Whether you view it as inflated, capitalist consumerism at its best or worst, the recent premium denim boom has paved the way for denim products that support sustainable industry. Terms like organic denim, eco-friendly jeans, and “green” jeans have been thrown about to describe this growing trend in the premium denim market today.

The late nineties, in which pioneering premium denim brands like Diesel, Seven, Paper Denim & Cloth, and others began to establish themselves through the boutique store retail channel, brought about a denim renaissance that continues today with the proliferation of every possible brand under the sun from Rock & Republic to the ubiquitous True Religion to Antik to Iron Army to Earnest Sewn to Levi’s Capital E to J Brand to Paige Denim to Joe’s Jeans to Habitual to name a few. The list goes on and, every season, there are dozens of new brands entering the U.S. market from foreign nations like 45rpm, Kapital, APC, Nudie, Cheap Monday, Ksubi (formerly Tsubi), and so and so forth. Called the premium denim boom, many have predicted a bust is in the making, but most experts agree that, while there will not be continued growth in the area, premium denim is here to stay.

“Every week, at least 10 people approach me about starting a brand. In LA, there is a denim brand born every minute,” says John Kang, president of a premium denim manufacturer, Indigo Group, U.S.A., in Los Angeles, CA, a city which many consider the premium denim Mecca of the world. Because of the denim boom, the apparel manufacturing industry has been rejuvenated in Los Angeles, where some of the best denim sew factories and laundries exist. It seems obvious that it would be with its close connection with the entertainment industry because the right product placement can create an overnight sensation and the new premium denim flavor of the season.

You may ask how this premium denim phenomenon is connected to sustainable living. The simple answer is that creating an acceptance in the market for jeans priced over $100 and increasing the willingness of the consumer to spend hundreds of dollars on a pair of jeans has enhanced the sell-ability of organic-based denim product which has usually cost more than its non-organic counterpart. Because the buyers who fill the stores did not believe until recently the validity of the “organic” angle in consumers’ buying decisions, more expensive organic products rarely made it to the selling floor. Moreover, options for organic denim were limited as the amount of money spent on development of eco-friendly denim simply did not represent a good return on investment for denim mills. This is all changing.

For example, Loomstate and Edun, which fall under a group of brands designed by premium denim legend, Rogan Gregory, are based on building and supporting sustainable industry. According to their website, Loomstate, which refers to the state of raw denim right off the weaving looms, utilizes “the best quality 100% organic cotton, grown free of pesticides, herbicides and synthetic fertilizers” and is “focused on making beautiful clothes and supporting organic farming.”

With a different approach, EDUN ( “nude” spelled backwards), a highly-hyped brand created by Ali Hewson, her famous husband, U2’s Bono, and Rogan, is based upon a business model whose objective is to create sustainable employment in developing markets. By seeking out and producing in developing markets, EDUN hopes “to shift the focus away from aid in the developing world, particularly Africa, to trade.”

Moreover, Sugarcane, a Japanese selvedge denim brand for the ultra-authentic denim connoisseur, has developed fabric that utilizes sugar cane fibers mixed with cotton fibers. As noted in their product descriptions, “by-products from sugar cane are used to fuel automobiles in Brazil in order to have a less harmful impact on the environment than found in burned fuels of a purely fossil origin. Following these facts in a rather philosophical approach, the textile specialists at Sugar Cane were the first in the world to produce a selvage-denim fabric made from woven cotton yarns and sugar cane fibers.”

These are just a few of the examples of companies built where sustainable materials or business practices are an integral part of its brand DNA. But how genuine is the product and premise of these businesses? This is something to address in another article…

No good article on sustainable lifestyle is complete without some factoids and here are some about organic cotton from the Organic Exchange:

- Cotton is a highly valued fiber that is grown on 76 million acres world-wide; this represents approximately 2.4% of global arable land.

- Between 40%-47% of the world’s textiles are made from cotton, making this a $ 334 billion industry in 2004.

- Cotton is grown in over 100 countries representing approximately 50 million farmers globally.

- Over 90% of cotton production involves the use of synthetic chemicals.

- Worldwide, genetically modified organism (GMO) cotton is grown on an estimated 20% of acres worldwide, with an estimated 80% in the US.

- Certified organic cotton currently represents an estimated .1% of the cotton grown in the world.

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Paul Choi is a converted medical student masquerading as a fashion executive. Currently at RRL, Paul has held various leadership positions in design, merchandising, and product development at companies which include Levi Strauss & Co., the Gap, Inc., Paper Denim & Cloth, and Polo Ralph Lauren.