00:00Trendy, vintage and comfy, jeans are a hit worldwide.
00:06More than 2 billion pairs are made each year, 73 sold every second.
00:15But most are tarnished by toxic dyes and chemical products that pollute rivers and harm ecosystems.
00:28In this industrial zone in Switzerland, French inventors say they found a solution.
00:35A giant printer that doesn't print photos, but denim patterns straight onto cotton sheets.
00:44This is the pair of faded jeans we're going to print,
00:47with laser effects and details that look like enzyme treatments,
00:51with the signature whiskers on the fold and thighs.
00:56We can recreate all the classic denim treatments,
00:59but without any harmful impact on the environment.
01:03No bleach, no petrochemicals are used here, only natural products, they say.
01:09And to prove it, one scientist even took off his gloves.
01:17It's not dangerous at all. The only thing is that the colour sticks so well,
01:21it will leave a stain on my hands.
01:25This dye is made of algae and plant extracts, instead of synthetic indigo.
01:31Indigo isn't water-soluble. It's made from adenine, which is a highly toxic substance.
01:37To make it soluble, a chemical is needed, one that's often really unhealthy.
01:43That product is called sodium hydrosulfite.
01:47Every year, 84,000 tons of it are used by the denim industry.
01:53Making jeans without it has attracted the attention of major clients,
01:59including the global giant Levi's.
02:04150 years ago in southern France, legend has it Levi Strauss
02:10sourced his fabric from Nîmes to dress gold diggers.
02:15This is the Fountain Canal, where all the fabrics made in Nîmes were dyed
02:18in the 16th-17th centuries, including the famous denim.
02:23In the birthplace of denim, Guillaume Sagault went back to traditional,
02:28cleaner methods to weave his fabric.
02:33Instead of using a single thread, we use two.
02:37The twist makes it naturally stronger. You can bend and stretch it all you want.
02:41It won't break.
02:44Twisted threads are so sturdy they don't need to be coated with glue,
02:49unlike single threads used in fast fashion.
02:53The coating process uses yet more chemicals and more water.
02:57One single pair of jeans usually needs 9,000 litres of water,
03:02the equivalent of 285 showers.
03:06Guillaume's technique is more costly but greener and makes jeans last longer.
03:12But what about denim's notorious transport footprint?
03:16From cotton fields to stores, a pair of jeans is thought to travel
03:2065,000 kilometres before reaching your wardrobe.
03:24That's like circling planet Earth one and a half times.
03:29Across northern Europe, fields of flax and hemp thrive.
03:34France is one of the world's top producers.
03:38Could these crops replace traditional cotton, usually imported from Asia or the US?
03:45One company is betting on it.
03:49Jean-Charles runs a family business that specialises in eco-friendly jeans.
03:59Harvesting, weaving, assembling, every step is made locally.
04:06We can do everything in France. We can dye them in France,
04:11weave them in France and finish them in France.
04:14We shouldn't feel obliged to buy the end product outside France.
04:18Jean-Charles' company is a pioneer in crafting jeans from locally sourced flax and hemp,
04:25crops that don't need as many chemical treatments as cotton.
04:31As it grows, hemp can reach up to 2.2 metres high.
04:35Its leaves cover the ground completely so the sun never reaches the soil.
04:40No sunlight means no weeds and no need for herbicides.
04:45Many of his models haven't been dyed. A gift from Mother Nature, he says.
04:52Flax linen is like wine. Depending on the season, the rain or the sun, its colour changes.
04:59So no two pairs of jeans are exactly the same.
05:04Reinventing denim, making your favourite pants more sustainable.
