Repair and reuse continue to be important focus areas for Nudie Jeans and its mission to “create tomorrow’s vintage.”
The Swedish brand repaired 73,368 pairs of Nudie jeans in 2023—12 percent more than 2022. The introduction of mobile repair stations, which traveled to various cities in Europe and Japan, and the implementation of its Repair Partner program, in which key wholesale partners are given the tools to repair jeans, helped Nudie scale its repair operation.
Additionally, 1,425 new and improved repair kits were sent out during the year.
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The circular milestone and other sustainable challenges and achievements are outlined in Nudie Jeans’ 2023 sustainability report. “2023 marked another milestone in our sustainability journey where innovation became the driving force behind our commitment to a more sustainable future,” said Sandya Lang, Nudie Jeans chief sustainability officer.
In 2023, Nudie Jeans collected 19,665 pairs of jeans—about five percent less than the prior year. It sold 4,176 pairs of secondhand jeans through its Re-use program.
The brand partnered with Turkish mill Orta to produce one round of denim fabric containing post-consumer Nudie jeans recycled input. The process resulted in 3,000 meters of fabric made with 20 percent mechanically recycled post-consumer cotton and 80 percent virgin organic cotton. Nudie reports that approximately 1,260 kg of post-consumer denim from Nudie jeans was used to make the fabric.
In Australia, the company found ways to upcycle post-consumer denim into new products, resulting in 1,900 rugs, 1,400 blankets and 200 tiles, which it used in new stores.
Despite efforts, circularity remains a small fraction of Nudie’s overall business. Sales of circular products, including Re-use jeans and products made with recycled post-consumer Nudie Jeans fibers, accounted for just 1 percent of the brand’s total revenues.
Organic cotton remains Nudie’s fiber of choice. 2023 was the seventh full year in which the brand only used certified organic cotton for all its cotton products. Of all fibers used in 2023, 93 percent were fibers defined as preferred according to the Nudie Jeans Material Tool. The tool was updated in 2023 to better account for the “complexity of comparing different fiber types, inspired by the Textile Exchange Preferred Fiber and Material Matrix (PFMM),” the brand stated.
Ninety-six percent of the fibers used in Nudie’s production in 2023 were virgin fibers. The company said its use of recycled fibers decreased from 2022 because “we used up the stock of second-choice garments from one of our denim manufacturers to make new fabrics in 2022.”
Though Nudie Jeans’ total net revenue decreased by two percent from 2022, the brand sees strength in its D2C channels. Revenue from its own e-commerce and retail stores increased 7 percent year-over-year, constituting 62 percent of the total net revenue. In 2023, it opened a new store in Brooklyn.
Jeans made up 63 percent of Nudie’s production volume in 2023. Tunisia accounted for 56 percent of the company’s production volume, thanks in part to a “smoothly running collaboration” with Denim Authority.
In the report, Nudie lauded the manufacturer’s vertical structure, GOTS certification, experienced workforce and technology. “From a sustainability and production perspective, a vertical supplier is the best solution and something we actively seek out when searching for new suppliers, as it enables more effective monitoring and follow-up,” Nudie stated.
Portugal and Italy accounted for 16 percent and 15 percent of Nudie’s production volume, respectively, followed by India, Turkey, Poland, Sweden and Lithuania.
On its way to becoming GOTS certified, Nudie received its GOTS scope certificates in January 2024 and will focus on developing products in line with the GOTS standard. The goal is to start selling GOTS-certified products at the beginning of 2025.
