The times they are a’changin’! By now it’s probably no secret that the apparel industry is a fairly dirty one—especially denim. Those pretty denim washes you love take up a lot of water, and oftentimes toxic chemicals. Cotton can contain pesticides, and take up large amounts of land to grow. More and more brands every year are adopting more organic and sustainable practices as the style industry continues to make a huge shift in awareness and manufacturing practices. It makes my heart so happy to see!
I’ve written about several eco-friendly denim lines so far, like Everlane, Sonas, Tortoise and Patagonia, as well as already well-established brands that have improved their production methods, like Joe’s and True Religion. I also did a summary in honor of Earth Month in April of 2015 of a bunch of other eco friendly denim lines. One of the brands I highlighted was Kuyichi, which continues to make awesome strides in sustainable fashion.
Kuyichi got its name from the Peruvian god of the rainbow who brings color into society. They are a Dutch denim brand which started the “organic revolution” by being the first to create organic jeans, sourced from Tanguis cotton from Oro Blanco in Peru. After witnessing the polluted and poverty-stricken cotton industry in Peru in 2000, the brand’s founders were motivated to make a change. Since jeans are the most common product created with cotton, they founded their journey by creating 100% organic cotton denim. Kuyichi also takes social responsibility seriously, working to improve manufacturing conditions in the industry. The brand also now incorporates recycled materials into their product lines, and releases sustainability reports every year which also includes information about their suppliers and code of conduct.
As I’m sure you know, fast fashion is insanely wasteful, both in quality and the idea that new clothes must be purchased each season. Kuyichi prides itself in supporting the “slow fashion” movement, creating timeless denim pieces that keeps its value all year, removing seasonal collections from its product offerings. In 2016, Kuyichi made a new start by bringing in four new owners, one being Dutch Televison host Floortje Dessing. This awesome lady knows sustainable fashion like the back of her hand, as she is the owner of two ethical fashion shops in the Netherlands since 2006 called Nukuhiva. Kuyichi also takes a step further in 2016 with their jeans by stopping the use of leather as brand patches, and instead using jacron which is a very durable material made from recycled paper.
Kuyichi is definitely a brand to keep your eyes on!
“We started the organic revolution as being the first brand to produce organic jeans. Along the way we realized that our collection is timeless and keeps its value. We started loving the concept of slow fashion. A beautiful pair of jeans keeps it’s value. That’s why we have let go of the season collections.”
“Kuyichi uses organic and recycled materials. Our collection is made of recycled denim, recycled PET, organic cotton, organic linnen and Tencel. All the cotton we use is GOTS certified.”
“At Kuyichi we believe in taking environmental en social responsibility for our actions. This includes more than making just good products at the right price. We want to give a positive impulse to the garment industry by choosing organic and recycled materials. We select our suppliers with care and want to improve conditions in this industry. Since the beginning of Kuyichi in 2001, this has been the core of our company.”
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Kuyichi.
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“OUR name KUYICHI is derived from the Peruvian god of the rainbow who brought color in society as well. Why Peru? The first organic cotton we used was Tanguis cotton from Oro Blanco in Peru.”
Shop Kuyichi at their website here, or shop a few other denim options from the widget below:
