Do you know what happens to your old jeans? Well, unless you donate the precious pair to a second hand shop or a charity, there is not much more that could have been done with them, except dump them in a landfill site.
However, you might be interested to know that Iris Industries have found a way to recycle the denim into a very useful new material, which is light, durable, solid and has numerous applications in various industries including architecture, furniture making, and even the automotive industry.
The company has given their new material the coolest name- Denimite. It is made of denim scraps, combined under high pressure with a thermoset resin binder. Made entirely in the U.S via a process that produces hardly any waste, the factory in Nebraska shapes the material into sheets ready for their secondary processing.
Iris Industries is currently developing further the Denimite in order make full use of the efficient production, minimal waste, and the lower cost, while at the same time making it suitable for as many applications as possible. The fact that the new material is very light and strong, gives them the advantage to shape it into sheets that later can be modified to use in architecture and various consumer products.
The unique material is water impervious, it can be fabricated into any shape or size with standard tools, it has adjustable density and strength, it has a random visual texture, and each sheet has a unique color because of the difference in the denim before it is recycled.
The company is now beginning a kickstarter campaign to raise money in order to begin the large scale production and purchase equipment that can allow them to produce smaller sheets for smaller items. The makers are convinced that this sustainable material is a true revelation with numerous applications that could potentially transform virtually any industry.
