Levi’s wearing social responsibility with pride

Another story to focus on as we continue to look at the steps some of our larger companies are taking in terms of corporate social responsibility. In 2010 a progressive business knows they can benefit us all and improve their consumer standing by enacting plans that show a commitment to community and environment. Today we turn our attention to Levis Strauss & Co. who have joined with Goodwill to announce a partnership that promote environmental benefits. They have announced a new collaboration in an initiative they have labeled “Care Tag for Our Planet”. The idea is both simple yet innovative as Levi’s (known for their tags already) will be adding an additional tag to their clothing with a very specific message describing the project. The tag include eco-friendly suggestions on how to best care for your new clothing and equally importantly the best way to dispose of your clothing in a responsible fashion (pun intended). Levi Strauss already promote a very comprehensive sustainability program including a reinvention of the product creation, which they call their ‘product lifecycle approach’ The commitments and methods they use include:

• Energy efficiency and climate change. We are committed to achieving carbon neutrality and moving to the use of 100% renewable energy in our operations and our supply chain
• Water. We are decreasing water usage and improving water quality in significant, measurable ways
• Resource efficiency. We are committed to becoming a zero-waste company offering consumers more sustainable products
• Chemicals. We are minimizing the environmental impact from chemicals used in all stages of our product lifecycle

The goal of the new ‘Care Tag’ initiative according to Levi’s is: “Simple care and recycling guidelines can go a long way toward reducing climate change impact. Wear responsibly and help us reduce the environmental impact of the clothes you love to wear.”  John Anderson, President and CEO of Levi Strauss & Co. adds

“As a company built on values, we have long worked to promote sustainability in how we make our products and run our operations. This initiative uses our global voice to empower hundreds of millions of consumers around the world to join us by providing simple and actionable ways to help care for our planet.”

The new project began in January as Levi’s became the first large retailer to mandate that messages for responsible wear, care and disposal are included on all of their clothing line. Before you wonder just how significant is this step by the clothing giant you have to realise just how large they have become. Levi’s had retail sales of some $4.3 billion in 2008, so at $35 per item of clothing that was over 120 million chances to make a difference in a year. The program will be be promoted via retail promotions in addition to a viral marketing campaign through social media and online sources.  The tags will include the following:

Here’s what you can do to reduce the climate impact of your clothes and keep them out of landfills:

1. Wash your jeans in cold water. You can significantly reduce the impact of your clothes on the environment by taking a simple step: wash them in cold water instead of warm or hot.
2. Wash your jeans less. By washing your jeans once every two weeks instead of once a week, you can decrease your overall climate change impact of washing those jeans by almost a third.
3. Line-dry your jeans. You can reduce the full lifecycle climate change impact of your jeans by up to 50 percent by line drying and washing them in cold water.
4. Donate your used jeans. Many of our retail locations have bins for donating your old jeans – or you can find a Goodwill location near you. We’re also piloting projects in which we recycle old jeans to use as building insulation and other materials.”

A big thumbs up to Levi’s for their commitment to the cause.

Did you Know:

• The average person in the US throws away 68 pounds of clothing and textiles a year.
• Almost half of the water that is used throughout the life of a pair of jeans takes place after you bring them home from the store.
• Throughout its lifecycle, a pair of jeans consumes as much energy as powering a personal computer for 556 hours. You can reduce this by washing less and line drying when possible.