Recycled Blue Jeans Used As Insulation

CARY, N.C. – As people try to make their homes more “green,” a Cary-based industry is suggesting “blue.” For the last few years, Cotton Incorporated has been promoting a unique way of recycling by turning old blue jeans into home insulation. “It’s a way for denim, which is cotton, to be recycled because it is sustainable and natural,” said spokesperson Andrea Samber. “And so it goes from a pair of jeans into natural cotton fiber insulation.” The Cotton. From Blue To Green program has taken thousands of blue jeans around the country, including the campuses of North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina. “I gave a lot of my older jeans that don’t fit me any more or just aren’t cool to wear,” said Anna Bays, a member of UNC’s Public Relations Student Society of America, which organized the drive in Chapel Hill. The program started off as a way to help Habitat for Humanity with free insulation. “I think they particularly like it because it’s a volunteer-friendly material,” said Samber. “You don’t have to wear the protective gear.” After that, it blossomed. “Our goal was only 500 pairs of jeans — 500 is enough to insulate one house — and we raised 975,” said Bays. “They were in bags, they were in bins around campus, they were in people’s houses, they were in people’s cars. They were everywhere.” Now, Cotton Incorporated is teaming up with National Geographic Kids, hoping to break a world record for recycled clothes. The program has been expanding too, allowing people who want greener houses to buy the blue jean material themselves through local outlets. _______ Keep up with the stories Chris Cowperthwaite is working on every day: http://twitter.com/CCowperthwaite.