In our world of constantly changing trends, how often are a good pair of jeans discarded or donated without a second thought to where they will end up? Do those castoffs end up in a landfill, on a boat bound for a different clothing market? Will they ever be owned, loved, and worn again?

At Thigh High Jeans in Memphis, Tennessee, Ann Smithwick and Kerry Peeples have created a way to give used blue jeans a second life.

When starting Thigh High Jeans, Smithwick and Peeples found that in many cases, a pair of unwanted, donated jeans gets packed in a bundle, loaded on a boat or plane, and delivered overseas. When that overseas clothing market receives an overabundance of denim fashions, they’re put back on a boat and returned to the U.S., creating an inefficient cycle of moving goods.

Smithwick and Peeples step in and keep the denim here at home. In everything they do, they recycle, reuse, and give back.

“We upcycle [jeans] and then put them back out in the marketplace,” Smithwick explained. They always have a positive quote embroidered on them. We embellish them with fabric that is mostly recycled or donated, and then we put them back on the market to extend the life of that pair of jeans that possibly could have ended up in a landfill or ended up traversing the globe to go to Africa then back to the U.S. We’re trying to cut down on that waste of energy. For[jeans] that are too far gone, we actually cut them off into shorts, we make them into a skirt, we have yoga bags, recycled earrings, bracelets, computer bags, quite a few different products outside of just denim jeanswear.”

Through Thigh High Jeans, Smithwick and Peeples offer an alternative source, style, and price point for the average blue jean shopper. They accomplish this through collaboration with local and national companies.

“My business partner Kerry Peeples and I decided that we would launch a recycling denim campaign in partnership with Whole Foods and independent local coffee shops,” said Smithwick. “It’s open to anybody around the globe who would like to donate to our denim drive.”

Donation boxes at the local Whole Foods and select coffee shops are filled with donations that Smithwick and Peeples collect every few weeks.

In addition to this community involvement, Thigh High Jeans has a global clientele. From their base of operations in Memphis, Tennessee, Smithwick and Peeples ship orders to Austin, Texas, and Washington, D.C. Some online orders have been shipped as far as Canada and Australia. Custom orders are also available. A customer can ship their own pair of jeans to Thigh High Jeans, have them embellished, and receive them back. Thigh High Jean upcycles jeans of all sizes and styles for men, women, and children.

On top of all that, when checking out, customers can choose from local, national, and global nonprofits to donate a portion of their sale to. Five dollars of the sale of every pair of jeans goes toward one of these organizations.

Smithwick and Peeples have been able to bring their unique product to even more people with their mobile retail unit, a 12-foot-long, 1970s Scotty Serro trailer. They began the trailer portionof their business with the help of a Memphis-based community program called MEMMobile. Along with twenty other applicants, they put their names in the ring for the funding to help bring their mobile unit to life.

“We were one of the five that were selected for a grant to be able to launch a mobile unit and refabricate the interior and then put it on the road,” Smithwick said. “That was a wonderful opportunity for us… We’re grateful that it came our way.”

They bought their trailer from a Memphis local and renovated it themselves.

“We painted the interior. We put up our own wallpaper,” Smithwick explained. “We found fringe at second hand stores and glued that in. Kerry and I both have our background in art. Kerry has a Bachelors in Fine Art and I have a Bachelors in Art. So we both used our backgrounds to be able to put the trailer together.”

Today, Smithwick and Peeples take the trailer to home show and festivals. They park it for events around their community and have traveled farther afield, to Santa Fe, Kansas City, Austin, Birmingham, and Nashville. Of course, their trailer is always stocked with upcycled, embellished blue jeans in all shapes and sizes.

Smithwick and Peeples are actively seeking ways to scale their business to new heights. The addition of the trailer is just a starting point. They hope to find investors, maybe hire a few employees, build a business strategy that increases their exposure, and ultimately expand their philanthropic output.

Because while their product is uniquely made in America, they’ve created something that has global appeal. By selling more of their jeans, they share their message of sustainability, and in turn are able to give back to more people both at home and around the world.