Jeans are a statement piece of anyone’s wardrobe. They are easy to wear, stylish, and effortless to pair with other wardrobe items, making them a go-to choice for many people on a daily basis. However, many people get attached to their trusty old jeans, meaning when your jeans go out of style or no longer fit, it can be hard to get rid of them.
Instead of wasting the jeans, there are a number of ways that your old jeans can be repurposed. This is a great idea to combat the throw away fashion trend and can have so many benefits for the environment.
Below, we’ll take a look at how you can repurpose your old jeans, and why repurposing them is worth it.
Why repurpose your old jeans?
Sometimes, it can be easy to simply throw out your old jeans when they’ve got a little faded and head out to the shop to buy some more. However, there are a number of ways to recycle your jeans that have a huge amount of benefits for the world and the planet we live in.
Let’s take a look at some of these benefits below:
- Save landfill space – The volume of clothes thrown away has doubled year on year, in which 20 million tons of textile waste was dumped in US landfills in 2017.
- Help those in need – While you may not need those jeans, many people cannot afford the luxury of a nice pair of jeans that fit. Why not donate your old jeans to a local goodwill centre or pop them in the charity bag that comes through the letterbox?
- Reduce consumerism – In today’s day and age, consumerism is at an all-time high. Choose not to buy into it and consider alternative methods to sharing and donating your old clothes with others rather than buying new ones.
- Conserve energy – For every piece of clothing that is thrown away, more are made and sold in large retail environments, consuming valuable resources that are causing damage to the planet. Reducing the buy new cycle can help to reduce this.
Ways to repurpose your old jeans
The good news is that there’s a huge variety of ways to repurpose your old jeans. Let’s take a look at some of the options.
Make some quirky coasters
Repurposing your old jeans doesn’t mean they need to stay as jeans. If you have a retro vibe going on in your home, why not turn your old jeans into some cool coasters for your mugs. Not only will it save your table from getting cup stains, but it will also make you pretty cool for being so creative and resourceful too.
Cover an old notebook
Looking to give your old notebook a spruce up? Jeans are a great material for covering notebooks as it looks cool and is incredibly durable. If you have kids or teenagers in the family, look out for this as an upcoming birthday idea.
Help people in developing countries by donating your clothes
While it may be easier to simply throw your jeans away. It can significantly help people in developing countries who don’t have the luxury of simply picking up a brand-new pair of jeans at the mall. Many developing countries rely on clothes that come from the western world to make their living by selling them.
By increasing the amount of pre-used clothes, you can easily have a huge impact on another person’s life across the globe.
Bring out your creative side
As well as making some pretty useful things in the house, recycled denim can be used for a range of things you didn’t think existed before. You could try making some stylish oven gloves, creating a new denim headband, or even create a cute bookmark.
Overall, there’ so many different ways to repurpose your old jeans, you just have to get creative. And with a variety of reasons for upcycling them from helping people in developing nations, to reducing your impact on the globe, there’s never been a better time to start repurposing your jeans.