Simply Be has just launched the new range, its first performance denim range with Coolmax EcoMade technology, which is made from 97% recycled sources. Each pair of the special relaxed slim-leg jeans is created using cotton together with fibre made from recycled plastic equivalent to about 18 plastic bottles.

Plastic PET bottles are diverted from landfills, cleaned and ground into flakes and after a multi-step process, are transformed into yarn. This yarn is combined with cotton to make breathable denim with an authentic look and feel.

Damaging effect of plastics

“We now know how damaging single-use plastics are to the environment so we all have a job to do in taking steps to reduce the amount of plastic that ultimately ends up in landfill. The amazing advances that have been made in technology, enabling plastic to be recycled into a high quality breathable fabric, such as the one used in these jeans, is fantastic news in the ongoing war on plastic,” said Laura MacDonald, of Simply Be.

The denim’s fibre structure is engineered to move moisture away from the skin to the surface of the fabric where it evaporates, creating jeans that help the wearer feel cool and dry and that can also be comfortably worn in the warmer summer weather, according to the manufacturer.

The technology behind the fabric involves the use of polyester fibres with engineered micro-channel cross-sections. The channels help move the moisture away from the body and the specially shaped cross sections also have a high surface area to spread the moisture out for faster evaporation.

Environmentally-conscious consumers

“Fashion forward brands, such as Simply Be, know that today’s consumers, especially Millennials and the environmentally-conscious, want to dress more sustainably. This innovation will help to add value to jeans but will also highlight the fashion industry’s commitment to reducing waste and using recycled and renewable content to offset the environmental impact of clothing,” commented Helen Latham, from the Coolmax brand.

Simply Be has a pair of indigo turn-up hem jeans and a pair of mid-blue, turn-up hem slim fit shorts in the range which are machine washable and available from size 10 to 32. The Coolmax Ecomade recycled-plastic technology is mixed with traditional cotton, Tencel and Lycra elastane in the denim manufacturing process.

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