Levi’s Has A New Ecological Bottom Line For Their Jeans

Photo from ExtraTV.com
Photo from ExtraTV.com


Levi Strauss & Co. has always been a brand known for its concern for the environment. From convincing their customers to wash their pair of jeans only after 10 wears to conserve water, to advocating the use of recycled materials in manufacturing denim, this clothing company takes great pride in its stance for the planet’s sustainability as it pushes for reduction in the usage of energy, water, chemicals, and other materials used for not only making jeans but for other clothing items in the entire industry of fashion & apparel in general.

It seems Levi’s is definitely firm in being known as an eco-friendly marquee name, and their recent partnership with Econyl – through its mother label Aquafil, further solidifies that notion. By partnering with the Econyl brand, your usual pair of Levi’s will now contain materials typically used for fishing nets, alleviating the threat it poses to marine life when shamelessly left or discarded in the ocean.

Divers working under the Healthy Seas Initiative – a program that seeks to clean up the ocean from threats, recover discarded nets in hopes of reducing the estimated number of 640,000 tons of ghost fishing nets adrift in the sea. Now with Levi’s doing its part in helping solve this issue by making use of recycled materials that come from these fishing nets, Aquafil – one of the advocates of the program, couldn’t be any happier.

”We envision a world where everyday items don’t have to come at the expense of the environment,” Aquafil Chairman and CEO, Giulio Bonazzi, said.

”This new partnership is further proof that sustainable materials can be used to reinvigorate products that have been traditionally made,” Bonazzi added in reference to their new partnership with the clothing company. ”Levi’s is redefining the denim industry.”

Levi’s, of course, didn’t stop there. Just recently, the fashion company announced that, in its efforts to slow down the increasing problem of textile scrap, it will now be making jeans made from post-consumer cotton garment litter. The denim brand, together with Evrnu – its partner textile technology startup group based in Seattle, has plans to extend the life of cotton and eliminate waste by pushing the idea of recycled clothing.

And from this new venture, a prototype has already been created coming from five discarded cotton shirts. The end-result was a garment that uses 98% less water than what virgin cotton uses. The prototype makes use of a recycling technology that converts discarded consumer wastes into renewable fiber.

”By tackling water conservation through new fiber innovation, the apparel industry has the opportunity to significantly reduce its water footprint,” Paul Dillinger, head of the global product innovation at Levi’s, said in a press release about the prototype.

”As technologies such as Evrnu evolve over time, there will be greater opportunities to accelerate the pace of change towards a closed loop apparel industry.”

”Our aspiration is to build a pair of Levi’s jeans that are just as beautiful and strong as the original and we’re making great progress towards the goal,” Stacy Flynn, CEO of Evrnu, said in a statement.

While some fashion labels would rather bombard the public with tasteless advertising, the steps that Levi Strauss are making to protect the environment are very welcome. But as far as Levi’s President and CEO Chip Bergh is concerned, there are still more steps that his company – together with other big corporations, can take.

It’s just a matter of convincing others to do the same.

”Even with the best intentions, companies today can only help solve some of the environmental and social issues that impact our world,” Chip Bergh said in an interview. ”In order to really make a difference, we must also encourage our global supply chain partners, and consumers to prioritize these issues.”

”Multiplying such efforts would be significant, and those opportunities aren’t pipe dreams. It would, however, require CEOs of major companies in the U.S. and across the world to use their voice and actions to address the debate about water consumption, climate change and the overall state of our planet. And for many, it’s already happening.”

What do you think of this new ecological bottom line that Levi Strauss is pushing for? Let us know in the comments below and share this news!


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