This class is about transparency and traceability. As the terms suggests, it is all about sharing honest information concerning the making of a product. As such, it will be showing the details and numbers behind MUD Jean’s efforts to be a sustainable and circular brand. This section covers MUD Jean's supply chain, the production process, origin of materials, and impact data of production. But most importantly, it covers how we share and use this data to for improvement. You will walk away from this section with a better understanding of the power and value of transparent information.
Estimated time to complete: 30 minutes
In this section you will:
Learn about MUD Jean's supply chain, and see how we ensure that fair and sustainable practices are employed throughout the chain.
Look at the numbers behind the impact MUD Jeans is having with the circular model.
See how MUD Jeans works with other internationally recognized organisations and targets, to ensure safe and fair practices in everything we do.
Who is Ecochain?
Ecochain is an Environmental Intelligence Platform. In other words, they are the number geniuses who support and verify our environmental impact calculations. With their help, we have been able to calculate the environmental impact of every single style in our collection.
This is how the data that we obtained from our LCA with Ecochain is shared with our customers. For each individual pair of jeans, you have the specific impact overview.
We also use our LCA data to develop strategies towards continuous improvement in order to meet our climate impact reduction goals.
We were happy to see that we have met our targeted goals. All with exception of land use. This was expected, given that we were not yet able to increase the use of post-consumer recycled cotton in our jeans.
At MUD Jeans, our focus is continuous improvement. Every year we strive to reduce our impact a little bit more. Here are our next targets. We hope to achieve these targets through further improved data, material selection, production improvements and product development. In 2021, we will be supporting our supply chain partner Yousstex International in implementing renewable energy into their production. Projects such as the Road to 100 (which you can read about in our sustainability report) promise to also reduce our water, CO2 and biodiversity impact significantly.
| Impact Variable | 2020 Impact |
|
CO2 impact per jeans (kg) |
6.10 |
|
Water consumption per jeans |
477 |
|
Biodiversity per jeans |
0,000000203 (2,03 E-07) |
| 2021 Reduction Target | 2030 Reduction Target |
|
5% |
80% |
|
5% |
80% |
|
3% |
50% |
Transparency & Tracability
Transparency and traceability are key cornerstones to building an honest brand. More than ever, brands and companies have a responsibility to society, to the environment and to their own customers. MUD Jeans has full traceability of every item that goes into the making of our jeans. This means that we know where our materials come from, and who is making our jeans.
MUD Jeans is unique for the direct relationship that it holds with its 4 main partners (Recover, Ferre, Tejidos Royo, and Yousstex International). MUD Jeans frequently visits the factories, works closely with them, and works hard to foster supportive partnerships. This not only creates trust and solidarity, but also breeds innovation! Check out the map below to see the location and name of each one of our material suppliers.
“Traceability and transparency keep us connected to the materials and the people that are involved in the making of our jeans”
| Material | Source |
|
Raw Cotton |
OCS Certified Cotton, Turkey |
|
Recycled Fibre |
Recover, Spain |
|
Yarn |
Ferre, Spain |
|
Fabric |
Tejidos Royo, Spain | Bossa, Turkey | Calik, Turkey |
|
Stitching & Laundry |
Yousstex International, Tunisia |
|
Sewing Yarns |
Cucirini RAMA, Italy |
|
Cotton Labels |
Odeo, Tunisia |
|
Buttons & Rivets |
BERNING, Germany |
Material Transparency
It is important for us and for you to know exactly what goes into the making of your MUD Jeans.
100% of all our styles are circular. The journey of a pair of MUD Jeans starts with a cotton bulb in Turkey. This cotton travels to Spain and is blended with recycled fibre that is produced in Recover. Ferre, spins these fibres together to make a new yarn. The yarn is taken to Tejidos Royo, where its dyed and woven into a fabric. This is the fabric process for 92% of all our jeans. 7% is produced in Orta. There, the story is much the same, the only difference being its location. The cotton, the spinning and weaving all takes place in Turkey. All fabrics travel to Yousstex International, where they are transformed into individual pairs of jeans.
99% of our fabrics use certified organic cotton and GRS-certified recycled cotton. We use sustainable and high-quality products. Our focus is on keeping the use of materials monogamous to cotton (or other cellulose based fibres). This ensures that our jeans can be easily recycled and reincorporated into production. In 2020, our total production consisted of 72% organic cotton and 27% recycled cotton. We had some styles with a small amount of Tencel, but this was less than 1%. The final 1% is the use of elastane to make some of our jeans stretchy.
Working with recycled cotton is not easy, but we push limits and demonstrate that it can be done. 99% of our jeans contain recycled content, 28% of which are made with 40% post-consumer recycled cotton.
Material Health & Social Responsibility
The materials that are used in the making of a product greatly shape the impact that is has on people and the planet. There is always a choice in the materials that are used. At MUD Jeans, we carefully select materials that are non-toxic, natural, and sustainably produced.
As a small brand, we rely on certificates to help us ensure that the above-mentioned standards are met. We know that the world of certificates is a labyrinth, so here is an overview of the certificates we use and what they stand for.
Water Waste Prevented
Zero Waste
Globally, an estimated 92 million tonnes of textile waste are created each year. In 2019, an estimated 208 million pounds of waste were generated by single-use outfits. That is a lot of waste created from unwanted and unvalued clothes. This is one of the biggest problems of the fashion industry and the linear approach of consumption (take, make, waste).
Through our circular model, MUD Jeans eliminates the creation of waste. As a brand, we take responsibility over the end of life of our product. We can make sure that our old jeans come back to us for recycling through our Lease a Jeans Model, which ensures the continuous use of our valuable raw materials. We aim to conduct a business that respects natural resources and functions within the boundaries of the planet.
Waste is not only created at the end of life of the product, but also across the entire production process. These can be the leftovers of chemicals, scraps from production, and unwanted pieces that did not meet the criteria for sale.
At MUD Jeans, we make sure to keep an eye on these forgotten waste streams too. Currently the 20% of fabric loss that is created in production is collected and resold to be used as stuffing. The chemical sludge and oil waste that is produced at Yousstex International is monitored and collected by a Tunisian government agency. In 2021, we want to further improve our knowledge about the waste in our production process so that we can begin to find ways to decrease and eliminate it.
What's in our packaging?
Much like our jeans, we keep our packaging simple and sustainable. The cardboard used for our packaging is FSC certified and contains 72% recycled content. We say no to waste and all things plastic. Thanks to the state-of-the-art facilities of our logistics partner, all jeans are boxed based on size. Upon opening your MUD Jeans delivery, you will find only the essentials, your jeans, and relevant documents.
Chemistry of things
It has been estimated that 8,000 synthetic chemicals are used in the fashion, textile, and shoe industry to turn raw materials into products. This includes carcinogens and hormone disruptors. These chemicals harm the environment and biodiversity, but also the people that must come in contact with them.
However, not all chemistry is bad chemistry. Everything is made of chemicals; this includes the skin on your body and the coffee you are drinking. The key is in responsibly selecting the chemicals used. MUD Jeans consciously ensures that no toxic chemicals are used in the making of our denim. Between 2018 and 2020 all MUD products have been certified by the Nordic Swan Ecolabel. This certificate reviews all items and procedures and confirms that we only use non-harmful, biodegradable chemicals. In 2021, we will be implementing a new ZDHC based chemical policy.
Unlike other denim brands, MUD Jeans is unique for the elimination of PP spray, chlorine and stone washing from the production process. Instead, we use innovative techniques such as laser and ozone to achieve similar effects. These techniques are not only better for the environment, but also for the health of our colleagues that work at the factories and make our jeans.