Cotton Incorporated’s Blue Jeans Go Green™ denim recycling program recently marked its 20th anniversary, recognizing two decades of progress in textile waste diversion and reuse. To bring the milestone to life, GALE, Cotton Incorporated’s Creative Agency, conceptualized and produced an anniversary event in New York City to celebrate the program’s retail partners alongside influencers, friends of the brand, and more.
The event was anchored by Cotton's style expert Erin Walsh, along with Mt. Denim, a visual installation GALE designed built from over 500+ pieces of recycled denim, highlighting the scale of the program's impact.
Of the event, Christina DeGuardi, Managing Director of GALE, said, “For 20 years, Blue Jeans Go Green™ has shown what’s possible when brands, retailers, and communities come together around a shared purpose. We wanted to make that shared impact tangible and celebrate the partners behind it. Mt. Denim brought that story to life through the very material they helped collect, honoring their contributions and inspiring continued participation.”
Since launching as a college campus denim drive in 2006, the program has grown into a nationwide movement, collecting more than 6 million pieces of denim, diverting over 3,000 tons of textile waste from landfills, and creating more than 12 million square feet of denim insulation. More than 100 brands and retailers have participated, including Madewell, Carhartt, and American Eagle Outfitters, while schools and educational organizations have contributed over 350,000 pieces through campus drives and design contests.
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