blue jeansssss

This summer, aimlessly walking around in a mall, I overheard a girl talking about bringing in an old pair of jeans and being rewarded 20% off her new pair of jeans. My girlfriends and I ran home and brought back 3 pairs of old jeans to exchange. Going home with our new jeans, we didn’t really think about what the store was going to do with our old, raggedy, holey jeans. Later, reading about it on the internet, i was informed that all the collected jeans were being donated to the children of Big Brothers, Big Sisters.

This is not really germane to the point but whether you are donating them to a foundation or storing them away in your closet forever, throwing them out is not an option. Now, there is another place that is collecting old jeans and that is a company that makes insulation for homes out of particles of old jeans.

As energy prices began to rise, home owners and home builders began to understand the significance of insulating the home. Proper home insulation can reduce energy costs by so much and is able to retain heat which maintains a comfortable temperature, longer.

Most home, being insulated probably by fiberglass roll insulation, are hazardous to children and it contains carcinogens and formaldehyde. To prevent itching while handling this material, the sheets are covered with a plastic wrap. More material makes it harder to get rid of later.

Having a home padded for saving energy doesn’t mean that you need to sacrifice your health anymore.

Found in land fills and other locations, recycled denim is accessible and makes a great insulation that is much safer than other materials.

“Blue jean insulation holds more heat and also absorbs more sound than the insulation commonly used in homes. It eliminates formaldehyde and other harmful components found in other insulation, reducing out-gasing and irritation to the skin, nose, and throat. Blue jean insulation is made with recycled denim trimmings from blue jean manufacturing factories.”

Bonded Logic, a company that creates this insulation has donated their services to colleges and have collaborated on projects to help communities that are in need. Together, they collected old jeans which was all reprocessed to make insulation for the rebuilding of a Louisiana school which was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
This new insulating material is treated with a boron based solution for fire retardency, mold and mildew growth and for keeping bugs away.
It’s so safe that they are comparing the toxicity of this new material to average table salt. This video at the bottom shows that this new material “burns” slower and has less damage done to it while being held under a torch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoqe_BncWEE