For one, the premium denim brand is getting more responsible. Frame recently launched a sustainable denim line featuring nine different jeans styles for men and women, including skinny, straight, wide-leg, flare, bootcut and slim silhouettes.

Also included in the collection is a vintage-inspired women’s denim jacket, $330, with brushed gold buttons and double-flap pockets. All pieces within the collection are comprised of recycled polyester made from post-consumer plastic bottles and organic cotton.

According to Frame’s co-founder Jens Grede, the decision to launch a sustainable collection was a personal one.

“We truly believe the values of our company should reflect the values of us as people,” he said in an interview with digital news outlet Cheddar. “We are entrepreneurs and co-founders, but we’re also consumers, and we want to produce the products that we want to buy.”

Last year alone, Frame produced more than one million pairs of jeans. The sustainable collection was a way of “paying it forward” and adopting industry best practices to better serve the brand’s customers as well as the environment. While these practices ultimately drive up the cost of jeans—men’s jeans within the collection start at $210 as opposed to $195—Grede predicted that it wouldn’t affect sales.

“[Sustainable practices] impact the cost marginally, but consumers are willing to pay just a little bit more for something that makes them do so much better,” Jens said.

And according to research from CGS, a global provider of business applications, enterprise learning, and outsourcing services, he’s right. The company’s 2019 Retail and Sustainability Survey showed that, of the 1,000 people surveyed, more than two-thirds are willing to pay more for sustainable products.

Sustainability aside, Frame also has “aggressive” expansion plans, according to co-founder Erik Torstensson. The direct-to-consumer brand already has eight of its own stores throughout the country, and it’s set to open 10 more next year. Next month, it will open its first Houston flagship in the River Oaks District. And while it’s known for its denim, the brand has plans that stretch far beyond jeans.

“We aim to become the great California brand of the 21st century,” Torstensson told Cheddar. “There’s a new California chic aesthetic that we want to represent.”

Courtesy: Sourcing Journal