ABOUT YJ

Material origins

new technologies

Production & TRANSPARENCY

ABOUT

Who we are.
Yoga jeans is a brand committed to an ethical and sustainable lifestyle. In fact, is a system of uniting the physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional wellbeing. It is a holistic approach to life that is synonymous with our concept as a brand.  When designing our jeans, measuring the impact each garment has on the earth and its inhabitants is a fundamental part of the process.  We believe in spreading good energy and positive karma in all we do.

We are constantly improving our practices with the goal to reduce our carbon footprint, minimize waste, and work towards a circular economy. Every stage of the process from sourcing of materials, to concept, design, finishing, to final stages of shipping and logistics – all aspects of our processes are evaluated and strategically calculated with our ecological footprint in mind.  That being said, we’re not perfect.  But we strive to better our practices and be more transparent about how we operate.
How Yoga Jeans was created.

Co-founder Eric Wazana’s passion for denim was sparked when he was a kid – a kid who refused to accept the status quo. As a teenager, every year before school started, his mom would buy him a new pair of jeans. Eric would immediately start beating them up against the sidewalk, roughing them with sandpaper, and making little tears with scraps of Coca-Cola bottle caps to age them. They weren’t right until they were comfortable and vintage-looking.

From these early experiments in distressing emerged Eric’s love for denim and the idea to create a company of his own. His enthusiasm soon spread to his little brother, Jacob, and before long the two Wazana brothers set out to create the most comfortable jeans in the world.

After studying women’s natural curves and body movements, the Wazana brothers deconstructed traditional denim patterns and fabrics and remade them as a new pair of jeans so comfortable and flexible that a woman could actually practice yoga in them. That’s how Yoga Jeans® was born.

MATERIAL ORIGINS

A great pair of jeans start at the source – raw materials. Our suppliers are carefully screened for quality, traceability, sustainability, and social responsibility. We only work with a handful of trusted sources that share these same values that define our brand.
Since there are no existing denim mills in Canada, we source internationally. We make a conscious effort to source as much of our denim as possible to the factory in which it will be sewn in order to minimize the carbon footprint of our supply chain. The shorter the distance that the fabric must travel from the fabric mill to our production facilities means less fuel, fewer carbon emissions, and our impact on the earth is reduced. 

We work with fabric mills to choose and create fabrics that are closest to the final colour objective that we are looking to achieve.

Whenever possible, we work with fabric mills to choose and create fabrics that are closest to the final colour objective that we are looking to achieve. This further reduces the need for additional processes (like bleaching and dying) and reduces the overall impact of each jean.

The majority of our denims are certified BCI (Better Cotton Initiative), Cotton Leads, organic, recycled, Repreve, and/or
Eco T-400.
One of our goals in the coming year is to make all our denims with recycled and
sustainable components.

We do our best to make better, more enviro-conscious choices in materials which reflects in the cost of our jeans. These certifications are given by 3 rd party entities that regulate the origin and quality of our materials. By making better choices, we are able to provide our valued customers with a better alternative.

INVESTING IN NEW TECHNOLOGIES

Nowadays, 20% of global production (in terms of denim finishing) is produced using lasers. This revolutionary laser technology creates the sought-after vintage look in denim garments but produced in a sustainable way. The laser works by removing the color from the fabric surface, giving it a used and faded look. Traditionally, factories create these same looks with harmful and dangerous processes such as sandblasting, hand sanding, or PP spray.  The aforementioned processes are quite hazardous to the environment as they involve blasting the jeans with sand, silica, and chemicals.  They have been known to cause fatal diseases such as silicosis and lung cancer.

Using laser provides a cleaner and safer environment for the operators in the finishing process, allowing us to reduce our environmental impact.

We believe the investment in green technologies will help to create a new eco-friendly standard in the fashion industry in denim practices.

Using laser technology to distress our jeans also means we reduce water consumption, use fewer chemicals, and less energy.

The shorter the distance that the tailored product has to travel from the factory to our offices and final customer means less fuel, fewer carbon emissions, and our impact on the earth is reduced. We use low carbon transport.

Keeping our denim circular


Every step in the value chain is crucial.

Quality vs. quantity.

We produce with purpose, making what we sell vs. selling what we make.

This means that we carry less inventory and produce smaller batches.  Not only does this allow us to have better quality control of our jeans, but it encourages responsible consumption.
Upcycling and using deadstock.

The fashion industry produces about 92 million tons of waste per year.  This includes unsold merchandise, production off-cuts, and leftover materials resulting from overproduction, also known as deadstock. Deadstock ex. Bean bags, corduroy

We believe in extending the useful life of materials and resources to mitigate the amount of waste created in our industry.  The Yoga Jeans upcycled denim capsules are one of the creative solutions we have in place to reduce waste.  All items are made using excess fabric, overstock, deadstock, test blankets, and pre-/post-consumer waste.

For every ton of repurposed denim, 20 tons of CO2 is prevented from entering the atmosphere.

Upcycled ex. Denim tote bags, cushion for the office, table covers for the office.
Packaging.
In our efforts to eliminate single use plastics from our facilities, we decided to start by redesigning our packaging.

Our orders are now shipped in compostable mailers made from biodegradable cornstarch, and the ink used to print them is soy based (traditionally, petroleum-based inks are used).

Not only are our new mailers made with organic matter that will decompose, the resealable/reusable design features a double seal for easy exchanges with minimal waste.

PRODUCTION & TRANSPARENCY

Made in Canada.

As true denim enthusiasts, we wanted to do more than just design our own denim; We wanted to produce it too! Owned and operated since 2011, we purchased our 52,000 square foot manufacturing facility in St-Come Linière, QC, Canada. As factory owners, we make it a point to get to know all our denim crafters personally.

Beauce Jeanshas helped to revive the local production of denim in the Beauceronne region, which was formerly known as the capital of premium jeans in the 1990s. The decades of denim know how and experience from our crafters is infused into the jeans we make.

Producing jeans in our own Canadian factory means that all workers are paid 100% Canadian living wages with social benefits, including, but not limited to, healthcare, paid training, paid sick days, up to 5 weeks of paid vacation per year, 1-year paid maternity/paternity leave with job security, etc.

Read more on our pages :

Open-door policy.

One of our goals this year is to be more transparent.

Don’t believe us? Come see for yourself! We have created an open-door policy at our factory in Beauce because we believe you should be able to see it for yourself and meet the people making your jeans. If you purchase a Yoga Jean, you are invited to to the factory during opening hours and see how the jeans are made firsthand. Please note that because of the current restrictions due to covid-19, some guidelines are in place for everyone’s health and safety. We recommend contacting us to get all the necessary information before your visit.

Covid-19 update & production.
As soon as COVID-19 hit Canada, founders Eric and Jacob Wazana made the difficult decision to transform their manufacturing facility in order to accommodate the production of protective medical gowns contracted by the government.
 
As hard as it was to temporarily end the production of Yoga Jeans in Canada, Yoga Jeans is prouder than ever to be able to support our healthcare heroes who everyday risk their lives to save others. While YJ Cares continues to provide support with regards to the COVID-19 crisis, Yoga Jeans has temporarily moved a small part of our production overseas.
 
We decided to partner with sustainable factories across the world. Rest assured, these factories comply with the same ethical and environmental standards as they would be had they been made in Canada. This remains a priority for Yoga Jeans as well as the transparency we have towards you, our customers.
 
For more information visit our page :
When you purchase a pair of Yoga Jeans, you contribute to the local economy but more than that,
you also encourage ethical working conditions and show that you care about social responsibility which
is one of our top priorities. You make a difference in our industry and together, we are stronger.