As jean makers, we are all about ensuring your jeans go the distance while maintaining a semblance of the pair you bought from our store. Your jeans, a little like your face, will naturally develop character with time. Fading to a patina that says you’ve lived a little and whiskering in the places where you crouch, bend and sit routinely.
But there are simple care basics that will extend their lifespan so you get real value from your denim on a cost-per-wear basis. Better yet, you'll do this while reducing your environmental impact.
1. Wash less often. When you look at the life cycle of a piece of clothing, everyday washing and drying damages our natural environment the most.* We suggest washing your jeans after ten wears rather than two.
2. Wash inside out with similar colours, particularly if you’ve opted for a darker wash. And be sure to use cold water to save energy and prevent shrinkage and fading.
3. Use environmentally friendly detergent without bleach or harsh chemicals. Try adding ½ a cup of white vinegar for fabric softness.
4. Line-dry instead of a dryer to reduce electricity consumption and prolong the life of your jeans (a dryer might make the material softer but it also weakens the fibres). Plus, there’s something undoubtedly soothing about hanging your clothes on a Hill’s Hoist in the great outdoors. Rainy season? Hang your jeans indoors using a clip coat-hanger.
5. Befriend a great local tailor who can address any wear-and-tear issues you can’t live with, such as busted zips.
6. Growing to love the natural fade of a pair of jeans is like appreciating a fine, aged wine. But you can purchase at-home colouring kits, such as Rit, and bucket-dye your jeans if you wish to freshen up your jean colour (check the chemical list). We use organic dyes in our denim.
7. Negate the ironing to save more on electricity. Your jeans should be crinkle-free after an hour of wearing.
8. When you have truly finished with your jeans, consider recycling or donating them thereby reducing your environmental imprint.
*Notably, Jack recruited 30 participants to wear the same pair of jeans for at least five days a week for three months without washing them! The result: they weren’t visibly dirty and didn’t get smelly.
Outland Denim offers the opportunity to those who have finished with their Outland jeans, to post them back to us for repurposing.
Send them to us letting us know you want them to be repurposed. Simply drop us a note by clicking here and we'll take care of the rest.
Syvannah studied a Bachelor of Environmental Management at the University of Queensland. Her interest in the field of environmental management lies within social sustainability and ethical conduct.
