Volcom Denim Is Now Water Aware

We’re gunna be really stuffed when we run out of water.

In the future when we’re all running on leccy it’ll be water reserves, not oil wells, that kick off wars, so while we’ve still got a bit of the wet stuff left it’s all of our responsibilities to use as little of it as possible. There’s lots of things that use way more water than you’d expect, raising livestock being the major one, but also textile production, in particular making denim, the world’s most beloved material.

Volcom have long made some of the finest jeans in surf world, and they’ve decided to start cutting as much water as possible out of their denim production.

The part of the process that burns through aqua is, unsurprisingly given the name, the washes. Volcom Global Design Director J.J. Gonzalez (the handsome gent pictured above) has been working with the Stone’s production team and factories to switch to an enzyme wash and ozone finishing techniques to cut the water used in the process.

“In some washes we’re seeing up to 35 litres of water saved,” says J.J. “It’s pretty epic, and we’re stoked to build upon our successes to create an even greater impact over time.”

The Water Aware denim campaign is just a small part of Volcom’s quest to lessen their footprint across the board. The Stone is committed to making their whole outlook more sustainable, in particular, more responsible manufacturing processes, better fibre sourcing, and generally treading as lightly as possible. The way we see it is that we’re all in this together, so anyone putting time and money into trying to lessen their impact on the environment gets the nod.  

Head here to find out more about Volcom’s efforts, and pick up a new pair of jeans while you’re at it.