Local college grad infuses sustainability into fashion industry

PHILADELPHIA, PA (WTXF) - One local college graduate is already making a difference in the fashion industry, tackling the business' penchant for untenable production methods with her brand of sustainable designer denim.

Megan Young's mission to infuse sustainability into the fashion industry has come to fruition in the form of AndAgain, which creates sustainable recycled designer jeans.

Junior Reporter Mallory Metzner, from the University of Delaware, visited one local shop which houses some of AndAgain's collection -- the Rittenhouse Square boutique Shop Sixty Five.

"I think it's really important for young people to kind of follow this unbelievable path they're taking with the sustainability and the recycling and up cycling of denim," shop owner Linda LaRosa told FOX 29.

AndAgain jeans first were first pieced together a year ago by Young during her time studying apparel design at the University of Delaware.

"Everything is made from recycled denim," she told FOX 29. "From the jackets to the pants and skirts and the tops. We don't use any new materials for their creation."

And there's a reason. According to Young, it takes over 1,000 gallons of water to create just one pair of jeans. For each garment AndAgain creates, it saves roughly 4,000 to 5,000 gallons of water.

"All of our pieces are made in very low quantities," co-founder Greg Carter explained. "You want people to feel comfortable and know that no one else will be wearing what [you] have."

With 75 items currently in stock, AndAgain has saved thousands of gallons of water in just one year.

Moving forward, the brand hopes to spread its mission to other major cities and make AndAgain a household name in sustainable fashion.