Handz Jeans wants to keep garments in rotation.
The genderless denim brand is launching an upcycling program to extend the life of its jeans. Customers can receive 50 percent off a pair of new jeans when they send back a previous worn pair by Handz.
The brand requests that jeans be worn for at least three years before trading them in for the discount. Customers can contact the brand via email to coordinate shipping.
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The used jeans are cleaned with Polygiene’s freshness technologies, repaired and upcycled by the brand to create unique bespoke items.
The first upcycled garments include a 14 oz. Japanese selvedge jean featuring all-over hand-sewn sashiko patches. Co-founder Tilmann Wröbel describes the jean, retailing for 2,500 euros (approximately $2,933), as a collectable that could be worn daily, adding that it took a skilled sewer a full month to complete the jean.
Another upcycled pair is a 15 oz. Japanese double-indigo dobby jean with simpler sashiko patches and stitches. It retails for 490 euros (approximately $575).
Handz joins the growing number of denim brands incentivizing consumers to recycle their unwanted jeans. The upcycling program was inspired by a friend of the brand who brought back a pair of jeans Handz tested with friends before the launch.
Founded in 2022 by Wröbel, the founder of the consultancy Monsieur-T, and Themis Goudroubis, owner of the Greek garment manufacturing firm LDM Company, Handz Jeans focuses on selvedge fabrics and handcrafted finishes. The debut collection offered gender fluid jeans made with indigo overdyed Japanese selvedge, double indigo seersucker, low-tension 14 oz. selvedge, cotton/linen herringbone dyed with pure indigo and more.
