Two US companies, Denim North America (DNA) and Martex, have jointly launched a sustainable denim collection. At its dyeing and weaving facility, DNA has implemented environmentally responsible manufacturing practices to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, recycle waste to reduce landfill requirements, recover 50 per cent of its process chemicals for reuse and recycle 90 per cent of its process water in a continuous loop system. The weft in the denim comprises recycled-content ECO2 cotton yarn produced by Martex.

ECO2 cotton is made using cutting waste collected by Martex from US, Mexican and Central American cotton knit apparel production facilities. Martex sorts that waste by color and source, and refiberises the material, using a mechanical process that does not use process chemicals or water. The resulting fibers are blended with manmade fibers and spun into yarn. The yarns are available in more than 50 stock colors and different colors can be plied to produce additional colors.

The first of these denim fabrics contain ECO2 cotton yarn comprising pre-consumer T-shirt waste and polyester in a 70 to 75 per cent cotton-rich blend. The recycled content in each pair of such jeans is equal to two cotton T-shirts. DNA is looking to increase the recycled content in future fabrics.