Eco-tips for Jeans

The TV spot “Eco-tips for jeans” demonstrates in an explanatory but fun and humorous way that we can all participate in the fight against climate change by adopting good practices during the use phase of our jeans. The United Nations Environment Programme decided to raise awareness among young people with a video clip of 30 seconds which features a couple dancing Tecktonic – a famous new dance in France – in urban and familiar surroundings. The use of split-screens, impactful messages and entertaining music (“Am I wrong” from Etienne de Crécy) aims to sensitize young persons in an appealing way. Clear, concise and appropriate advices are provided: wear your jeans at least 3 times, wash them in cold water, don’t use the dryer or the iron. By following these practices people can consume up to 5 times less energy.

Context

The Earth’s resources are far from unlimited.
Through its social and environmental impacts, the fashion industry is
among the most exploitative in the world. Toxic chemicals and
petrochemicals are used widely in cotton agriculture and in many
manufacturing stages such as pre-treatment, dyeing and printing. Waste
volumes from the sector are high and growing with the advent of ‘fast
fashion’. Water consumption – specially the extensive use of water in
cotton crop cultivation – can also be a major environmental issue.
Moreover the environmental impact of clothing and textiles products are
in many cases dominated by the ‘use phase’. A garment has to be
maintained, including cleaning, drying and pressing, but the owner can
choose how to do this.

Philosophy/Solution

The
number of wash cycles drives environmental impacts and the application
of ‘smart technology’ that halves the number of washes in the life
cycle of the product is beneficial. For the end-consumer, the effect of
reducing the number of washes will be to reduce the need for
electricity, water and detergent (the choice of the detergent itself is
actually also important). Washing at a lower temperature reduces
environmental impacts. Moreover, elimination of tumble drying (which
uses around 60% of the use phase energy) and ironing, in combination
with the lower wash temperature, leads to around 50% reduction in
global climate change impact of the product.

Watch the ad:

http://www.unep.fr/pc/sustain/advertising/ad/ad_details.asp?id=6684432&
cat=8

Or:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6v9AVNK9lo

For more information, contact:

Kyra Levine
Division of Technology, Industry, and Economics
United Nations Environment Programme
Email : kyra.levine@unep.fr
Tel: +33 1 44 37 76 17