DES MOINES, Iowa -- Iowa State University students are collecting denim to help insulate homes for victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Students Collect Denim To Help Insulate Homes

The denim drive benefits families through Habitat for Humanity.

"(Whether it's) taking a pair of their old blue jeans or perhaps their mom's old blue jeans or from their church or school, wherever it's from, but that it's able to be recycled," said Andrea Samber of Cotton Inc.

The denim that is donated is recycled into denim blue bales of insulation called Ultra Touch, which is a natural cotton fiber insulation.

"It resists mold and mildew. It resists noise. It has some really wonderful properties that are environmentally friendly," Samber said.

"They take those foam blocks and they feel them and they're just like, 'This is denim? These are the jeans I have on? This is crazy,'" said ISU student Marjorie Smith.

Students are even more surprised when they learn that the insulation made from the jeans they're wearing goes to help Habitat for Humanity.

Cotton Inc.'s "From Blue to Green" campaign last year helped insulate 12 homes that went to victims of Hurricane Katrina.

The goal this year is to outfit 70 homes in the Gulf Coast region with the material.

"It doesn't take a lot of effort to bring a pair of denim and donate it, you know. You don't have to go out and buy anything. It's just a self contribution of something that may be just taking up space in your closet," Smith said.

It takes about 500 pairs of jeans to insulate an average Habitat for Humanity home.

ISU student organizers hope to collect enough denim to insulate multiple homes for families in need.

Those who would like to donate to the Cotton Inc. From Blue to Green campaign can do so by dropping off jeans at donation boxes on the Iowa State campus.

Boxes are also located at several churches in Ames.