Mud Jeans, a sustainable fashion brand based in the Netherlands, has introduced an innovative approach to jeans production and consumption through its unique leasing program. As concerns about the environmental impact of fast fashion continue to rise, Mud Jeans offers a practical alternative that promotes circularity and reduces textile waste.
MUD Jeans are made from eco-friendly materials like organic and recycled cotton, and they don’t use any pesticides. Each pair can be recycled to create a new pair, which helps save 92% more water compared to regular jeans.
With MUD, you can lease jeans that are made from 40% recycled denim and 60% organic cotton for a monthly fee, and they even offer free repairs while you lease them.
After a year of leasing, you have three choices:
1. Swap your jeans for a new pair and keep leasing.
2. Keep the jeans and wear them as long as you want; you can return them whenever for recycling.
3. End the lease and send the jeans back to get a voucher for a new purchase.
If the jeans are still in good shape, they are cleaned, repaired if needed, and sold as vintage items. Unlike other brands that try to create a “vintage” look, MUD’s returned jeans have that style naturally. Any jeans that can’t be repaired are sent back to the denim manufacturer to be recycled into new products.
Fig: Concept of Leasing
Circularity at MUD Jeans:
Commitment to Circularity: Mud Jeans focuses on minimizing waste and maximizing the use of materials throughout their design and business model.
Sustainable Materials: Jeans are made from a blend of recycled cotton (post-consumer and pre-consumer), organic cotton, and a small amount of recycled elastane. All hardware, like buttons and labels, is sourced from recyclable materials.
Lease A Jeans Program: Customers lease jeans for a year instead of buying them outright. After the lease, they can keep the jeans or return them for recycling, encouraging responsible disposal.Recycling Process: Returned jeans are sent to specialized recyclers, shredded, and mixed with virgin organic cotton to create new yarn, effectively closing the production loop.
Recycling Process: Returned jeans are sent to specialized recyclers, shredded, and mixed with virgin organic cotton to create new yarn, effectively closing the production loop.
Transparent Supply Chain: Mud Jeans collaborates with a limited number of trusted partners in fabric production and manufacturing, promoting innovation in sustainable practices like dry indigo dyeing and water recycling.
Reducing Overproduction: Utilizes a pre-order model and a “Never Out Of Stock” (NOOS) collection to minimize waste.
Environmental Impact: In 2023, the average CO2 emissions per pair were 3.5 kg, a 42% reduction. Water usage averaged 460 liters per pair, down 67%, through sustainable production techniques.
Customer Care Recommendations: Encourages washing jeans less frequently at lower temperatures and air drying to further decrease the environmental footprint.Empowering Consumers: Shares Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) data and impact figures to help consumers make informed choices, while inspiring the fashion industry towards circular production and sustainable consumption
Mud Jeans recycles old denim, they don’t just shred and respin the fibers—they partner with a specialized facility in Valencia, Spain, that uses a mechanical recycling process powered entirely by solar energy. This allows them to turn worn-out jeans into new fabric without using any water or chemicals, which is a massive leap forward compared to traditional recycling methods. Mud Jeans’ leasing model reflects a broader shift in how businesses and consumers perceive value. Brands like Mud Wtr and Rent the Runway demonstrate that leasing and sharing reduce waste and carbon footprints. Worn Again Technologies is developing advanced recycling methods to tackle mixed-fiber textiles, essential for closing the loop on cotton blend jeans. These companies illustrate that circular fashion and product-as-a-service models are viable solutions to the planet’s resource crisis.
References:
3- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhABqutIr9w
4- https://stec.univ-ovidius.ro/html/anale/RO/2024i1/Section%204/1.pdf 5- https://www.thedenimeye.com/home/hm-mud-jeans