The Merchandising, Apparel and Textiles (MAT) Club held their annual denim drive this fall. The MAT Club partners with Cotton From Blue to Green to facilitate the denim drive at the University of Kentucky. Cotton From Blue to Green began in 2006 as part of a marketing initiative for Cotton, Incorporated. They collect denim from various college campuses across the country and recycle it into Ultra Touch natural cotton fiber insulation. This insulation is then donated to Habitat for Humanity homes, recently used in the Gulf Coast area of Hurricane Katrina. Five hundred pairs of jeans will insulate one home, and 1,333 pairs will divert one ton of waste from a landfill.
At the University of Kentucky, over 15,800 pairs of jeans were collected this fall, which is enough denim to insulate 32 homes! That also adds up to 11 tons of waste that was recycled. Donors this year included Carhartt with over 12,000 pairs, Taylor County High School, Extension Agents from across the state, 4-H youth through special projects, UK students, and MAT Club members.
Meredith Cinnamon, president of the MAT Club, stated, "The denim drive is a great project for the Merchandising, Apparel and Textiles Club. It allows us to give back to the community in a tremendous way each year. Since the denim drive started back in 2008, we have collected over 34,000 pairs of jeans at the University of Kentucky!"
To find out more about the process of recycling the denim into insulation and the program's history, visit the following website: http://www.cottonfrombluetogreen.org/