The Shift
The Old Way: Fast Fashion Landfill Pipeline
Fast fashion produces 92 million tons of textile waste annually. A single pair of jeans requires 7,000 liters of water to produce.
- Fashion industry is 2nd largest polluter globally
- Less than 1% of clothing is recycled into new clothing
- Jeans production is extremely water and chemical intensive
- Average pair worn 7 times before disposal
The New Way: Lease, Return, Recycle, Repeat
Lease jeans for a monthly fee. When done, return them to be upcycled into new jeans. True circularity.
- First denim brand to offer jeans leasing
- 40% recycled content in new jeans (highest in industry)
- Full traceability from fiber to finished product
- Take-back program accepts any brand
The Story
Bert van Son founded MUD Jeans in 2012 after decades in the conventional fashion industry seeing the waste firsthand.
MUD Jeans is a circular denim brand that leases jeans and recycles them at end of life.
Proof Points
Post-consumer recycled denim in each pair
Monthly cost to lease a pair of jeans
Compared to conventional denim production
Pairs returned and recycled since founding
Deep Dive
Innovation
MUD Jeans reverse-engineered the denim supply chain to enable true circularity. They developed proprietary recycling that blends old jeans into new fabric without quality loss.
Circular Model
The lease model creates guaranteed material return. Customers pay €29 upfront plus €7.50/month for 12 months. After lease, return for recycling or keep forever.
Community Impact
By publishing their factory information and processes, MUD Jeans pushes the entire industry toward transparency.
Business Results
The lease model creates predictable recurring revenue while building a material bank of returned jeans.
Key Takeaway
What if the most sustainable thing isn't buying better, but not buying at all? MUD Jeans suggests ownership itself might be the problem.
Founder Pathway
Initial inventory and recycling partnerships ~$500K-$1M; lease model helps cash flow
Best for fashion entrepreneurs; could also work as existing brand extension
Textile recycling regulations emerging in EU; could become tailwind