Jeansland Podcast
This is why I do this. Jeansland is a podcast about the ecosystem in which jeans live. There are an estimated 26 million cotton farmers around the world, and about 25% of their production goes into jeans, which could mean 6.2 million farmers depend on denim. I read estimates that at least 1 million people work in retail selling jeans, and another 1.5 to 2 million sew them. And then there are all the label producers, pattern makers, laundries, chemical companies, machinery producers, and those that work in denim mills. I mean, the jeans industry, which is bigger than the global movie and music business combined, employs a lot of human beings. And many of them, like me, love jeans. The French philosopher and existentialist Simone de Beauvoir, when visiting New York, said, "Everyone in the New York subway is a novel." I never met her, but I guess she made the observation because of the incredible diversity of people who ride the subway system. I'm convinced the people in our jeans industry are like those in the subway. They are unique, with rich and complex stories to tell, and I want to hear them. And deep inside me, I think you might feel the same way.
https://jeansland.co/
Jeansland Podcast
Ep. 37: Who’s Got the Water?
The denim industry runs on water. But most of the places we make jeans don’t have enough of it. In this short, Andrew breaks down what happens when cotton, sewing, and finishing all depend on freshwater we can’t afford to lose.
Countries like Canada have 74,000 cubic meters of water per person. Bangladesh? Just 635. Yet we keep building supply chains in places with the least to spare. Even rainfed cotton gets risky when the rains stop coming.
Andrew asks a simple question: where’s the plan? We talk about water-saving finishes and efficient cotton, but no one talks about the source. Water is being used like it’s endless. It’s not.