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Doubly sustainable denim sofas

Words by Smiley Team

Giving new life to old denim, Ikea has partnered with Dutch circular textiles company MUD Jeans. Together they have launched a new Klippan sofa, 40 per cent of which is furnished with recycled denim. 

By incorporating used jeans into the sofa cover, the manufacturers save 27,000 litres of water and reduce the carbon footprint of each product by 67 per cent. 

“Offering new sofa covers made from recycled materials, we can help customers to renew their sofa and reuse materials,” said Piotr Jakubiak, a deployment leader at Ikea, Sweden. “We are happy to work together with MUD Jeans to make the Klippan sofa cover with recycled denim.”

Each sofa cover uses the equivalent of two pairs of jeans. The product will be available for purchase in Ikea stores across the Netherlands, Germany, the UK, Ireland, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, France, and Italy.

 

Producing within the planet’s limits

Made from cotton and synthetic dyes, denim usually takes a heavy toll on the environment. The production of just one pair of jeans, using contemporary techniques, requires 1500 gallons of water. To add to this, metal accessories often make denim wear difficult to recycle. 

The European denim market alone sees about 500 million sales in pairs of jeans every year. On average, each European owns seven pairs of jeans, two of which are never worn. 

But the worst is that most owners discard their unused jeans rather than sending them to charity shops. This means they end up in landfill or are incinerated. The material from less than one per cent of this waste is transformed into new clothing.

Brands such as Levi’s and H&M are only just starting to promote denim reuse. The retailers are switching to partly recycled collections, environmentally-friendly dyes and technology to reduce water waste. 

MUD Jeans offers an alternative source of eco-conscious clothing, produced under ethical working standards and without as much waste. They use 92 per cent less water than average denim companies and every pair of jeans produced is recycled into new clothing. 

Leading Ikea’s drive to steer the company in a direction that incorporates planetary limits is Malin Nordin, head of circular development at Inter Ikea Group. She said: “Ikea wants to grow within the boundaries of the planet. We believe all materials are valuable and should not be wasted. 

“By joining forces with MUD Jeans, we can work together to secure new sources of recycled materials, and develop products using post-consumer materials such as recycled jeans. By working together, we are exploring ways to minimize waste and reduce our impact on the planet.”

The Klippan sofa is just the first in a series of recycled products that will emerge from the partnership. 

Find the Klippan sofa here.

For more information and to shop MUD Jeans visit mudjeans.eu.

 

 

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This article aligns with the following UN SDGs

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