M&S has launched its first capsule collection as part of The Jeans Redesign. The new range has been responsibly sourced to meet the project’s guidelines set out by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and co-developed with over 80 denim experts.

M&S joined the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Jeans Redesign Project in 2021. However, this is the first capsule collection that has been produced to meet the guidelines. Catering for the entire family, M&S’s Jeans Redesign collection includes kids’, women’s and men’s styles.

The five-piece capsule collection has been designed to be fit for a circular economy. It has been made to be used more, to be made again, and uses safe and recycled or renewable materials. The styles also maximise the use of easily recycled and renewable materials, with organic cotton including a minimum of 25% recycled cotton.

Plus, the garments have no unnecessary components – such as metal rivets – which hamper the recycling process. This means when jeans are recycled, more of the fabric can be successfully remade into new garments. The styles have also been rigorously tested to ensure that they still look and feel great after 30 washes.

Last year, M&S launched new sustainability standards across its entire hero product category of denim.

Since then, it continues to make changes to each stage of the development process; from reducing water consumption and chemical impact to increasing the use of sustainable fibres. Furthermore, the retailer is sharing this information with customers through its Look Behind the Label campaign. M&S’s windows include a QR code customers can scan to find out more about its sustainability principles for denim.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is just one of the many partners M&S works with to address the ongoing challenges of manufacturing denim. The retailer continues to work with Jeanologia, a leader in sustainable finishing technologies, to ensure the entire denim range meets its sustainable denim principles. This is all part of M&S’s wider commitment to becoming a net zero Scope 3 business across its entire supply chain and products by 2040. Collaboration is key to achieving this.

Commenting is Monique Leeuwenburgh, Director of Sourcing for M&S Clothing & Home.

“As an own brand retailer, we’re uniquely positioned to work with our long-standing suppliers and partners on new and better ways of doing things. Denim is a staple clothing product and more sustainable denim really matters to us and our customers. Our latest M&S Family Matters Index highlighted that the environment and the impact that clothing choices have on the planet is a top concern for our customers.  Our Jeans Redesign capsule collection has been created with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s guidelines and offers customers the confidence their purchase is not only stylish, quality and great value – but also created with circularity in mind.”

Laura Balmond, Fashion Initiative Lead at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, adds; “The Jeans Redesign project demonstrates that it is possible to make products fit for a circular economy, today. We’re pleased to see the solutions identified by M&S and the growing understanding of the challenges that must be addressed to achieve the vision of a circular economy for fashion at scale.”