The Traveler

Issue date: 10/17/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Amy Powless Senior Casey Woodard explains how recycled denim may be turned into housing insulation.

The UA is one of six universities this year to participate in the "Cotton. From Blue to Green." denim drive, which will donate denim to insulate homes of hurricane-affected families.

The UA Public Relations Student Society of America has teamed with Cotton Inc. to participate in the denim drive, which is part of Cotton's Dirty Laundry Tour, across the UA campus. The donated denim will be converted to UltraTouch natural cotton fiber, an environmentally safe, non-itch home and building insulation made from recycled denim, according to a Cotton Inc. press release.

Denim collected this year will be donated to Habitat for Humanity to help insulate new homes in the Mississippi Gulf Coast region, New Orleans and Baton Rouge, La.

While the organization has not put a limit on how much denim it will accept, the PRSSA has a goal of collecting 500 pieces of denim, which would be enough to insulate one house.

"Our message: donate your denim to make a difference," said Kaitlyn Rush, a PRSSA member. "Denim hats, shirts, jackets, pants, shorts, capri pants. Any denim, we'll take any kind of denim."

PRSSA members also will accept torn, dirty, worn-out or decorated denim.

"Cotton. From Blue to Green." began in 2006, and a few campuses are chosen each year to participate in the drive.

In the drive's first year, 14,566 pieces of denim were recycled, which helped Habitat for Humanity build 12 homes for families affected by Hurricane Katrina, according to Accesscotton.com. And in 2007, 34,000 pieces of denim were recycled and given to Habitat for Humanity to help with the organization's work with the Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter Work Project.

Now, more than 100 homes have been built in the Gulf Coast region using the UltraTouch natural cotton fiber.

"I think it sounds like a great idea," UA student Mary Smith said, "and a really creative way to give back."

Students may drop off denim items on the first floor of Kimpel Hall or at the Fayetteville Athletic Club, said Casey Woodward, PRSSA vice president.

Students also may drop off their denim clothing at Central United Methodist Church on Dickson Street and St. Paul's Episcopal Church off Dickson, or they may visit the journalism department for a complete list of locations.

The denim drive will continue through the month of October and the first week of November. Every Wednesday this month, the PRSSA will have a table set up from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. on the corner of McIlory Avenue and Dickson Street, in front of Starbucks Coffee, where students can drop off their denim items. A prize wheel will give students the opportunity to win a free T-shirt or information about the drive.

Students may visit Accesscotton.com for more information or to enter a sweepstakes to win a Cotton All-Access Entertainment System, which features a Nintendo Wii, iPod touch, CD/DVD player, stereo and three flat-screen televisions.

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