The Orta Blu Gene Project

December 15, 2012 /3BL Media/ - We call them Genes instead of Jeans as a metaphor for the DNA of our Denim. We partner with fashion designers, we supply the denim and manufacture the jeans. Then we exchange them for the old jeans of people in need. We listen to their stories, and help them further.

We monitor humanitarian crises around the world and, with the help of local NGOs and under the supervision of United Nations Organizations, we supply our Orta Blu Genes wherever displaced people or refugees have abandoned their homes carrying with them a little more than the clothing they were wearing.

Covenant House is an international NGO whose mission is to tackle the problem of homeless youth worldwide. Unlike traditional nightly shelters, Covenant House has a live-in program which aims to turn its participants into stable, self sufficient individuals. We have partnered with them to provide them with our Orta Blu Genes and help them to further implement their extarordinary programs.

Our first delivery of Orta Blu Genes was for Covenant House in New York. We had the jeans designed by ROARK, a collective of young fashion designers out of LA. We went to CH at noon, interviewed some of the resident teens, gave them jeans, and ate pizza with them. It was fun and relaxed, we heard some tough life stories that put our problems into perspective. The job done by CH staff is amazing. They really work hard at putting these youngsters back on the right track. We shot some pictures of the teenagers with their new jeans from the waist down to respect their privacy, and we used them to make billboards to promote the initiative. 

About Orta Anadolu

Founded in 1953, Orta transformed from a spinning & weaving company to a denim manufacturer in 1985. Today, Orta produces over 60 million meters of denim in its Turkey and Bahrain factories.

Transparency, commitment and trustworthiness are the key elements of Orta’s philosophy. This has echoed throughout the years, like 3D:Denim, Dream, Design event in 2007, when Orta brought local denim manufacturers together with international denim brands in Istanbul. In 2009, Orta used 3% of organic cotton in its production without quoting an extra cost. Currently, Orta uses 5% better cotton in all its production. Visit our website