COTTON. FROM BLUE TO GREEN.®
The COTTON. FROM BLUE TO GREEN.® denim drive was first created in 2006 as a pre-promotion activation for Cotton Incorporated’s groundbreaking collegiate mobile marketing initiative COTTON’S DIRTY LAUNDRY TOUR®. The COTTON. FROM BLUE TO GREEN.® denim drive served as a grassroots student-run campaign to educate college coeds about their favorite cotton clothing — denim. Not only is cotton cool and comfortable, but it is a resource that is natural, renewable and recyclable.
The COTTON. FROM BLUE TO GREEN.® denim drive is a call-to-action to donate denim and give it “new life” by converting it to UltraTouch™ Natural Cotton Fiber Insulation. The insulation is then provided to communities in need to assist with building efforts. UltraTouch™ is composed of 85% recycled cotton fibers and is an environmentally safe, non-itch insulation without carcinogenic warnings, formaldehyde or chemical irritants. It provides exceptional thermal performance and acoustically provides 30% better sound absorption than traditional fiberglass insulation. In addition, it is one of the only insulating products that contains an active mold/mildew inhibitor.
In its first year, the COTTON. FROM BLUE TO GREEN.® denim drive doubled initial estimates — a total of 14,566 pieces of denim were collected nationwide. College students across the U.S. rallied their campuses and surrounding communities for donations. To begin the manufacturing process from denim to insulation, the first step was to send all of the denim to Allan Company, a leader in the recycling industry since 1963. From there, it was compressed into 1,000+ lb. bales and transported to JBM Fibers, a leading manufacturer of reprocessed fibers. Once the denim was processed and returned to its original cotton fiber state, it was ready for conversion by Bonded Logic Inc., the manufacturer of UltraTouch™ Natural Cotton Fiber Insulation.
Baling at Allen Company
Processing at JBM Fibers
UltraTouch™ by Bonded Logic
As a result of the 2006 COTTON. FROM BLUE TO GREEN.® denim drive, and with the help of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Baton Rouge, a total of 30 homes were built in the spring of 2007 for families displaced by Hurricane Katrina. A team of volunteers from Cotton Incorporated helped install the donated UltraTouch™ Natural Cotton Fiber Insulation in 12 of these new homes.
Encouraged by our initial success, plans to expand the COTTON. FROM BLUE TO GREEN.® denim drive in 2007, and test it unaccompanied by COTTON’S DIRTY LAUNDRY TOUR®, commenced in the spring at five universities across the country. During the month of April, students once again had astounding results by collecting over 4,000 pieces of denim, doubling all estimates set for this test.
In the Fall of 2007, COTTON’S DIRTY LAUNDRY TOUR® was ready to hit the road, this time to 11 colleges and universities and was once again accompanied by the COTTON. FROM BLUE TO GREEN.® denim drive. The collection resulted in over 30,000 pieces of denim, surpassing 2006 numbers by 110%. More excitement grew as a retail extension for the COTTON. FROM BLUE TO GREEN.® denim drive kicked off with 35 G by GUESS specialty store locations. Customers were encouraged to donate their old denim to purchase the newest denim styles of the season through in-store signage, preferred customer parties, window displays and on-line activity. In total, over 36,000 pieces of denim were collected in 2007.
In May 2008, the total 2007 denim collection resulted in the production of 70,000 sq. ft. of UltraTouch™ Natural Cotton Fiber Insulation and was donated to the following Habitat for Humanity affiliates to help build 75 homes:
Habitat for Humanity of Great Baton Rouge
New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity of the Mississippi Gulf Coast
Cotton Incorporated staff shared sweat equity with the Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project, and Habitat for Humanity volunteers to install UltraTouch™ Natural Cotton Fiber Insulation in over 30 homes built in the still-distressed 9th Ward/Musicians’ Village area of New Orleans.
As the summer of 2008 rolled around, Cotton Incorporated renewed its partnership with G by GUESS specialty stores in celebration of the COTTON. FROM BLUE TO GREEN.® denim drive and the Warner Bros. theatrical release of “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2”. The triad of partners leveraged the best of each as G by GUESS specialty stores (nationwide including Puerto Rico), held another COTTON. FROM BLUE TO GREEN.® denim drive. In the fall, six colleges and universities continued to pay it forward with their COTTON. FROM BLUE TO GREEN.® denim drive and as the word spread about this program, a new platform began to emerge. Businesses and companies in differing industries began to contact Cotton Incorporated for the opportunity to run a COTTON. FROM BLUE TO GREEN.® denim drive for their employees as they strove to fulfill corporate philanthropic missions. The COTTON. FROM BLUE TO GREEN.® denim drive has successfully provided a means for businesses to build employee morale and demonstrate their commitment to environmental sustainability. In total, over 38,000 pieces of denim were collected in 2008.
Currently, 75,000 sq. ft. of insulation is being manufactured from the 2008 collections. Habitat for Humanity affiliates will be receiving insulation in the spring of 2009. Cotton Incorporated its and partners will participate in installing the insulation in approximately 75 houses as a means of providing much needed housing for areas of the country affected by natural disasters. Since the start of the COTTON. FROM BLUE TO GREEN.® denim drive in 2006, the program has received a total of 89,799 pieces of denim and provided over 185,000 sq. ft. of UltraTouch™ Natural Cotton Fiber Insulation to help build 180 homes at Habitat for Humanity affiliates in the Gulf Coast Region.
In 2009, the COTTON. FROM BLUE TO GREEN.® denim drive program is partnering with NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS magazine to attempt to set a Guinness World Record™.
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