift box constructed out of 100% recycled paper
• Just 2 labels attached to every pair of reco jeans (as opposed to the traditional "6")
• Planning to incorporate hemp, bamboo and organic cotton into future lines

If you're interested in purchasing a pair, they're offering 300 limited edition reco jeans boxed sets for pre-launch bidding -- you set the price.

Each boxed set includes a pair of eco-friendly recycled denim reco® jeans, reco® iPod case, and certificate of authenticity - just log onto recojeans.com for further details.