In an effort to achieve some form of circularity, we’re seeing brands start to think about their products’ end-of-life plan. That could mean textiles that biodegrade or take-back programs that recycle used materials. Closing the loop this way will be key to creating a new economy and a fashion industry that relies less on finite, raw resources. Benim Denim, a new (you guessed it) denim brand from Sweden, is taking things one step further: thinking about and planning for its own inevitable demise.

Whilst most brands are competing to scale up, take a bigger market share and produce more product, Benim Denim knows exactly when the brand will cease to exist: when its 170-meter roll of repurposed deadstock denim runs out. That roll is the only reason the brand came into existence in the first place.

Last year, Renewcell, a textile recycling company based in Sweden, asked Haisam Mohammed and Noah Bramme if they’d like to find a creative use for some excess material left over from a previous collection. The duo, one of whom is the founder of fragrance brand Unifrom and the other who is an advertising creative, dreamt up Benim Denim — “the first start-up designed to be shut down.”

The deadstock denim is made with Circulose®, Renewcell’s branded “dissolving pulp”. It’s a natural material made from worn-out, post-consumer textile waste. Circulose® is produced using a process that uses 100 percent renewable energy and environmentally safe chemicals. It’s also 100 percent recycled, recyclable and biodegradable. Renewcell is beginning to scale up thanks to its plant in Sundsvall, which is looking to produce up to 60,000 tonnes of material per year.

In Benim Denim’s first and only collection, Circulose® has been combined with cotton in a 40/60 split to create a two-piece jacket and jean denim set. The relaxed-fitting, oversized pieces are a deep indigo color, and everything is designed and made in Sweden. The jacket has multiple front pockets and a bottom band with adjustable detailing, while the jeans are a classic 5-pocket design.

Co-founders Mohammed and Bramme had always wanted to design and produce their own clothes, but had been put off by the impact the fashion industry has on the planet: “Today, when the fashion industry alone stands for 8-10 percent of the global emissions, starting a brand with the intention of producing collection after collection didn’t sit right with us. So we asked ourselves how to make this lifelong dream come to life with as little environmental impact as possible”.

They hope that this innovative way of thinking about a fashion brand will inspire others to find more Earth-friendly ways of bringing projects into existence. Not every venture has to grow and grow so that it becomes a strain on the planet. Sometimes it’s worth acknowledging that all good things must end; and that the end can be as fulfilling as the beginning.

Shop the collection (before it’s gone forever) on the Benim Denim website. For more on textile waste and repurposed materials, check out Mami Wata’s upcycled sweatshirt collection, sourced from South African markets.