12 January 2011
Ford USA's giving worn-out blue jeans another go by using them in its Ford Focus' carpet backing and sound-absorption materials.
The amount of post-consumer cotton from blue jeans used in a vehicle comes out to roughly 2 pairs of average-sized American jeans, based on grams of cotton used per metre of denim and the metres of denim used to make a pair of jeans.
"The good news is these jeans didn't end up in a landfill, nor did we use the water, fertiliser and land to grow virgin cotton," says Ford's US-based product sustainability manager, Carrie Majeske.
"It's cost effective and it's better for our planet. These are the kinds of sustainable solutions we are looking for in all our vehicles."
Ford's ‘Reduce, re-use and recycle' commitment is part of the company's broader global sustainability strategy to reduce its environmental footprint while at the same time accelerating the development of advanced, fuel-efficient vehicle technologies around the world.
Over the past few years, Ford has concentrated on increasing the use of non-metal recycled and bio-based materials (including soy foam seat cushions, recycled resins for underbody systems, recycled yarns on seat covers and natural-fibre plastic for interior components) on some of its global vehicles.
And don't think Ford are stopping here...
"The use of recycled clothing is one step, but what else are people discarding that could be used in our vehicles? Ford is determined to find out..."