Celebs Clean Closets For A Cause - "The Great Denim Challenge" Celebrity Autograph Jeans Auction Aims for Millionth Piece of Denim

NEW YORK, Sept. 18, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Blue Jeans Go Green™ (formerly Cotton From Blue to Green™) today announced a unique auction designed to raise awareness about textile recycling and to help the program collect its one-millionth piece of denim.  Thirteen celebrities, including Hayden Panettiere,Heidi Klum, Adriana Lima, Britney Spears, Ryan Phillippe, Darren Criss and more, have each signed and contributed a pair of jeans for "The Great Denim Challenge," an online auction in which denim is the currency. The bidding begins today at www.BlueJeansGoGreen.org and concludes on November 3^rd.

The Blue Jeans Go Green™ denim recycling program, which began as Cotton From Blue to Green™, has diverted over 600 tons of denim from landfills since it began in 2006.  The diverted denim has been given new life in the form of nearly 2 million square feet of UltraTouch™ Denim Insulation, which has been provided to communities in need and public works projects around the U.S.

"The denim we have received from campus drives, through promotions with retailers and brands, companies, and consumers around the country have moved us very close to the one-million mark," explains Andrea Samber, Co-director of Strategic Alliances for Cotton Incorporated.  "Thanks to the participation of Hayden and the other celebrities, the auction will help us accelerate the milestone and commemorate it in a unique and memorable way."

The auction puts up for bid 13 pairs of denim jeans, each autographed by its celebrity owner and paired with a note of thanks from the celebrity.   Like traditional auctions, the highest bidder will win the item, but the bids are denim --- not dollars.  The bidder committing to recycle the highest number of denim apparel items for a particular celebrity's jeans will be the recipient of that item.  All the denim collected will be converted into UltraTouch Denim Insulation, a portion of which will be distributed to communities in need.

Cotton Incorporated will host a media event in Los Angeles on Wednesday, November 6, 2013, to celebrate the millionth pair milestone.

For more information, visit www.BlueJeansGoGreen.org. Please follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/cotton and on Twitter: @CottonFashion.

About Cotton Incorporated
Cotton Incorporated, funded by U.S. growers of upland cotton and importers of cotton and cotton textile products, is the research and marketing company representing upland cotton. The Program is designed and operated to improve the demand for and profitability of cotton.

About the Blue Jeans Go Green™ Denim Recycling Program
The Blue Jeans Go Green™ (formerly Cotton From Blue to Green™) denim recycling program was created by Cotton Incorporated in 2006.  The program is a call-to-action to give old denim "new" life by recycling it into natural cotton fiber insulation.  Blue Jeans Go Green™ collects denim from around the country and through a partnership with Bonded Logic, Inc., transforms it into UltraTouch Denim Insulation for housing and building projects across the U.S.  To date, the efforts of the Blue Jeans Go Green™ denim recycling program have diverted over 600 tons of waste from landfills. Individuals, schools, organizations and businesses nationwide contribute denim to the program each year. 

All denim collected through Blue Jeans Go Green™ is recycled into UltraTouch Denim Insulation, and a portion of it, up to approximately 250,000 square feet, will be distributed to help communities in need in 2014. Historically, homes built around the country through Habitat for Humanity affiliates have been the primary recipients of the insulation.  Many communities affected by natural disasters have benefited from the program. Such Habitat affiliates include, but are not limited to, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Baton Rouge, Habitat for Humanity of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity and the Bay Area Houston Habitat for Humanity. Additionally, through the Blue Jeans Go Green™ program, grants of insulation have been awarded to civic institutions such as the Mark Reed Hospital in Washington, the UGA Demonstration Home in Tifton, Georgia and the Center for the Advancement of Sustainable Living at the University of Oregon.

*Insulation quantities related to the Blue Jeans Go Green™ denim recycling program may be adjusted each year.

SOURCE Cotton Incorporated