Pangaia’s ‘nettle denim’ could be the most sustainable solution for your wardrobe and the environment

If eco-anxiety is keeping you awake at night (yep, us too) you’ll be relieved to hear about Pangaia Nettle Denim – a brand new and truly sustainable innovation for the world’s most-worn fabric.

While the uber-fast fashion industry seems to have no qualms about putting profits above the planet, Pangaia are giving us hope. Describing themselves as a ‘materials science company’ – rather than a fashion brand – everything they create has science-led sustainability, rather than trends, at it’s core. (And if you’re wondering, it’s pronounced pan-guy-a. You’re welcome.) 

Over the past few seasons Pangaia helped the boom in loungewear with their cult organic cotton tracksuit bottoms, hoodies and sweatshirts, but this season they’re launching a considered capsule of tailoring and an innovative denim fabric that could turn the traditional (read: damaging) production of your favourite jeans upside-down.

If you’re not familiar with just how bad the planet’s favourite blue jeans are for the environment, let us fill you in. Denim is made from cotton, which is one of the thirstiest crops on the planet (and one of the most chemical-reliant too.) Organic cotton uses less water and BCI cotton should be a considerate industry standard, but the 2 billion pairs of jeans made every year (for the 7.8billion people living on planet earth…) need 2billion tonnes of chemicals to produce. Those chemicals end up in rivers, oceans, in garment workers lungs and rubbing off onto your own skin.  

There’s already enough garments on the planet to clothe the next six generations of earth-dwellers (read that again…) and the most sustainable option is to rewear your existing wardrobe. But we know body shapes change, clothes wear out and stopping shopping is not an option, particularly for the 816,000 people employed in the fashion industry in the UK (along with the £21billion fashion contributes to the UK economy.) So when you do need new jeans just shop as sustainably as you can. Pangaia have created a genius new option…

What is Pangaia’s denim made from?

Pangaia’s collection of denim includes pieces made from rain-fed hemp mixed with organic cotton but denim made from wild Himalayan nettles is their newest creation. The fibres are super-strong and have a hollow core, making them soft, durable but also breathable.