SUPPORTING THE TRANSITION TO A CIRCULAR ECONOMY: M&S UNVEILS FIRST DENIM COLLECTION AS PART OF THE ELLEN MACARTHUR FOUNDATION’S JEANS REDESIGN PROJECT
- M&S joined The Jeans Redesign, a project led by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, in 2021 and this is the first collection that has been produced to meet the guidelines for recycled content, safe chemistry, material sourcing and recyclability
- The M&S Jeans Redesign capsule collection includes five styles for the whole family, with jeans available across womenswear, menswear and kidswear, exclusively on M&S.com
- The capsule collection is part of M&S’s wider commitment to offer more sustainable denim and pledge to become a net zero Scope 3 business by 2040.
Today M&S, the nation’s no.1 denim retailer, which sells 1 in 10 jeans in the UK, has unveiled its first capsule collection as part of The Jeans Redesign. The new range has been responsibly sourced to meet the project’s guidelines set out by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and co-developed with over 80 denim experts.
M&S joined the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Jeans Redesign Project in 2021 and this is the first capsule collection that has been produced to meet the guidelines. Priced from £18, M&S’s Jeans Redesign capsule collection offers something for the whole family with styles available across womenswear, menswear and kidswear in best-selling shapes.
The five-piece capsule collection has been designed to be fit for a circular economy – made to be used more, made to be made again and made from safe and recycled or renewable materials. The styles have maximised the use of easily recycled and renewable materials and are made with organic cotton, including a minimum of 25% recycled cotton.
Plus, the garments have removed unnecessary components, such as metal rivets, that hamper the recycling process – meaning that when jeans are recycled*, more of the fabric can be successfully remade into new garments. The styles have also been rigorously tested to ensure that they still look and feel great after 30 washes.
Substantiality Principles
In addition to The Jeans Redesign capsule collection, last year M&S launched new sustainability standards across its entire hero product category of denim. Since then, M&S has continued to make changes to each stage of the development process, from reducing water consumption and chemical impact to increase the use of sustainable fibres. The retailer is sharing this information with customers through its iconic Look Behind the Label campaign. Currently M&S’s windows include a sticker with a QR code that customers can scan to find out more about M&S’s sustainability principles for denim.
Collaboration for Circularity
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is just one of the many partners M&S works with to address the ongoing challenges of manufacturing denim. The retailer continues to work with Jeanologia, the leader in sustainable finishing technologies, to ensure its entire denim range meets its sustainable denim principles. This is all part of M&S’s wider commitment to becoming a net zero Scope 3 business across its entire supply chain and products by 2040 with collaboration being key to achieving this.
M&S Family Matters Index
According to the latest M&S Family Matters Index, the environment remains a top concern for consumers post-COP26, as 60% make an effort to educate themselves and more people change the clothing and food they buy. Nearly six in ten customers (58%) say it is important that the shops they buy from are making their products as environmentally sustainable as possible and 72% agree we should be making our clothes last longer (up 2% since August 2021).
Monique Leeuwenburgh – Director of Sourcing for M&S Clothing & Home, commented: “As an own brand retailer we’re uniquely positioned to work with our long-standing suppliers and partners on new and better ways of doing things. Denim is a staple clothing product and more sustainable denim really matters to us and to our customers. Our latest M&S Family Matters Index highlighted that the environment and the impact that clothing choices have on the planet is a top concern for our customers. Our Jeans Redesign capsule collection has been created with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s guidelines and offers customers the confidence their purchase is not only stylish, quality and great value – but also created with circularity in mind.”
Laura Balmond – Fashion Initiative Lead at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation commented: “The Jeans Redesign project demonstrates that it is possible to make products fit for a circular economy, today. We’re pleased to see the solutions identified by M&S and the growing understanding of the challenges that must be addressed to achieve the vision of a circular economy for fashion at scale.”
The Jeans Redesign five-piece capsule collection is available exclusively on M&S.com for next day delivery or click & collect to over 700 M&S locations.
