If you feel your denim needs washing, we recommend doing so.

There is no set amount of time you need to wait before the first wash. If your jeans have seen heavy wear, become dirty, or simply reach a point where you personally feel they would benefit from being cleaned, wash them. We recommend letting the condition of the denim and your own preference determine when it is time rather than following a fixed timeline.

Keep in mind that washing raw denim begins to change both its fit and appearance. After the first wash, some shrinkage is expected. Refer to our FAQ for more information on shrinkage and sizing. The denim will also begin to soften, lose some of its initial stiffness, and gradually develop a different color and surface texture through continued wear and washing.

At SPARE JEANS, we use raw denim because we want each pair to develop naturally with its wearer. Waiting to wash allows the denim to spend more time in its original raw state, while washing begins the next stage of that process. Neither approach is necessarily right or wrong. It depends on how you want to experience your denim over time.

Machine wash your denim in cold water and let it dry naturally in the shade to avoid discoloration from sunlight. Do not machine dry your denim.

Wash it inside-out and separately from other clothes to avoid color transfer. Laundry detergents made for dark garments can help maintain the overall dark color of the denim while preventing color transfer.

Our denim will shrink when washed for the first time. Once washed, further washes will cause little to no shrinkage.