UK'S first DENIM DRIVE will be organized by students and faculty from the Merchandising, Apparel & Textiles Department as a part of UK's BIG BLUE GOES GREEN SUSTAINABILITY SHOWCASE.
On Tuesday, September 23rd in the UK Student Center, students from the MAT Club will accept used denim garments (jeans, shirts, skirts, etc.) during the Big Blue Goes Green Sustainability Showcase. Collection bins to accept used denim will also be located on the first and third floors of Erikson Hall from September 23rd to October 24th.
Created by Cotton Incorporated* in 2006, the COTTON. FROM BLUE TO GREEN.® denim drive is a call to action to donate denim and give it "new life" by converting it into UltraTouchTM natural cotton fiber insulation. It was created by Cotton Incorporated to emphasize the natural and environmental attributes of cotton and afford people the opportunity to give back to their community in a unique way.
Donated jeans will be converted into ‘Natural Cotton Fiber Insulation' and used in the construction of new homes and/or renovation construction with communities in need. To begin the manufacturing process the first step is to send all of the denim to Allan Company, a leader in the recycling industry since 1963. From there, it is baled into 1,000 lb. bales and then transported to JBM Fibers, a leading manufacturer of reprocessed fiber, who processes the collected denim and prepares it to its original fiber state, cotton, for the manufacturing of environmentally-safe insulation through Bonded Logic Inc., the manufacturer of UltraTouchTM natural cotton fiber insulation.
In its first two years, the COTTON. FROM BLUE TO GREEN.® denim drive received over 50,000 pieces of denim resulting in more than 100,000 square feet of insulation. To date, this eco-friendly insulation provided construction material to assist with building efforts in over 100 homes with Habitat for Humanity in the hurricane-affected Gulf Coast Region.
*Cotton Incorporated, funded by U.S. growers of upland cotton and importers of cotton and cotton textile products, is the research and marketing company representing upland cotton. The Program is designed and operated to improve the demand for and profitability of cotton.
