journey of the jeans

STEP 01: SOURCING

Our sourcing trips resemble a treasure hunt. We scour vintage warehouses across the UK, searching for as much quality denim as we can rescue - pieces that might otherwise eventually end up in landfill.

As the brand has grown and the second-hand textile industry has evolved, we increasingly work with bales of denim sent directly from our suppliers. While this gives us less control over exactly what we receive, we see the unpredictability as a catalyst for creativity. The challenges we discover in each bale often become the starting point for a new idea, silhouette or design.

STEP 02: WASHING

We take our hand-selected, pre-loved garments to our local East London launderette, where they are carefully cleaned and prepared for their next life. We have worked with Korosh in Clapton since 2018, building a long-standing relationship with the local business that has been washing our jeans from the very beginning.

Our washing process uses just seven litres of water per pair of jeans, compared with the 10,000 litres of water typically required to produce a new pair through traditional production methods - equivalent to the amount one person drinks in around 13 years!

STEP 03: GRADING

This is one of the most important steps in our making and design process. Every single pair of jeans is individually assessed by grade, colour and measurements. The measurements tell us what each pair can become, helping us determine the most considered way to work with the denim we have in front of us.

Over time, this process has allowed us to scale while maintaining a commercial approach. Although every pair of E.L.V. DENIM jeans is made from unique, pre-loved denim, our precise grading system ensures that each style retains the same considered measurements and fit.

STEP 04: PAIRING

This is where our true design process begins. Our founder, Anna Foster, and our design team pair every single jean by hand, one pair at a time. It is a process that relies on a trained designer’s eye - finding two individual jeans that work together in colour, character and proportion.

The measurements are crucial here. Two jeans may look perfect together, but if their measurements do not align with the requirements of a particular style, they simply will not work. Pairing is also essential to maintaining consistency as we scale, allowing us to carefully control colour and create a sense of uniformity across each style, despite every pair being made from unique pre-loved denim.

STEP 05: PREPARING

This stage is about giving every pair the care and attention it needs before it enters production. We remove all original brand labels and details from the jeans because, for us, it is the quality, character and potential of the denim that matters — not the brand it originally came from.

Any small repairs or imperfections are carefully addressed by hand, giving jeans that need a little extra attention the care they deserve. Every pair is then checked once again to ensure it meets our standards before leaving our East London studio and making its way to our local ateliers, where it will be transformed into an E.L.V. DENIM piece.

STEP 06: HANDCRAFTING

All our jeans are cut by hand one-by-one in our local East London ateliers and made with the greatest attention to detail. We value the craftsmanship, time and skills that go into creating our sustainable denim pieces; we love the community we built around our business.

We only work with people who share our passion and commitment for sustainability and uphold the highest social and quality standards: Everyone is paid fairly for their work. It's a creative incredibly skilled community we're proud to be part of.

STEP 07: LEATHER LABELS

All our branded leather patches and the backing of our belts are hand cut, pressed and sourced from local East London leather factories that have remnants from their own manufacturing processes. The colour of our patches depends on what's available at the time. Once one colour runs out, we move on to the next. It's a small quirk that makes every piece unique and allows our clients to "date" their jeans by the colour of the patch.

We’re always on the hunt for alternative and new suppliers to reuse discarded leather, such as from sofas and other leather goods.

STEP 08: HARDWARE

We source our environmentally friendly branded buttons from YKK. The fastenings maker’s eco finish uses less water and energy, and eliminates nasty chemicals used by traditional electroplating metal finishing.

Learn more about YKK's 'cycle of goodness' sustainability process.

STEP 09: DETAILING

Once our jeans are made, they are quality checked by our team, who regularly visit the local ateliers we work with. With upcycling, maintaining the highest possible standards is especially important. Small details can make all the difference, ensuring that fit, finish and style remain consistent across every pair.

The jeans then return to our East London studio for their final touches. Hems are carefully checked and, where needed, adjusted to ensure consistency across the style. Once every detail has been approved, they are carefully packed and prepared to make their way to our retail partners or, finally, to our beloved customers.

We could stop here. After all, we are already giving discarded denim a new life. But for us, that is not enough. We look at every piece of leftover material and ask ourselves: what else can we make from this?

Our zero waste ethos has led us to develop new designs and creative solutions that make use of our own production offcuts, while also partnering with local companies and craftspeople who help us transform what would otherwise be waste into something useful and beautiful.

WASTE SOLUTION 01: PATCHWORK

The first solutions for reusing our own production scraps is patchworking, a process we call clicking. We use a traditional leather-cutting machine to cut-out (click) our leftover denim into small strip panels, which are then carefully constructed back together to create a new piece of fabric.

We can then place our patterns over this newly created material and transform what would otherwise be waste into entirely new designs, from our Kara Bomber and Celeste Cape to the Tia Bag and Farrah Jeans. It is a process that turns the limitations of leftover material into a starting point for design.

WASTE SOLUTION 02: CROCHET

The smaller pieces of denim that are too small for our patchworking process are given another purpose. They are cut into narrow strips and carefully sewn together to create a denim “yarn”, which can then be worked by hand.

We use this unique material to crochet our Denim Crochet Tote Bag, transforming even our smallest scraps into something entirely new and useful.

WASTE SOLUTION 03: PAPER

Made in the UK using traditional paper-making techniques, our denim paper gives our discarded fibres a completely new life. The denim is shredded and mixed with water to create a pulp, much like the traditional process used to make paper from cotton fibres before it was made from trees.

You may have seen our signature blue swing tags in our stores and showrooms, which are made entirely from 100% recycled denim paper. We also use the same material to create stationery and note card sets, encouraging the simple art of writing, sending thank-you notes and putting something personal in the post.

WASTE SOLUTION 04: ART

We have also found a creative way to give our denim scraps a new life through art. We collaborated with renowned British artist Ian Berry, who creates intricate paintings and sculptures entirely from denim, transforming discarded jeans into works of art.

Using our own production scraps, Ian created the artwork surrounding E.L.V. DENIM’s pop-up at Selfridges in 2019. The collaboration showed how even the smallest pieces of leftover denim can become something unexpected, moving beyond fashion and into the world of art.

WASTE SOLUTION 05: SCHOOLS

We believe the knowledge and materials we have should be shared. We are regularly invited by schools and universities to give lectures and masterclasses on our approach to sustainability, upcycling and designing with discarded materials.

We also work with local schools and universities by donating our leftover denim and fabric for use in textile classes and student projects. By passing these materials on, we can help inspire the next generation of designers to see waste not as an end point, but as a valuable material with potential.

WASTE SOLUTION 06: INSULATION

Last but not least, the scraps that cannot be used in any of our other processes are sent to LMB Textile Recycling, a London-based textile recycler we trust. They transform our remaining denim scraps into insulation, giving the fibres another useful life beyond fashion.

Textile insulation is a valuable alternative to sending unwanted garments to landfill or downcycling them into lower-value materials. Working with a trusted local recycler also means we know where our waste goes and can be confident that we are not simply passing our problem on to someone else. For us, zero waste means taking responsibility as much as possible, for every piece of material.