We recently partnered with The New Denim Project, a family-run zero-waste textile mill based in Guatemala, to create new fabric from denim scraps bound for landfill. The result: a collection that is as beautiful as it is sustainable.
Read on for an interview with our founder, Rose Shattuck, about the origins of the collection and shop the collection here.
How did you learn about The New Denim Project?
I first met The New Denim Project’s co-founder, Arianne Engelberg, at a trade show years ago. That's when I first learned about their fascinating and unique closed-loop production process to create fabric that is truly 100% upcycled and sustainable.
Plus, their fabrics are gorgeous: soft and durable, in beautiful muted hues of blue and cream. At the time, we were too small to meet the minimum yardage requirements to import their fabrics from Guatemala but it stuck with me. Once we were bigger, I knew I wanted to do a pet collection using their beautiful, natural, and 100% sustainable fabric.
Our Upcycled Denim collection includes a full line of pet accessories, toys and beds.
Tell us about The New Denim Project.
To bring this collection to life we partnered with the incredible team at The New Denim Project: a third-generation, family-run textile mill in Guatemala that is one of the most innovative mills in the world. Their passion for minimizing environmental impact and waste generation led them to pioneer a fully circular, zero-waste process to upcycle fabric.
It's an incredible closed-loop production system where they first collect cotton scraps from local garment factories, then grind those scraps back into fiber, and finally re-spin the fiber into into brand new fabric. To top if off, the cottonseed and cotton lint left over from the upcycling process is passed on to local coffee-growers to use as compost.
The process is chemical-free, dye-free, and uses minimal water and energy. The resulting fabric is 100% natural and compostable.
Sisters Arianne and Joanna Engelberg and their father, founders of The New Denim Project. Photo credit: Juan Brenner for The New Denim Project
Why is sustainability important to The Foggy Dog?
I didn't know anything about the process of making sewn, textile-based products before starting The Foggy Dog. The more I've learned, the more it's been a wakeup call. I was shocked to see the amount of fabric scraps wasted during the cutting process, and have since learned that every year, 26 billion pounds of textiles end up in landfill through a combination of production waste and discarded clothing. Plus, traditional textile manufacturing generates significant amounts of greenhouse gases, uses a significant amount of water, and discharges hazardous chemicals into the environment.
Knowing this, I've always tried to be as sustainable as possible with The Foggy Dog. We minimize fabric waste wherever we can (for instance, we created our squeak toys primarily as a way to utilize the fabric remnants created when our dog beds are cut). We also use 100% recycled plastic fiberfill as the stuffing in our dog beds and toys that's spun from plastic bottles which otherwise would have ended up in landfill.
And finally, we use almost zero plastic in our packaging and fulfillment process: we opt for reusable muslin drawstring bags instead of plastic polybags, and ship using mailers made of recycled paper.
Part of our ongoing commitment to sustainability: our Sustainafill dog bed inserts and squeak toys are filled with 100% recycled fiberfill spun from plastic bottles destined for landfill.
What is the impact of using upcycled denim instead of virgin fabric?
I'm proud to share that through this collection we are able to:
🌱 save 320 million liters of water
🌱 prevent 3,300 pounds of toxic chemicals from being released
🌱 prevent 32,000 pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere
Explore the Upcycled Denim collection.
Goldendoodle Sona loves her Upcycled Denim Stripe bed!
