Jamal, Mikaili, Ghania, Youssef | Geography |

Eco Jeans
GREEN AND CLEAN

Full Cost Accounting Organizer

Product: Jeans

Life cycle of

Name: Ghania, Youssef, Jamal, Mikaili

Environmental Costs

Product
Expected Life
Span of
Product:

Lifespan of denim jeans rely on numerous factors such as: usage,

activities performed while in them, quality, and the type of jeans.
The different types of jeans:
Washed Denim
Washed denim jeans are the most popular and the most purchased
because they are longer lasting and the dye doesnt ware off as easy.
Raw Denim
Raw denim isnt washed and it tends to fade over time, making the
jeans look worn out over time. These jeans are well-constructed but
they do not have a long lifespan.
Acid Wash
These jeans are stylish for a short period of time and then they ware
out, making their lifespan really short.
Stonewash
These jeans are made with stones and chemicals, allowing them to
have an extended lifespan and are an essential for any mans
wardrobe.
Vintage Wash
These jeans look worn when you buy them for a cool stylish effect.
These jeans are quite long lasting.
These different types of jeans have different lifespans as they are made
differently and made with a few different materials. All these factors
make it hard to predict the lifespan of a pair of jeans but an approximate
guess for an ordinary $50.00 pair of washed Denim Jeans would be 100
years or so. As for a pair of $200.00 to $300.00, higher end denim jeans,
can last up 1000 years or so.

Extraction: the Cotton

natural
20 million tons of cotton in 90 countries
resources used
China, US, India, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, West Africa=70% global
to make
production
product
Represents half of fibre to make clothes

20,000 liters of water=1k of cotton(single t-shirt and pair of jeans)

73% of global cotton= harvest from irrigated land
Thirsty crop
most unsustainable fibres

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huge amount of water used

huge amounts of pesticide
350,000 farmer deaths a year
Million hospitalisations
Largest user of water among all agricultural goods
Surface and ground water diverted to irrigate cotton fields
Freshwater loss through evaporation
Soil erosion
Degrades soil quality
Water contamination

Agriculture
biggest source of pollution
2.4% earth crop=cotton
24% and 11% global sales of insecticide and pesticide
Un-safe use of chemicals= serve health impacts on workers
Ecosystems=run off from farms
Unsustainable cotton farming
Massive inputs of water and pesticide
Destruction of ecosystem
Indus River in Pakistan
Murray Darling Basin in Australia
Rio Grande in US and Mexico
Child Labor
Biggest in cotton industries
Rural poverty=children work to support families
Children from 5 years old work in cotton fields or grinning
factories
Terrible conditions
Exposed to hazardous pesticides, physical, sexual abuse ,long
hours
Poor health, exhaustion, heat stroke, malnutrition
Impact physical and psychological development
Prevent from completing education
Lack of education=keep children locked in cycle of poverty
Little pay
Provide no protective clothing
Gujrat, India=child gets $1 a day on cotton seed farm
Work up to 12 hours in extreme temperature
Uzbekistan= child works from early morning to evening without
food
Forced to work in unbearable conditions, stay in filthy, unheated,
uninsulated field barracks
Beaten or threated if needs not met

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Many chemicals sprayed affect children

Causes tremors, nausea, weakness, paralysis and death
Children who spray pesticides experience blurred vision,
dizziness, headaches, difficulty in concentration, feeling
depressed and numbness
Branded child labour=children works in cotton field to repay debt
by parent
Parents receive loans for their childs labour
Common in Indian cotton industry
Government sanctioned labour=forced to work by government
authority
Removed from school
Given unrealistic quotas up to 50kg per day
Punished if needs not met
Common in Uzbekistan, China, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan
Every year 1.5 to 2 million students in Uzbekistan forced to work
during cotton harvesting season
Schools closed to 3 months
Staff task to ensure students are working
Forced to work long hours without food
Suffer from hunger, exhaustion, heart stroke
After picking cotton children must stay in filthy, uninsulated field
barracks normally used to store crops/farm machinery
Gujrat=noise deafening, air thick with cotton dust
Uzbek government forced adults and children=teachers, doctors
Uzbek refused international monitors
Arrested local activist, journalists who attempted to report forced
labour
Beat and harass journalists

Aral Sea in Central Asia

Once the fourth largest lake
Home to 24 species of fish
Surrounded by fishing communities, lush forest and wetlands
Fishery industries
40,000 jobs
Soviet union using river for agricultural
Ground used for cotton=1.47 hectares
Millions of fish died
Dust storms that contained toxic residue of industrial and
agricultural
Forced labour=pick cotton
Hundreds and thousands of people sent by government
Materials
Majority=cotton

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Production:
the
manufacturing
of the product

Some Polyester blends

Rivets=copper
Zippers, snaps, buttons=steel
Designers labels=cloth ,leather, plastic
Places
Asia
Thailand
California, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Arizona, Louisiana,
Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma,
South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas= nearly five million bales
states produce 16 million bales a year
China
Pakistan
India
Uzbekistan
Brazil
Turkey
Australia
Egypt
Mali
Benin
Kyrgyzstan
Paraguay
Zambia
Azerbaijan
Argentina
Turkmenistan
Chinas province Guangdong produces half of the worlds jean
production
Sandblasting=blasting abrasive sand under high pressure to
create worn patches
Fast ,cheap, increase product value
Gender discrimination=women payed lower
Popular brands band sandblasting but workers reveal practice
continues behind closed door

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China, Xintang (Jeans Capital of the World)

260 million pair of jeans a year
60% Chinas total jeans production
40% sold in US
Everywhere people busy making/processing jeans by hand
Villagers complained about printing and dyeing factories
wastewater discharge into local river=flows into pearl river delta
People who work in dyeing and washing have reproductive and
fertility problems
Distressed denim wash=several chemical intensive washes
Fabric printing and dyeing=Cadmium, Lead, Mercure
Not chemicals to be getting near bare skin
Found five metals (Cadmium, Lead, Mercury, Copper,
Chromium) in 17 out of 21 water and sediment samples
One sample=Cadmium exceeded Chinas national limit 128
times
Blue Jean Makers(CMT Companies)
not a large factory but home factories
human working conditions below acceptable standards
strictly focus on lowest possible production cost
sacrificing durability and wear ability of product
sub-contract every step of production

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Distribution:
transportation
and sale of
product

Consumption:
from the
products
usage

Disposal:

quality control and logistics management forgotten

might say made in.. but jeans assembly might occurred in
other regions

Old Navy and Gap

Made in Bangladesh
Next Collection Factory=70% production goes to Gap and old
navy
People live in poverty
Physical punishment
Work past 10pm until 5 am
Forced to resign without pay if spoken about pay rights
Workers denied pay
Women lose babies= force to work over 100 hours a week
Work 14 to 17 hours shift, seven days a week
Jeans weathered using volcanic pumice stones.
Levi dumps pumice dust in Rio Grande= pollutes local streams
company Levi has plant outside El Paso, TX, uses 15% of the
citys water supply
Cotton is grown in the U.S =shipped to China.
China =worlds leading producer including denim
dyes used to dye jeans =harsh on the environment
Mainly produced Tehuacan, Mexico.
The jeans have a long process before being transported to us as they
go through the production and manufacturing which is done on many
different countries for example to weather jeans you have to use
volcanic pumic stones and they have to be mined and shipped to denim
companies all over the world next you have to make the cotton which
uses a lot of water and is grown in usa but then shipped to china once
harvested, also the dye which is made in techucan, Mexico has to be
transported to denim companies and it is the finically transported around
the world to stores that sell the jeans .
Materials
Water
Cotton
Pesticides
Fabrics
Volcanic pumice stones
Dye
Copper
Leather
Plastic
Steel
By-product/Waste
treating fabric with chemicals

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Other:

each step produces by=product(biodegradable)

may NOT be dumped in lakes
have high biochemical oxygen demand
to decompose=materials utilize so much oxygen that the water
lifeforms would be denied oxygen necessary for survival
Disposal of the jeans, either to landfill or to a second owner
Levi dumps pumice dust in Rio Grande =pollutes local streams
Levi has a pant outside El Paso, TX, that plant uses 15% of the
citys water supply

Changes to be madeNatural dye instead of chemicals

Pioneers used fruits and vegetables to color their clothes
Cabbage
changes color depending on the pH value of the soil due to
pigment due to anthocyanins
cabbage has a natural pH indicator called Flavin that changes
color
red cabbage juice exhibits a wide range of colors
mix lemon to make red
baking soda to make blue
Acidic soils/solutions give cabbage a reddish
Neutral soils/solutions give cabbage a purple
Alkaline soil/solutions give cabbage a yellow-green
Black
Iris
Sumac
Meadowsweet
Blackberry
Butternut Hulls
Carob
Oak galls
Walnut
Blue
Red cabbage
Mulberries (royal purple)
Elderberries (lavender)
Saffron
Grapes
Blueberries
Hyacinth (flowers)
Japanese indigo
Indigo

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Red Cedar
Raspberry
Purple Iris

Child free labour

No forced workers or any kids workers
Equal pay
No violence, threats
Clean energy machines
Material Alternative
Use hemp=easily grown anywhere, no pesticides
Organic Cotton=no pesticides
Zipper and buttons made out of steel
copper is found in Canada so changing the zippers and buttons
to copper
Locally Made
made in Canada
saves gas, oil
reduce of co2 and greenhouse gases
Energy Alternative
less use of fossil fuels=locally made
solar or hydro power used to make electricity to power machines
made in Vancouver, Canada=majority hydro and biomass power
plants
Vancouver commits to run on 100% renewable
energy=electricity, transportation, heating ,air condoning

Sources
Websites4 Eco-Friendly Cotton Alternatives (Infographic). (n.d.). Retrieved April 18,
2016, from http://www.care2.com/greenliving/4-eco-friendly-cottonalternatives-infographic.html
Blue Jeans or "Green Jeans" (n.d.). Retrieved April 18, 2016, from
http://newint.org/easier-english/Garment/bluegreen-p.html
Leahy, S. (2015). Vancouver commits to run on 100% renewable energy.
Retrieved April 18, 2016, from
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/apr/10/vancouver-commitsto-run-on-100-renewable-energy

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Make Your Own pH Indicator with Red Cabbage. (n.d.). Retrieved April 18,
2016, from http://chemistry.about.com/od/acidsbase1/a/red-cabbage-phindicator.htm
Making Natural Dyes from Plants. (2012). Retrieved April 18, 2016, from
http://pioneerthinking.com/crafts/natural-dyes
Natural Food Coloring | Natural Blue Food Coloring. (2011). Retrieved April
18, 2016, from http://wholenewmom.com/recipes/natural-blue-foodcoloring-dye-just-in-time-for-easter/
Power Stations Currently in Operation. (n.d.). Retrieved April 18, 2016,
from http://www.energybc.ca/map/bcenergymap.html
By Brian Clark Howard, National Geographic PUBLISHED Thu Oct 02 09:01:00 EDT 2014. (n.d.).
Aral Sea's Eastern Basin Is Dry for First Time in 600 Years. Retrieved April 13, 2016, from
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/10/141001-aral-sea-shrinking-drought-waterenvironment/
Cotton. (n.d.). Retrieved April 13, 2016, from http://www.worldwildlife.org/industries/cotton
Cotton. (n.d.). Retrieved April 13, 2016, from http://www.madehow.com/Volume-6/Cotton.html
Cotton Farming. (n.d.). Retrieved April 13, 2016, from
http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/about_freshwater/freshwater_problems/thirsty_crops/cotton
/
Gap and Old Navy in Bangladesh. (n.d.). Retrieved April 13, 2016, from
http://www.globallabourrights.org/campaigns/gap-and-old-navy-in-bangladesh

Gap and Old Navy in Bangladesh: Cheating the poorest workers in the world. (n.d.). Retrieved
April 13, 2016, from http://www.globallabourrights.org/reports/gap-and-old-navy-in-bangladeshcheating-the-poorest-workers-in-the-world
Hoskins, T. (2014). Cotton production linked to images of the dried up Aral Sea basin. Retrieved
April 13, 2016, from http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/sustainable-fashionblog/2014/oct/01/cotton-production-linked-to-images-of-the-dried-up-aral-sea-basin
India's exploited child cotton workers - BBC News. (n.d.). Retrieved April 13, 2016, from
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-16639391
Jeans Manufacturers. (n.d.). Retrieved April 13, 2016, from http://www.jeansinfo.org/
Sign-up for UPDATES. (n.d.). Retrieved April 13, 2016, from
http://www.antislavery.org/english/campaigns/cottoncrimes/forced_labour_in_uzbekistan_backgro
und.aspx

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The dirty secret behind jeans and bras. (n.d.). Retrieved April 13, 2016, from
http://www.greenpeace.org/eastasia/news/stories/toxics/2010/textile-pollution-xintang-gurao/
Uzbekistan: Forced Labor Widespread in Cotton Harvest. (2013). Retrieved April 13, 2016, from
https://www.hrw.org/news/2013/01/25/uzbekistan-forced-labor-widespread-cotton-harvest
"How Blue Jeans Is Made - Material, Manufacture, Making, History, Used, Procedure,
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"$200+ Jeans? The Economics of High-End Denim | Men". Realmenrealstyle.com.
N.p., 2016. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.
"How Denim Jeans Are Made". YouTube. N.p., 2016. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.
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PDFhttp://freesetglobal.com/uploads/images/tees/resources/The-Children-behind-OurCotton.pdf
https://campaign.worldvision.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Forced-and-childlabour-in-the-cotton-industry-fact-sheet.pdf
http://www.cleanclothes.org/resources/publications/Breathless

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