Mud Jeans

MUD Jeans attaches great importance to safe working conditions, fair wages, equality and transparency. They therefore only work with manufacturers and suppliers who reflect these values.

The company reinforces this code of conduct by having an audit/control of all partners carried out by an external organisation. Several manufacturers are based in Spain, they follow the labour laws and regulations of the European Union. All the manufacturers that MUD Jeans works with are certified by several organisations that check both social conditions and environmental requirements. Some of the certifying organisations that have audited MUD Jeans are BSCI (Business Social Compliance Initiative), GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) and the Social Labour Convergence Programme.

MUD Jeans is also certified by B-corp. This is a non-profit organisation that certifies for-profit companies based on their social and environmental performance, public transparency and accountability. In this assessment, the company must achieve a minimum score of 80 to be allowed to call itself a B-corp. The assessment gets stricter every year, to encourage the company to keep improving. In 2020, MUD Jeans achieved a score of 124.

MUD Jeans is also committed to a more inclusive society. They are actively working on making their brand more inclusive and are focusing on positive activism. They also want to promote inclusiveness in their communication, both online and offline.

The sewing of the garments is carried out by a manufacturer in Tunisia. This is a company with about 550 employees. A project is running here to offer young workers (between 16 and 20 years of age) free education. This way, more young people get a chance to get a diploma, while they can continue working.

Around 477 litres of water are used for the production of a pair of MUD jeans. A big difference with the 7,000 litres needed for a 'normal' pair of jeans. The residual water is even cleaner after production than it was before, thanks to innovative water purification techniques. The brand thus uses 93% less water and 74% less CO2 compared to the industry standard. One pair of MUD jeans generates only 6kg of CO2 instead of the average 23kg.

40% of MUD Jeans' cotton comes from recycled jeans. The brand aims to use 100% recycled cotton. How cool would that be? MUD Jeans uses only recycled and organic cotton, sometimes combined with a very small percentage of elastane for stretch. They also have a collection of white jeans, which are made of 48% recycled bed linen, supplemented with organic cotton and elastane. A unique recycling story!

The buttons and zips are made of stainless steel and can be completely recycled if the trousers are discarded. The labels with washing instructions and material compositions have been replaced by MUD Jeans with printed information on the trousers themselves, on the inside of the pocket. The result? Jeans that consist of one material and can therefore be easily processed for recycling.

MUD Jeans is the first jeans brand in the world to have the environmental impact of its entire product portfolio calculated through a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) conducted by Ecochain. The impact on biodiversity is calculated through the impact on soil, seawater and freshwater damage.

MUD Jeans has closed the circle completely. Each pair of jeans is recycled after use to prevent these raw materials from ending up in landfill.

In 2013, MUD Jeans introduced a 'lease a jeans' model. This allowed circular principles to be put into practice. In this model, you pay a small amount per month (and a membership fee). In return, you can wear and wash the jeans as much as you like. AND... you can send them in for free repair if necessary, so you can continue to enjoy them even longer.

After a year, you get to choose whether you want to keep the jeans or send them back to be exchanged for another size, wash or model. This is the best way for MUD Jeans to ensure that the jeans are returned after use and can be recycled again. And this allows MUD Jeans to retain control over the raw materials they use. So you can be sure that your item made from recycled material is still of the best quality.

MUD Jeans' goal is to design the first jeans that are made of 100% post-consumer recycled cotton. That is something that COSH! appreciates.

The supply chain of MUD Jeans is not very long. The cotton comes from Turkey, the fabrics are woven in Spain, the products are sewn and finished in Tunisia and then transported to the Netherlands for sale. The collection of old jeans is also done in the Netherlands, after which they are processed into new fabrics in Spain. The stitching thread and buttons come from Italy.

MUD Jeans does not use any animal-derived materials in their products. The brand is completely vegan and is even certified by PETA. (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) MUD Jeans ensures that all denim is free of animal testing and that no animals are harmed during the production process, therefore all leather patches on the jeans are replaced by FCS-certified paper.

MUD Jeans promotes slow fashion with seasonal collections and timeless designs. The company analyses the demand for each style and places production orders accordingly. In this way, every product is always in stock, without overproduction. In this way, the brand wants to avoid overstock and at the same time it ensures a good relationship with the manufacturer. The manufacturers are given enough time to make the products with an eye for quality.

MUD Jeans is very transparent about its supply chain. On every product page you can find where the garment was made. You can also find all the suppliers on the site, even where the cotton was grown.

Clean, circular jeans that can also be leased. Good for the environment, good for your wallet and good for your wardrobe! Find out where you can find the brand below.