Carhartt, a global manufacturer of premium work wear, is donating 6,000 pair of retired jeans to the University of Kentucky Merchandising, Apparel and Textiles Club  for their COTTON. FROM BLUE TO GREEN.® denim drive.  The denim will be repurposed by Bonded Logic Inc. into UltraTouchTM Natural Cotton Fiber  Insulation and provided to communities in need of building assistance.

MAT Club students at the University of Kentucky were selected to spearhead denim collections for a COTTON. FROM BLUE TO GREEN.® denim drive .  Their denim drive will run on the University of Kentucky campus and throughout Lexington until October 31. 

"This is a great opportunity for Carhartt to give back to the community," said Julie Menchen, Carhartt's Trim and Finished Product Technical Manager. "We found out that approximately 500 pair of jeans will insulate one home, which means that Carhartt will be donating enough denim to insulate at least 12 homes."

The COTTON. FROM BLUE TO GREEN.® denim drive is a call-to-action to donate denim and give it "new life" by converting it to UltraTouchTM Natural Cotton Fiber Insulation. UltraTouchTM is composed of 85 percent recycled cotton fibers and is an environmentally safe, non-itch insulation without carcinogenic warnings, formaldehyde or chemical irritants. It provides exceptional thermal performance and acoustically provides 30 percent better sound absorption than traditional fiberglass insulation. In addition, it is one of the only insulating products that contain an active mold/mildew inhibitor.

For the last year, Carhartt associates working at the Irvine Administration and the Irvine Sewing locations in Irvine, KY, have been collecting, separating, and stacking retired jeans to help benefit the cause.  The 6,000 pair of jeans have been organized into 20 large packs with approximately 300 pair in each pack. 

"According to the program, 1,333 pieces of denim diverts as much as one ton of waste from a landfill - which means Carhartt will be diverting more than 4.5 tons of landfill waste," Menchen further adds.

Carhartt became involved in the program in 2009 after being contacted by local officials at the University of Kentucky, a partner of the program since 2009. Carhartt donated more than 1,000 pair of jeans during the first year of its involvement. To date, Carhartt has donated more than 7,000 pair of jeans to the COTTON. FROM BLUE TO GREEN. ® denim drive initiative at the University of Kentucky.

The COTTON. FROM BLUE TO GREEN.® denim drive began in 2006 as part of a collegiate mobile marketing effort  for Cotton Incorporated. The program is designed to educate campus communities about the natural, renewable and recyclable attributes of denim, while also providing a learning experience for students.  To-date, more than 270,000 pieces of denim have been collected and more than 540 houses have been built with UltraTouchTM Natural Cotton Fiber Insulation, preventing 200 tons of denim from being sent to landfills.