Denim Lounge

That old pair of jeans that’s been sitting in your closet collecting dust for months could be insulating somebody’s house. It’s easy to give back; all you have to do is donate your jeans!

“We hope students realize one pair of jeans can make a difference, because it only takes 500 jeans to insulate a home,” says Laura Foti, member of Hill Communications and the “Drop Your Jeans for a Good Cause Campaign.”

Cotton from Blue to Green is a denim drive that collects people’s old jeans and turns them into UltraTouch Denim Insulation, which is used to insulate homes in communities in need.

“When I heard about it, I didn’t know what a denim drive was,” Foti says, but she knew the denim would be used for a good cause, home insulation.

“As a student you want to be able to give back and you want to be able to help, but it’s difficult because you might not have the time or resources, but everyone has a pair of jeans,” Foti says.

On Friday October 8^th, members of Public Relations Student Society of America were on Syracuse University’s quad ready to fill their cardboard boxes with jeans. Many students donated to the cause. In return they received a free t-shirt, Frisbee and chocolate bar, not bad for getting rid of something they didn’t need anymore.

Foti doesn’t see any problems occurring with them reaching their goal of 500 jeans. Her mom even got involved handing flyers out in her hometown. Syracuse started their denim drive with 115 pairs of jeans all from mom! On Friday 70 pairs of jeans were collected. Making Syracuse closer to their goal.

This event even brought out a Syracuse celebrity. Chancellor Nancy Cantor stopped by and gave her denim donation.

Everyone’s donation counts. Cantor’s donation put Syracuse one step closer to their goal of collecting 500 pairs of jeans. Foti says the denim drive won’t stop at 500, the more jeans the better.

In 2009, 270,617 pieces of denim were collected providing denim insulation for 540 homes. This year several retailers participated in the program, one being Gap. They collected over 270,000 pairs of jeans alone. Everyone who donated a pair of jeans was rewarded with a 30% discount off their new jeans purchase.

Four other universities are getting involved with the Cotton From Blue to Green program, University of Nebraska, University of Texas, University of Wisconsin and the University of Kentucky.

“Everyone has a pair of jeans that doesn’t fit anymore, and I think that’s what’s so great about this campaign,” Foti says. “Everyone can relate to it.”