From its origins as durable work apparel to its iconic celebrity and runway presence, denim has come a long way in the fashion industry, but there is still more work to be done.
According to an article from Good On You, the manufacturing process of conventional jeans often involves harmful labor conditions and heavy usage of harmful chemicals and dyes. As these issues are brought to the surface of the fashion industry, the demand for sustainable denim has increased, further encouraging brands to adopt more eco-friendly practices.
This semester, Scarlette Magazine partnered with three Columbus-based, sustainable brands in order to create a photoshoot that sheds light on the importance of sustainable denim in the fashion industry.
New Beginnings, Ryder Repairs and Hinoki are just three of Columbus’ many fashion brands bringing sustainable denim to the forefront of the industry.
NEW BEGINNINGS
24-year-old Cody Butler — an Ohio State alum and the founder of New Beginnings, an online upcycled fashion brand — said he set out to find a sustainable fashion outlet in the spring of 2023 and just under a year later, in February of this year, the brand was born.
Butler said when creating the brand, he drew inspiration from his friend Kai Gordon, who he attended New York Fashion Week with in February of this year.
“After that stylist gig, more people saw my pants through that photo shoot and [that was when] I found my direction,” Butler said. “So Feb. 5, I quit my full-time job [and] two days later, I go to New York Fashion Week and dropped my first five products.”
Butler said the sustainable aspect of the brand was something he valued from the start.
“I want to be very transparent about the process and me making them and everything.,” Butler said. “So I took videos of me making them, sourcing them, so [customers] can see all the transparency of like everything, sustainably, locally sourced and then handcrafted by me.”
Butler said his vision for the future of New Beginnings is to make custom clothing that people can feel good in and also see the care that is put into creating each piece.
“I wouldn't make it if I wouldn't wear it myself, you know, like it's truly authentic to my style,” Butler said. “I also want [customers] to feel that what they're wearing, the person that made them also cares about, like eco-conscious things and mindfulness.”
Butler said the ultimate goal of the brand is to spread awareness about upcycling and repurposing clothing. He said that is truly the principle the brand was built on.
“I'll go to all these local spots and source things, or even, go to Goodwills, thrift stores, and I just kind of have a knack for looking for material,” Butler said. “You can tell when a pair of denim jeans is quality, just by feeling the jean and knowing it was gonna last. I try to find clothes that I know [have] already lasted 20 plus years, and I know they're just going to look better and better and fade much better.”
According to a Feb. 1 Instagram post from New Beginnings, “Infusing each piece with the spirit of renewal and sustainability” is how the brand offers not just garments, but “opportunities for fresh starts and conscious choices giving the Same Clothes, New Beginnings.”
RYDER REPAIRS
Following a similar path, Ryder Mollica — the founder of Columbus-based denim repair shop, Ryder Repairs— is sewing new life into old jeans.
As a self-taught sewer, Mollica said the inspiration to learn to sew, and eventually to start his business — located at 2930 N. High Street in Clintonville, Ohio — came from years of ripped jeans due to his skateboarding hobby.
“My underwear would be exposed and I wasn't liking that,” Mollica said. “So I just learned how to hand stitch my butt up and then I learned how to sew on a machine, it all stemmed from hand stitching really small things.”
Mollica said he wants to provide a space in which people can bring in items that many other tailors would turn down — including tents, sleeping bags, leather and heavy-weight denim — but also, a space where people can bring their favorite items, that after years of use, need a facelift.
“I want people to trust me with their favorite clothes and not have any doubts in their mind that I'm going to fail. I want people to think about a tailor shop and think, ‘Hey, there's some things they can't do. Why don't I bring them to Ryder?’ That's my idea. I want to tap into the untapped market that's been here for almost 1,000 years.”
After finishing repairs on his customer’s denim, Mollica said there is one message he hopes they take away.
“I think the most important thing is to never throw away your jeans, especially if they have sentimental value,” Mollica said. “They would do better sitting on your wall as decoration than in the landfill, in my opinion. So after people get their clothes repaired, I tell them to wear them hard, push the repairs to the limits, and when they blow open, come back to me.”
Mollica said although he is aware of the pollution crisis the fashion industry has created over the years, he is still determined to make a difference in Columbus.
“I can't stop landfills [and] I can't stop 100% of people from throwing away their clothes, but if I can stop 50%, I'll be happy,” Mollica said.
Mollica said his hope for the brand is to eventually create custom denim pieces, still using repurposed denim of course.
“[The] end goal is really to be everyone on the streets of Clintonville having pants made by me, designed by me, constructed by me,” Mollica said. “That's where I want to expand fully. The repairs just keep the lights on.”
New Beginnings and Ryder Repairs are just a few examples of brands that focus on the urgency of sustainability.
Although environmentally-friendly practices are surfacing more and more in the media, misinformation is still extensive and the motivation for consumers to contribute to our Earth is still scarce.
Denim has stood the test of time, having spent countless years serving as a workwear staple and continuing to be revamped for celebrity outfits and designer runways, but the idea of sustainable denim is still forthcoming.
HINOKI
As a woman-owned, sustainable clothing storefront located in Columbus’ Short North neighborhood, Hinoki has been influential in driving Columbus buyers to choose more eco-friendly clothing options.
Amy Fisher, one of Hinoki’s co-owners, said the storefront — located at 716 N. High St. — sources clothing from other brands — including Los Angeles-based brand Road to Nowhere and eco-friendly denim company Warp + Weft — in order to provide a space for customers to shop a variety of sustainable clothing options.
Because of her sustainable approach, Fisher said over the years, she has had to turn down brands that didn’t align with the shop’s full mission and values to provide eco-friendly clothing options to its customers.
“We've had to turn down some brands that we think are really cute and would do really well in the store, but if they're not willing to put forth that effort, then we can't put our name behind it,” Fisher said.
Fisher said since her childhood, sustainability has been something that is very important to her.
“Even as a kid, we would give my grandparents a hard time because they didn't recycle, and it was just always been important to me,” Fisher said. “I've always bought from Poshmark. I've always liked thrifting, but I like new things as well. I like things that you know, like a sofa, for instance, that you can recover. Like, I've always been interested in that type of idea.”
Fisher spoke on behalf of the company about how they source their clothing. She said sustainability is one of the shop’s top priorities.
“It's not 100% but I would say probably 90% of everything that we purchase has some sort of sustainable lean. So like our denim, we try to find denim that's recycled,” Fisher said. “When [we’re] creating the denim, a lot of times we try to pick pieces that you're not gonna want to get rid of for a long time.”
Fisher expressed her interest in expanding Hinoki, which she said she hopes will eventually include the addition of a vintage section.
“If we had the time to do it, we would have a vintage section,” Fisher siad. “We would call it ‘Hinoki Loved’ and that would be our section where we would, like our customers could bring in, maybe pieces that they've bought through us, and we would upcycle them.”
Although each of these storefronts serves a unique purpose in the fashion industry — tailoring, repurposing and sourcing — each of them shares one thing in common, the shared understanding of the importance of sustainability.
Ryder Repairs, New Beginnings and Hinoki are all examples of renewable innovation, serving as a reminder to consumers that change in our fashion industry is possible.
Read the Fall/Winter 2024 sustainability issue of Scarlette Magazine online at issuu.com.
SHOOT LEADS Scarlette 2024 Executive Board / MODELS Jocelyn Bailey, Cherod Bowens, Ella Dipold, Katherine Gallaugher, Samantha Harden, Maggie Harkins, Averie Ison, Paige Kadar, Paige McBane, Summer Neds, Lily Polete / CLOTHES PROVIDED BY Hinoki, New Beginnings, Ryder Repairs
