Rag News: February 2020

The Future of Circular Fashion   The future of our world has always been in our own hands and continues to be. However, the world is now beginning to realize the importance of Circular Fashion. Circular Fashion is the future for our planet, and without it our planet may not survive. The amount of waste […]

Rag News: November 2019

  Ho-Ho-Ho Hints from the Rag News Elf on the Shelf As the Christmas season approaches, we asked the Rag News Elf for a few revenue-building tips for thrifts. Here is the list: – Create an in-store Christmas Shoppe and keep it well organized since most shoppers have limited time during the Holiday season.  Display […]

Rag News: October 2019

Size “of the Bale” Matters In the wholesale of mixed rags and credentials, the size of the bales matter a great deal! Whether you use a vertical (down-stroke) or a horizontal baler, the dimensions of the bales will impact the weight of the load. While the industry standard aims for 1,000 pound bales, most sellers make bales […]

Rag News: September 2019

Ground-Breaking Innovation Manufacturing “New” out of Used, at Industrial Scale Bank & Vogue is proud to announce that we have developed the capacity to remanufacture post-consumer apparel at industrial scale. Our work with Converse on their Converse Renew Denim collection has introduced an innovative reinvention of used apparel and made it into the world’s most […]

Rag News: July 2019

Discarded Jeans to Reinvent Iconic Sneakers [Photo:Converse] We are thrilled to collaborate with iconic sneaker brand Converse to develop the process behind their upcoming Renew Denim collection. For more information check out this article about the project by Fast Company.  

Rag News: June 2019

denim jeans as part of recycling in circular economy

  The Circular Economy Applied to Denim In the circular economy model, we keep denim in use for as long as possible, extract the maximum value from it during use, then recover garments and fibers at the end of each service life. The circular economy of denim rests on three principles: Preserve natural capital by […]

Rag News: April 2019

bales of denim at bank and vogue

Used Denim in Numbers Denim is a very popular, long lasting material within the fashion industry. In fact, denim represents 7% of total used clothing.   When the bales of mixed rags leave the thrift store warehouse, only 60% of denim within these bales will find new lives in second hand markets. That includes the […]

Rag News: March 2019

used denim creative projects

Denim Upcycle The term “upcycle” is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as “the reuse of discarded items or materials in such a way as to create a product of higher quality or value than the original”. It was used for first time in the 1990s as a blend of up- and recycle. LABEL is an […]

Rag News: February 2019

denim repair

  Artistic Repair of Denim Repairing denim at scale is similar to triage in the emergency room. First the jeans are categorized into categories of how they need to be repaired. The following are the main five categories: Repairs along the pocket Small hole in the upper thigh Hole on the upper part Hole on […]

Rag News: January 2019

Vintage clothing store showing denim

The Vintage Side of Discarded Denim Imagine, if one day you go back to your parents’ house and decide to help them with their cleaning. You open a dusty old trunk and you find a bunch of denim clothing inside. Here they are, your father’s bell-bottoms jeans from the 80’s; and this hippy denim vest […]