14 April 2021

IKEA partners with MUD Jeans to create recycled denim sofa covers

The easiest way to lengthen a sofa’s lifespan? Replace a worn-out slipcover with a new one. IKEA is adding another layer of sustainability by working with Dutch denim label MUD Jeans to turn old jeans into new covers for its icon KLIPPAN sofas.

MUD Jeans was designed as a circular company: customers can lease jeans and return them when they're no longer worn. In a factory in Valencia, Spain, those used jeans are turned into blue cotton fluff that's combined with virgin organic cotton and spun into new denim yarn. Normally used for making new pairs of jeans, the fabric will now also be used to create sofa covers.

IKEA and MUD's partnership will use over 16,000 recycled jeans: two for each cover, which is 40% of the material needed and also equates to the number of jeans the average European owns but no longer wears. The remaining 60% is sustainably produced cotton. According to IKEA, each cover saves nearly 27,000 liters of water and has a 67% lower CO2 footprint compared to industry standards. As explained in a project video, the partnership also helped MUD Jeans scale up its production, allowing it to manufacture recycled denim at a lower cost.

KLIPPAN denim covers will be available in IKEA stores in the Netherlands and eight other countries starting May 2021, in both a light and a dark wash and retailing for EUR 99. If customers donate two pairs of old jeans at their IKEA store, they'll get 10% off and the jeans will be recycled.

Which brand can you partner with to move towards a more circular way of doing business?

Related: Upcycling everything from water bottles to barley straw, brands seek paths to circularity.