Looking for used jeans for my upcycle sewing studio.

Unfortunately not in stock.

Someone ordered a pair of trousers from me. It had to have black elements in it. The black jeans that I have in stock weren't high quality enough to use again for a new pair of trousers. For that I need fabric that is strong enough to last. Not in stock, so I needed to go on a hunt.  

I have a lot of blue jeanswear available. A lot of blue, a few black, gray and beige. These three colors are somehow les in circulation, and I see that reflected in the delivery of the material. When I receive an order, with a wish for one of these three non-regular colors, I hop on my bike and I am going to look for them at the local secondhand stores. Sometimes it takes me at least three shops before I find that perfect pair of trousers. Can you immagine the time and energy it takes to do so. Shop-raw material-till you drop, haha, it keeps me fit. 

Factors that determine the value of our clothes.

So much clothing is thrown away. It actually is discarded as easily as it has been purchased.

 Fast fashion is known for its bad quality, mostly synthetic fabrics and the bottom prices. It is so cheap, you can get yourself a new outfit every week.  

And if you look at it this way, of course these clothes are of less value. Much less than for example, that coat that is bought for a high price. That coat, good quality, made from honest and clean raw material, and fair-trade produced. A coat you are not going to throw away after only wearing it half a season.  

That coat has a completely different value.

Think about all the hours of work that is done to earn the money, not joining outings in order to save money, shopping economically, working overtime, having a side- or summer job, months of saving money, and so on. All kinds of ways to generate income to buy that expensive coat.  

And the funny side of it is, that because so much blood, sweat and tears are spilled before you've had enough money to purchase, you will consider different things before buying it, like: Is it good quality; does the color really fits me; is it a timeless design; can I wear it many seasons from now. All and all a whole different approach than buying a very cheap coat.  

But anyway, I degress..... 

What happens in textile sorting centers?

So there is much fashion and textile waste and I want to work with that. But what about a secondhand or discarded jeans as raw material. Is that still usable?

Well, all used clothing is collected and sorted at textile sorting centers. Good quality, non-ripped and nice stuff will be sold at the secondhand store. The rest of it will be disposed of in various currents.

The sorting centers are like a gateway to clothing waste separation. For example, they collect textile waste for schoolprojects, recycling companies or small circular entrepreneurs like me.  

Because a part of discarded clothing is good quality wear but somehow ripped or it has stains. I collect these quality items, in order to give them a new purpose. This is where you find my spot in this chain. 

Roll containers full with clothes at the textile sorting centre Stichting Kringloop Zwolle. The ladder on the right side of the photo is for me. This way I can dive in the container, looking for material I can use. 

How do I process those worn jeans?

If I am going to make a bag with small pattern pieces, I can use only lowest part of the legs of an old jeans. The part that wears out the least. The rest of the jeans I will dispose of.  

For the Trash Trousers, I need large pieces of fabric. And the material needs to be strong enough, in order for the Trash Trousers to be durable. For these, I prefer using secondhand and disposed jeans that are still in good condition.   

It sounds and looks like a simple job to do, working with secondhand fabric only. But nothing is what it seems. Using Clothes to make new items is a time consuming job. Most of the pattern pieces I use, are cut into small pieces. Ik lay these small pattern pieces on a trouser leg and puzzle as long as needed, until I can cut out all the pieces.  Then I sew them all together. This way I am building up the small pieces into the basic pattern piece. If you look closer at the Trash Trousers, comfy jeans edition, you can see what I mean.   

Detail of a trouser leg from a pair of Trash Trousers, comfy jeans edition. It shows how the pants are build up from smaller pieces of fabric.