BofA Puts Blue Jeans in Their Walls

Don’t throw away your old blue jeans just yet. Apparently they offer great insulation. Designers of the new branch of Bank of America in Adelanto, Calif., discovered that blue jeans are not only fashionable, they are great construction material. The U.S. Green Building Council awarded BofA’s flagship green branch with its highest level of certification, according to the Victorville Daily Press.

The council is a nonprofit that evaluates buildings’ degree of eco-friendliness through the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEEDS)program. Buildings are assessed on “strategies for sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials and resources selection, and indoor environmental quality.”

More than 20% of the material that went into the building of the Adelanto branch consisted of recycled construction materials. It included countertops made of wheat byproducts,solar panels located on the roof that generate up to 60% of the energy used at the site, bathrooms that use 40% less water than other banking systems and, most creatively and interestingly, blue jeans. The staff break room also holds recycling bins for every type of material used in the bank. Colleen Haggerty, spokeswoman for BofA, says, “This is the crown jewel of banking centers when it comes to the environment.” She adds, “This branch is the first of its kind, and more are planned as part of Bank of America’s $20 billion environmental commitment.” The branch opened in January of this year.

What’s next: recycled socks used for deposit tubes?