By Marjorie Ventura, Voice MOLA Guatemala.
The upcycling It has become essential for everyone who is environmentally conscious and who cares about taking care of the environment. When we renew a garment we make a considerable contribution to the reducing fashion waste. We know that denim is a very resistant textile, that since its inception it was used to make work uniforms, it is a durable textile, and that many times we do not give it the opportunity to fulfill its life time.
To achieve a true positive environmental impact, it is necessary to reuse all that garment or accessory that we have put aside or that its useful life is coming to an end. Whenever we reuse a garment, especially a jean -which uses around 7,000 liters of water to manufacture- we are saving a considerable amount of water, and we also generate less waste production, because it will not reach any landfill.
Benefits of the reuse of jeans
– Be responsible consumers: it is important to know when we need to buy something and when not, if we have several unused items in our wardrobe, it is best to reuse them.
– Less pollution: we contribute to reducing the presence of dyes and chemicals in rivers and seas, as well as reducing toxic gases into the atmosphere.
-Be more creative: the upcycling It allows us to develop our imagination when it comes to rethinking garments.
-An opportunity to question habits: it is an easy way to promote environmental responsibility by encouraging family and friends to reuse their clothes.
5 tips to renew jeans
Here we show you 5 ways to renew the jeans of your wardrobes that you no longer use, the most important thing is that they do not end up in the trash.
1. Embroidery
It is a technique that can be used to renew any type of garment, and that looks great on a jean and gives it a touch of color. It is a great idea to apply to those garments that have a stain or hole that you want to hide. Although there are a variety of shapes and colors, a floral embroidery will always look great.
The only thing that is needed is threads, wool or polish of a variety of colors, a needle, frame and a lot of patience. You can print a drawing that you like and transfer it to the jean, and then begin to embroider it.
2. Paint
It is another way that you can use when renewing any garment, and that looks great on jeans. Denim is a very suitable textile for painting, and to do so, you can use textile paint, or acrylic, which is also a durable paint that sticks very well on this fabric.
Pro tip: If you want your garment to look unique, you can apply the paint to just one leg. This way you will achieve a unique and original garment.
3. Bleached with knots
The jeans They fade very well, and to do so you only need chlorine or bleach. Currently there is a wide variety of tie dye garments with chlorine, and all you need is: some gloves, rubber or rubber, chlorine or bleach, a small bottle for chlorine and a container.
You can let your creativity fly to carry out this type of finish. You just have to knot the jeans with the rubbers and if you want a very marked fading, you must mix the chlorine or bleach with a little water, now if you want the fading to be light, you can mix it with more water. When you have all the Jean knotted, and the chlorine or bleach prepared in the boat, begin to apply it all over the Jeanyou must wait about 20 or 30 minutes and that’s it, remove the rubber bands or rubbers and put it in a little water with softener, to remove the smell of chlorine or bleach.
4. Faded in half
This renovation is also done with chlorine, you only need the Jeanchlorine or bleach, and tape to cover the area of the zipper (zip) both on the front and on the back right in the center to prevent the other leg from getting dirty. The aim is to unpaint a leg of the JeanIt is a very fun way to renew your clothes, and best of all, the materials are easy to acquire, and very cheap.
5. Cuts on the knees
This is another way to give it a touch cool to your garments, and it is very very simple. You just need the Jean, a pencil and scissors. You must put your Jean and mark with the pencil just where the knees are, make a fold in the hem with the length you want, then you can take it off and make the cuts, with your fingers you can remove threads both from the cut of the knees and from the hem to achieve a natural unraveling, and voila you have a Jean renovated.
I invite you to experiment with these alternatives in order to reduce the consumption of clothing through a greater reuse of each garment. There are many reuse and upcycling alternatives that you can use in order to contribute positively to our environment. When we let our creativity fly, we can turn our clothes into something unique, beautiful and with a long life ahead.