Before fast fashion entered the conversation, denim was biodegradable, as it was made with only cotton. Today's denim is often a cotton-poly blend, which means brands such as Old Navy can sell jeans for $20. In exchange for the low cost, denim is made with toxic dyes, is unrecyclable, and has a shorter lifespan.
Fashion designer Rebecca Ford noticed this about the denim industry when she worked at Li & Fung and Abercrombie Kids. She wanted to bring sustainability back into the picture and launched Kudro Kids, a children's gender-neutral denim brand.
"There are not many kids' brands just focused on denim," Ford said to Sourcing Journal. "It's definitely great to be able to produce jeans for kids that have a high level of sustainability and are a more elevated and durable product."
Kudro Kids' direct-to-consumer brand guarantees sustainable fabrics, dyes, trims, and finishes as well as a better hand feel than the fast-fashion market. The hand feel is especially important for neurodivergent kids. Sizes 2 to 12 are available, and there are three fits: straight, skinny, and wide leg. The jeans retail for $125 to $134.
The brand is part of the Fair Trade Certified Network and 1% for the Planet, which translates to guaranteed ethical labor practices and sales donated to environmental organizations. Its fabrics are sourced from an old denim mill in China called Advance Denim, and fabrics are dyed with CleanKore technology, which doesn't use harmful chemicals.
While sustainability is easier to sell to adults, as their bodies don't change as quickly as kids' bodies do, Ford's hope is that the jeans will be passed along to family and friends. However, customers have another option to circulate their clothing items: They can request a free shipping label to return their jeans to Kudro Kids through its Loved+Re-Loved program. In exchange, they will receive a discount code for a new pair.
Sustainability is vital for the denim industry to thrive ethically. Creating one pair of jeans requires 7,600 liters of water. Growing 1 kilogram of cotton requires 10,000 liters of water. If each consumer bought from eco-friendly brands and thrifted instead of buying new more often, they could save thousands of liters of water and prevent items from going to landfills prematurely.
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