7 For All Mankind's Suzanne Silverstein: 'Retailers with brick-and-mortar locations will have to work harder'

7 For All Mankind is nearly synonymous with the top-shelf denim trend of the early 2000s. "Premium denim didn't exist [prior]; we really launched this category," company president Suzanne Silverstein said on the Glossy Podcast. Twenty years after its founding, the company is now doing a bit more reacting to established trends. The pandemic has put a premium on comfort above all, so the jeans maker is fast-tracking a few articles that focus on just that -- via an "elastic waist, forgiving fit," Silverstein said. One focus of 7 For All Mankind that has remained intact is sustainability. The denim industry has a notoriously wasteful reputation, which it's "probably earned," Silverstein conceded. Two-thousand gallons of water are typically required to create one pair of jeans. But by 2023, 7 For All Mankind expects that 80% of its products will clear certain scores by the Higg FEM standard. "The only thing that's really slowing us down, quite frankly, is our existing raw materials," Silverstein said. "All new materials we work with fit our criteria."