Spring Break
Old clothes for a new cause
Becky Mack
Issue date: 2/28/08 Section: News
Last update: 2/28/08 at 12:11 AM EST
They're stuffed in the back of your closet. It's been months, maybe even years, since you've last worn them.
Face it. You're never going to fit into those jeans again, so you might as well give them up.
The student service organization Circle K wants everyone to clean out their closets and put those old jeans to a humanitarian and eco-friendly use. The fibers in blue jeans can be used as an essential building block of any house: insulation.
Circle K will be sending the jeans and other collected denim items to Habitat for Humanity. The ultimate goal is to use the jeans to make insulation for new houses being built for Hurricane Katrina victims.
Duquesne chemistry professor H.M. "Skip" Kingston explained how the cotton blue jeans can be used.
"Cellulose, which is the basic component of paper and cotton, is used as insulation. Any form with trapped air can be used to insulate, just as a down jacket or a poly-fiber works," Kingston said. "It is the air trapped in the fiber, and the smaller the pockets, and the more of them, the higher the insulation factor."
Twenty pairs of jeans can create insulation for a 15-square-foot wall, but it takes about 500 pairs of jeans to insulate an average Habitat for Humanity home.
The leading manufacturer of recycled denim insulation is Bonded Logic. They use post-industrial recycled denim. The scraps and other waste materials are diverted from landfills and given another lifecycle. Instead of throwing old pairs of jeans away, the jeans can be ripped apart and used for the insulation.
"Cotton is a fiber with lots of space for air and that is why it is a good insulator," Kingston said.
The manufacturing process takes less energy to produce in comparison to other insulation products. Green products like UltraTouch, Bonded Logic's insulation, reuse all scrap and manufacturing trim for the raw material supply, creating a virtually waste-free process.
UltraTouch is made of natural fibers, is environmentally friendly and is healthier for people, as it is becoming a trend in the construction and renovations in hospitals. It is treated with a boron-based solution for fire retardancy, mold/mildew growth and a pest inhibitor. Comparatively, fiberglass insulation, the pink cotton-candy-looking insulation, contains the toxin formaldehyde, known to be a stimulant for allergies and asthma.
Next school year, Duquesne and other local colleges are committed to going green.
Circle K President Alexis Smith is determined to have Circle K make an impact in next year's focus, with the combined effort of neighboring Circle K clubs, including the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University.
"I don't think the environmental and going-green wave has completely hit Pittsburgh, yet," she said.
Circle K member Kellee Kruse added, "Duquesne's Circle K members are taking the initiative to do their part."
The service organization officially kicked off their denim drive on Valentine's Day, and students can find donation boxes in Towers Living Learning Center.
"We want to keep the boxes out over spring break for when people come back," Circle K member Kelly Boyle said. "We hope to give them [Habitat for Humanity] a good donation."
Face it. You're never going to fit into those jeans again, so you might as well give them up.
The student service organization Circle K wants everyone to clean out their closets and put those old jeans to a humanitarian and eco-friendly use. The fibers in blue jeans can be used as an essential building block of any house: insulation.
Circle K will be sending the jeans and other collected denim items to Habitat for Humanity. The ultimate goal is to use the jeans to make insulation for new houses being built for Hurricane Katrina victims.
Duquesne chemistry professor H.M. "Skip" Kingston explained how the cotton blue jeans can be used.
"Cellulose, which is the basic component of paper and cotton, is used as insulation. Any form with trapped air can be used to insulate, just as a down jacket or a poly-fiber works," Kingston said. "It is the air trapped in the fiber, and the smaller the pockets, and the more of them, the higher the insulation factor."
Twenty pairs of jeans can create insulation for a 15-square-foot wall, but it takes about 500 pairs of jeans to insulate an average Habitat for Humanity home.
The leading manufacturer of recycled denim insulation is Bonded Logic. They use post-industrial recycled denim. The scraps and other waste materials are diverted from landfills and given another lifecycle. Instead of throwing old pairs of jeans away, the jeans can be ripped apart and used for the insulation.
"Cotton is a fiber with lots of space for air and that is why it is a good insulator," Kingston said.
The manufacturing process takes less energy to produce in comparison to other insulation products. Green products like UltraTouch, Bonded Logic's insulation, reuse all scrap and manufacturing trim for the raw material supply, creating a virtually waste-free process.
UltraTouch is made of natural fibers, is environmentally friendly and is healthier for people, as it is becoming a trend in the construction and renovations in hospitals. It is treated with a boron-based solution for fire retardancy, mold/mildew growth and a pest inhibitor. Comparatively, fiberglass insulation, the pink cotton-candy-looking insulation, contains the toxin formaldehyde, known to be a stimulant for allergies and asthma.
Next school year, Duquesne and other local colleges are committed to going green.
Circle K President Alexis Smith is determined to have Circle K make an impact in next year's focus, with the combined effort of neighboring Circle K clubs, including the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University.
"I don't think the environmental and going-green wave has completely hit Pittsburgh, yet," she said.
Circle K member Kellee Kruse added, "Duquesne's Circle K members are taking the initiative to do their part."
The service organization officially kicked off their denim drive on Valentine's Day, and students can find donation boxes in Towers Living Learning Center.
"We want to keep the boxes out over spring break for when people come back," Circle K member Kelly Boyle said. "We hope to give them [Habitat for Humanity] a good donation."
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