Is this your first pair of sustainable jeans?

If jeans are bad for the environment, why are we launching our first pair? What’s so different about BAM jeans?  

Every single item of BAM clothing is sustainably created. Up until now, we couldn’t see how we could make a pair of jeans that would meet our exacting standards.  

And we weren’t prepared to make conventional jeans.   

What’s wrong with my jeans? 

It takes over 2000 litres of water to make a pair of normal jeans. That’s so shocking, we might have to say it again. It takes 2000 litres of water, just to make a single pair of normal  jeans. That’s your drinking water for 3 years.  

The pesticides used in conventional cotton farming damage soil health (impacting biodiversity). This means the soil is less able to hold water and so more irrigation is needed. It’s a vicious circle.  

If you like faded blue jeans, then your fabric will need a bleach wash. This means more water and hazardous chemicals in the wastewater.   

Then there’s the recycling. Because of the metal components on denim, often the entire top half of a jean is cut off and thrown away before recycling. Only the legs get recycled. Everything else ends up in landfill or incinerated. Both options either release harmful greenhouse gases or toxins into the environment.  

How are BAM’s 73 Zero jeans different? 

We wanted to create sustainable jeans that could be fully recycled. And we wanted them to be BAM jeans – supersoft and made for action.  

There were no jeans like this on the market. And it was no small task to create them. It’s taken us three years. 

But we knew that with our expertise in bamboo our denim jeans could be something really special.  

We had support. Just as we were trying to solve the jeans dilemma, the Ellen McArthur Foundation launched The Jeans Redesign, part of its Make Fashion Circular campaign.  

The Jeans Redesign aims to change the way jeans are produced and to address the huge problems of waste. It established minimum requirements for durability, material health, recyclability and traceability as set out by over 40 denim experts. Our jeans meet every one of those requirements.  

We cut the water and chemical waste 

We use organic cotton which needs up to 90% less water for irrigation. We’ve blended that with bamboo which doesn’t need pesticides.  

All our jeans are a dark indigo. We love the classic colour. But it also means we’re not bleach washing our jeans avoiding that chemical waste and saving water.  

We made them recyclable 

We removed all the metal rivets from our design. We’ve even ensured the jeans button can be unscrewed before the jeans are recycled (which means we can re-use it for the next pair). Only the metal zip teeth need to be cut out – the whole rest of the jean can be recycled.  

We designed them for action 

Jeans are unlike any other item of clothing. It’s a relationship. You have to love them.  

You have to love the colour. You have to love the comfort. And now, thanks to our incredible bamboo blend, you’ll get to love the incredible softness. It’s really something else. 

But these wouldn’t be BAM jeans if they weren’t made for adventure. If you decide to go rock climbing, you can. If you want to do a little mountain yoga, go right ahead.

 We’re confident that you’ll find our bamboo jeans are up for any challenge you give them because we’ve already put them to the ultimate test.

We set two professional climbers loose on a bouldering wall in BAM denim. But not just any two professional climbers. Richard Slocock is the UK’s number one paraclimber.  Keiha Dhruev is an expert climbing instructor. We knew they wouldn’t go easy. Their verdict? BAM jeans had enough stretch to give them total flexibility on the wall. They were incredibly comfortable yet durable enough for the toughest challenge. These active jeans passed the test in style. 

When David tried the prototype, even he couldn’t believe the level of softness, comfort and flexibility. His words?

I could pole-vault in these jeans. We need to make these. 

Jeans how they were meant to be 

The original denim jeans were meant to be durable, comfortable and hard-wearing. They were designed for physical activity. 

And that’s exactly what our jeans do. Sustainably.  

Which brings us to the name. 73% of clothing ends up in landfill or incinerated. As part of our bid to be impact positive, we need to get that to zero.  

This is how we’ll do it. 73 Zero Jeans.