November 6th, 2025
What goes around comes around
MUD Jeans, founded in the Netherlands by Bert van Son in 2012, is definitely cleaner than your average fashion brand, it’s the world’s leading circular denim pioneer. They have a bold mission to rescue worn-out jeans from landfills or incineration and transform them into new, high-quality denim. They disassemble rivets, buttons and zips, then shred and reweave the material into fresh, closed-loop fabric.
In 2013, MUD introduced the trailblazing “Lease A Jeans” model, enabling consumers to lease jeans for a year. At the end of their term, customers can choose to return the jeans for recycling or resale, switch to a new pair with a discount, or keep them outright. This model significantly reduces waste and promotes circular usage.
MUD’s Jeans blends sustainable materials and innovative techniques in its production. Their jeans can contain up to 47% post-consumer recycled denim, while the remainder is organic cotton, thereby significantly reducing resource use. Moreover, they are minimising water usage, slashing consumption by 90% and cutting CO₂ emissions by 46.6%, thanks to eco-savvy processes such as reverse osmosis and dry indigo dyeing.
How the mud clears
For MUD Jeans, transparency is paramount, they conduct annual Life-Cycle Assessments (LCAs), openly sharing each product’s environmental footprint. This is one of the many efforts made by MUD to achieve their B Corporation Certification in 2015.
In 2020, MUD achieved 124.7 points in B Lab’s reassessment and B Lab recognised them as “Best for the World” in the Environment category, placing them among the top 5% of B Corps globally. They also launched an ambitious “Road to 100” initiative, which culminated in 2022 when they unveiled the world’s first pair of jeans made from 100% post-consumer recycled cotton, successfully balancing both mechanical and chemical recycling processes.
MUD Jeans’ revolutionary model and innovations earned them notable recognition. This included the Koning Willem I Prize for sustainable entrepreneurship in 2022. They remain committed to transparency and responsibility. Their supply chain is audited, working conditions are fair and packaging is plastic-free. These efforts earned them a “Great” rating on environmental and animal welfare measures. As well as a “Good” rating for people standards according to Good On You ratings.
MUD Jeans has redefined how denim can be made. Through leasing, recycling, innovative material science and radical transparency, MUD have turned a wardrobe staple into a force for environmental and social good. In doing this, they offer a roadmap for the broader fashion industry to follow. Here everyday garments become circular stories, not disposable narratives.
Created by Jessica Marwood.
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