Little Big History Project

Fact 12

In 2009 Turkey baned sandblasting and in 2010 the "Killer Jean" campaign was started to make buyers aware of the harm that sandblasting has on the workers that make the jeans. http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2771&context=globaldocs

Fact 9

In Bangladesh they have tried to ban sandblasting jeans from the factories because of the safety hazards that the workers face http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2771&context=globaldocs

Why blue? chemistry explanation

In general, during the synthesis, a phenylglycine compound reacts in molten alkali to yield a precursor to indigo that oxidizes to give the desired blue product. https://pubs.acs.org/cen/science/89/8943sci3.html

Image 7

An advertisement for "Lady Levi's" http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TwaeFhyqPDM/TMOeAlIzpAI/AAAAAAAAAFE/iXEXg4VRaZ8/s1600/levis2.jpg

Image 5

An image of Levi Strauss, one of the partners in the invention of the blue jeans http://quest.eb.com/images/109/109_2433/109_243319-W.jpg

Image 8

An old advertisement for Overalls, claiming "another pair free if they rip" http://image.rakuten.co.jp/super-rag/cabinet/lvc/overalls.jpg

Fact 10

There are two types of sandblasting: Manual and Mechanical, both can be deadly http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2771&context=globaldocs

Fact 8

selvedge denim, like dyeing denim with natural indigo, is characteristics of old-fashioned production. In late 1800's, old looms created tight and heavy fabrics, but the finished fabrics were quite narrow and short. And without technological advance in fashion industry, there were no ways of stop fabrics from unweaving other than selvedge lines. explains why selvedge denim started https://files.nyu.edu/jbh345/public/chapter2.html

Quote 1

"Although, we should note that they were called "waist overalls" or "overalls" until 1960, when baby boomers adopted the name "jeans." http://www.levistrauss.com/our-story/#the-history-of-denim

Quote 5

"In 1848, gold was found in California (not too far from San Francisco) and the famous Gold Rush began. The gold miners wanted clothes that were strong and did not tear easily." Jeans impact on the Gold Rush http://newint.org/easier-english/Garment/jhistory.html

Quote 6

"In 1853, a man called Leob Strauss left his home in New York and moved to San Francisco, where he started a wholesale business, supplying clothes. Strauss later changed his name from Leob to Levi." Discusses Levis journey from his home and him changing his name http://newint.org/easier-english/Garment/jhistory.html

Fact 5

"In 1897, the German chemical maker BASF became the first company to produce synthetic indigo on an industrial scale, at its headquarters site in Ludwigshafen." Synthetic indigo http://cen.acs.org/articles/90/i14/Blue.html

Quote 7

"Presently, most indigo dyes are produced synthetically for both economical and technological reasons. the process of dying jeans with real indigo plant is excruciating." The process of dyeing denim has changed over time with the better technology that has been invented. https://files.nyu.edu/jbh345/public/chapter1.html

Quote 8

"Sandblasting has become the key method for finishing most modern jeans requiring that 'worn-out' look. Under the sandblasting process the denim is smoothed, shaped and cleaned by forcing abrasive articles across at high speeds." http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2771&context=globaldocs

Quote 4

"The word jeans comes from a kind of material that was made in Europe. The material, called jean, was named after sailors from Genoa in Italy" explains the origin of the name http://newint.org/easier-english/Garment/jhistory.html

Quote 3

"There's something about the pants' blue hues and faded effects that appeal to Texan cowboys, Parisian fashion models, and Brooklyn hipsters alike." This quote shows the wide range of people that blue jeans appeal to. https://pubs.acs.org/cen/science/89/8943sci3.html

Why blue? chemistry explanation 2

COLOR SHIFT During indigo dyeing, cotton yarn goes from yellow to blue as alkaline leucoindigo clinging to the fibers oxidizes in air. https://pubs.acs.org/cen/science/89/8943sci3.html

Quote 2

In the late 1800s, around the time that German emigrant Levi Strauss famously introduced blue jeans to the U.S., demand for indigo increased so much that textile makers were desperate for a ready, synthetic supply of the compound. https://pubs.acs.org/cen/science/89/8943sci3.html

Fact 4

Indigo is known as the dye that is used to color denim for blue jeans. It's also an important business, roughly 50,000 tons of the dye sold annually. http://cen.acs.org/articles/90/i14/Blue.html

Fact 1

Invented in 1873 by Jacob Davis and Levi Strauss http://www.levistrauss.com/our-story/#the-history-of-denim

Fact 2

Jacob Davis was a tailor who had figured out the best way to make long lasting pants was to put metal rivets at points of strain (pocket corners). http://www.levistrauss.com/our-story/#the-history-of-denim

Image 10

Levi Strauss' store front in San Francisco http://federicodecalifornia.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/14-16-battery-st-1880s.jpg

Image 1

Levi's main poster to show how strong their product is http://lsco.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/history-of-denim2.jpg

Fact 3

May 20, 1873 was the day Jacob and Levi combined the material and the metal rivets to get a patent on their new long lasting product. http://www.levistrauss.com/our-story/#the-history-of-denim

Image 6

Photo of Jacob Davis, the inventor of rivets, the fasteners that keep the pockets in place on blue jeans. http://denimhunters.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/davis.jpeg

Fact 6

Rope dyeing is believed to be the best possible indigo dyeing method for yarn, the threads of denim yarn are initially twisted into a rope, then undergo a repetitive sequence of dipping and oxidization. The more frequent the dipping and oxidizing, the stronger the indigo shade. https://files.nyu.edu/jbh345/public/chapter1.html

Fact 7

Selvedge or selvage comes from "self-edge" and is by definition "the edge of woven fabric finished so as to prevent raveling, often in a narrow tape effect, different from the body of the fabric". Explains the different kinds of Denim that can be found https://files.nyu.edu/jbh345/public/chapter2.html

Fact 11

Silica particles are tiny particles of blasted sand which can cause respiratory problems and workers and eventually lead to death. http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2771&context=globaldocs

Image 9

The famous "Levi" red tag that can be found on all of their blue jean products https://www.mediabistro.com/agencyspy/files/original/levis.jpg

Image 4

The picture at the bottom of the page shows the chemistry through the chemical reactions to get indigo. https://pubs.acs.org/cen/science/89/8943sci3.html

Image 2

The rivets that were introduced to jeans http://scm-l3.technorati.com/11/11/02/55561/blue-jeans-pocket.jpg?t=20111102164530

Why blue? chemistry explanation 3

This is because indigo, the dye responsible for blue jeans' hue, is not soluble in water in its native form. To dye yarn, indigo must be reduced to leucoindigo, white in powder form and yellow when dissolved in a basic solution. http://cenblog.org/newscripts/2011/10/the-warp-and-weft-of-blue-jeans/

Video

This youtube video shows the process of indigo dyeing that takes place to get the blue color for blue jeans. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taDlmTXbIRs&feature=player_embedded

Image 3

the darker the blue color depends on how many times the yellow yarn is dipped into the blue dye http://umwblogs.org/wp-content/images/hist_325_tech/blue_jeans.jpg

Why blue? chemistry explanation 4

when cotton yarn dips into a vat of leucoindigo dye, it comes out yellow, turning blue as oxygen in the air converts the reduced compound into indigo. http://cenblog.org/newscripts/2011/10/the-warp-and-weft-of-blue-jeans/