STEP TWO: WASHING

The jeans and jackets are discarded pieces, so as a matter of course (and hygiene) they need washing. We use a local East London launderette called Cleanex, run by Korosh Morad. Korosh took us through his process of washing this pre-loved denim, and there is only 7 litres of water used, where to create a brand new pair would use 7000 litres – this is more than the amount of water ONE person drinks over 13 years.

STEP THREE: PREPARING

After Korosh drops the washed denim, in his electric car, back to the studio, it is then measured, sorted, paired, and de-branded ready for the Atelier. Every jean and jacket are paired by hand by Anna and her team, to ensure every piece is quality checked and that they are happy with the gradient of colourway.

STEP FOUR: CREATING

When we met with Han & Annie at Blackhorse Lane Atelier, we knew it was the right place to make our jeans. All the jeans are cut by hand, and made using traditional denim methods. In fact only one person has cut every pair of E.L.V. Denim jeans, and that is our hero Ivo. Han & Annie keep sustainability at the heart of business and their social values are essential to how they run their company. All of their employees are given the opportunity to be shareholders in the company, quality standards assured, and a paid a fair living wage and will not be subjected to Zero Contract hours.Blackhorse Lane Atelier is located in Walthamstow, East London and is a hub of creativity. Visit their website for more information and for everything they offer. https://blackhorselane.com/

STEP FIVE: LEATHER LABELS

To insure our zero waste policy we have collaborated with local East London leather company, Tura London. All our branded leather patches and backing of our belts are remnants or off cuts found in their factory. The colour of the patches depends on what is available, once that colour is gone, we move onto another. Kinda cute really as it also helps our clients ‘date’ their jeans!

STEP SIX: HARDWARE

We source our branded buttons from YKK as they have developed an ECO FINISH. You can read about YKK’s changes to their production to optimise sustainability here.

STEP SEVEN: DETAILING

We work with local printmakers Mesh & Blade who hand print our labels on 100% recycled board produced in East London. They also use vegetable ink which has a low carbon footprint. We are working with them on some new and exciting installations and being round the corner is rather helpful!

STEP EIGHT: SCRAPS

Any scraps that are left are given to the renowned artist Ian Berry who creates ‘paintings’ using denim. He created the art around E.L.V. DENIM’s pop up in Selfridges in 2019.

The brand also works with local schools and universities providing fabric for textile classes as and when they need it.

If you are a student after some scrap material we are happy to donate to you. Please click here to email us!