Denim is one of the biggest offenders when it comes to the fashion industry’s impact on the planet. Looking for a solution to combat this growing problem was what inspired London-based fashion stylist Anna Foster to create her zero waste denim brand.
E.L.V., which is an acronym for East London Vintage, takes used and unwanted jeans and rework them into new styles. Their signature design is made by vertically splicing two contrasting types of denim and features a recognizable uneven hem. With creativity and sustainable responsibility at the heart of E.L.V. DENIM, the brand ensures every piece of denim used has zero impact on the environment.
Production takes place entirely in East London using local factories and the denim is sourced from vintage warehouses around the UK. As a result, the carbon footprint is kept to a minimum. E.L.V. DENIM is fully transparent with its supply chain and believes in letting customers make an informed choice when buying.
The sourced jeans are first sent to a local laundrette where they are washed for hygiene purposes, washing uses only seven litres of water compared to an average of 7000 litres to manufacture a new pair of jeans. To put this into perspective, it takes the average person over 13 years to drink this much water.
The clean denim is then transported to the atelier by electric car, proving that no detail is forgotten on this sustainable journey. Anna and her team then pair the denim by colorway, remove previous branding and quality check the garments on site.
Every single pair of E.L.V. DENIM jeans have been cut by the same pattern cutter named Ivo, who uses traditional denim cutting methods. They work alongside Blackhorse Lane Atelier who pay a fair living wage, do not offer zero-hour contracts and encourage their employees to become shareholders in the business.
Even the finishing details are zero waste, leather labels are sourced from East London leather company Tura London, where offcuts are used from their factory. Using scrap materials means branded patches can come in a variety of colours, depending on what was available at the time of production. Branded hardware is then added, using YKK’s eco-finish buttons. As a final touch, labels are made using recycled cardboard and printed with vegetable ink, sourced from a local printmaker who operates around the corner from the E.L.V. DENIM atelier.
It is refreshing to learn that a company values people just as much as product and their ethical practices do not simply start and finish with recycled materials. E.L.V. DENIM is a trailblazer in the industry, paving the way for a sustainable future for denim.
All images in this article are courtesy of E.L.V. DENIM.
