Author: Daniela Peckova Watanabe

The need for sustainability is obvious as we will be stuck on the planet with the leftovers. Most of the sustainable fashion brands are selling sports or casual minimalist-style clothing that use natural or new technology recycled fibers, that’s why it is interesting to see what Levi’s, one of the world’s oldest jeans brands are doing in terms of sustainability. The fashion industry is the second largest polluter in the globe (Sustain Your Style, 2022) and jeans are usually on the top list of garment polluters. The cotton dying process is quite toxic, and it takes a lot of water to make a single pair of jeans “To make just one pair of denim jeans, 10,000 liters of water is required to just grow the one kilo of cotton needed for the pair of jeans. In comparison, one person would take 10 years to drink 10,000 liters of water (United Nations, 2018). In 1873, Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis patented the blue jeans (History.com, 2009), since then the brand has kept up to date with market trends by becoming more conscious and introducing sustainable practices. Levi’s is labeled as sustainable because they are thinking full-circle, Levi’s is designing with recycled plastic materials, the brand is also cleaning up the water before it ends in nature and it’s creating new processes to make jeans without the use of water, the Water<Less® technology. The brand is concerned to create durable products and even offers repairing, reimaging, and recycling at their tailor shops, according to Levi’s website they stopped using PFCs and PFAS, “Prolonged exposure to and unsafe handling of PFCs and PFAS has been linked to severe human and environmental health impacts, including cancer, but they’re still used in a wide range of everyday items, from kitchen appliances to apparel” (Levi’s, 2022). The California brand, present in over one hundred countries is committed to sustainability, they are also thinking of ethical production and sourcing and ways to give back to the community. Quite incredible achievements for a brand to have while maintaining prices affordable. I will definitely consider this information next time I’m shopping for a new pair of jeans.

 

References

A&E Television Networks. (2009, November 24). Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis Patent Blue jeans. History.com. Retrieved March 5, 2022, from https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/levi-strauss-and-jacob-davis-receive-patent-for-blue-jeans

CBC/Radio Canada. (2020, September 16). How jeans became one of the most polluting garments in the world | CBC radio. CBC news. Retrieved March 5, 2022, from https://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/how-jeans-became-one-of-the-most-polluting-garments-in-the-world-1.5280773

Fashion & environment. SustainYourStyle. (n.d.). Retrieved March 5, 2022, from https://www.sustainyourstyle.org/en/whats-wrong-with-the-fashion-industry

United Nations. (n.d.). UN Helps Fashion Industry to Low Carbon. Unfccc.int. Retrieved March 5, 2022, from https://unfccc.int/news/un-helps-fashion-industry-shift-to-low-carbon