SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Levi Strauss & Co. (LS&Co.) today announced it has saved 1 billion liters of water since 2011 through its Water<Less™ process, which reduces the water used in garment finishing by up to 96 percent. This announcement coincides with the release of LS&Co.’s new Product Lifecycle Assessment (LCA), an update on the company’s groundbreaking 2007 study that examined the environmental impact of LS&Co. products. The new study analyzed the complete product lifecycle, probing deeper into the environmental impacts of cotton in key growing regions, apparel production and distribution in a range of locations, and consumer washing and drying habits in key markets.
The study shows that of the nearly 3,800 liters of water used throughout the lifetime of a pair of jeans, cotton cultivation (68%) and consumer use (23%) continue to have the most significant impact on water consumption. Consumer care is also responsible for the most significant energy use and climate impact, representing 37 percent of the 33.4 kilograms of carbon dioxide emitted during the lifecycle of a jean. The new LCA expands on previous research to better understand the impact of cotton cultivation and includes data from the world’s primary cotton producing countries, including the United States, China, Brazil, India, Pakistan and Australia. It also analyzes consumer care data from new markets, including China, France and the United Kingdom, to understand the costs and benefits of differences in washing habits.
To reduce the impact of cotton consumption, LS&Co. is working with the Better Cotton Initiative® (BCI) to train farmers to grow cotton using less water. Based on the latest BCI harvest data available, in 2013, cotton farmers in China reduced their water use by 23 percent compared with farmers who were not using BCI techniques. LS&Co. plans to continue working with its global suppliers with the goal of sourcing approximately 75 percent Better Cotton by 2020, up from 6 percent today.
LS&Co. will also continue to work toward using less water during manufacturing by expanding the Water<Less™ process to include more Levi’s® products, such as tops. By 2020, the Levi’s® brand aims to make 80 percent of its products using Water<Less™ techniques, up from nearly 25 percent today.
The new LCA also reveals that Americans use more water and energy to wash their jeans than consumers in China, France and the U.K. It shows that consumers in China wear their jeans, on average, four times before tossing them into the wash — and if American consumers did this, they could reduce the water and climate change impact from washing their jeans by 50 percent.
“It’s time to rethink autopilot behaviors like washing your jeans after every wear because in many cases it’s simply not necessary,” said Chip Bergh, CEO and president of LS&Co. “Our LCA findings have pushed us as a company to rethink how we make our jeans, and we’re proud that our water stewardship actions to date have saved 1 billion liters of water. By engaging and educating consumers, we can fundamentally change the environmental impact of apparel and, ideally, how consumers think about the clothes they wear every day.”
Based on the study’s findings, which indicate that consumers are responsible for 23 percent of the water used in the lifecycle of a pair of jeans, LS&Co. is launching a new consumer education campaign to ensure consumers understand their environmental impact. By taking the “Are You Ready to Come Clean?” quiz* on www.levi.com/progress, consumers around the world will be able to find out how much water and energy they use compared with average consumers in the U.S., the U.K., France and China. Between World Water Day (March 22) and Earth Day (April 22), consumers are encouraged to take a pledge to wash their jeans less often.
This latest LCA builds on findings from the assessment LS&Co. conducted in 2007, which led the company to launch Care Tag for the Planet, sewing tags into every LS&Co. product to encourage consumers to adopt care methods that use less energy and water. Innovating around water reduction in denim manufacturing led to the creation of the Water<Less™ process and the apparel industry’s first Water Recycle/Reuse Standard. Combined, these efforts have resulted in 1 billion liters of water saved in the manufacturing of LS&Co. products, including 30 million liters of fresh water saved through reuse or recycling. The latest LCA results will continue to serve as a foundation for the company’s future sustainability efforts.
THE LIFECYCLE OF A PAIR OF LEVI’S® 501® JEANS — SUMMARY OF KEY FINDINGS
- Water Consumption: Nearly 3,800 liters of water are used to make a pair of jeans. Fiber production, predominantly cotton (68%), consumes the most water, followed by consumer care (23%).
- Climate Change: Of the 33.4 kg of carbon dioxide produced during the lifecycle of a pair of jeans, consumer care (37%) and fabric production (27%) generate the most significant climate change impact and energy use.
- Expanded Scope: By expanding our scope to include leading cotton-producing countries, we’ve seen the water consumption from cotton cultivation increase, since the amount of water used to grow cotton varies significantly across the world. Also, by including new consumer markets we’ve found that washing and drying habits vary by region.
- Impact: By wearing jeans 10 times before washing, American consumers can reduce their water and climate change impact by 77 percent, U.K. and French consumers by 75 percent and Chinese consumers by 61 percent.
Regional Highlights:
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Current average washing frequency:
- In the U.S., consumers typically wear their jeans 2 times before washing them.
- In the U.K. and France, consumers typically wear their jeans 2.5 times before washing them.
- In China, consumers typically wear their jeans 4 times before washing them.
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Consumer jeans-washing habits vary by region:
- Americans use more water and energy to wash and dry their jeans than consumers in the other markets.
- Consumers in the U.K. and France mostly air dry their jeans and use more hot water than others.
- Consumers in China mostly wash in cold water and air dry.
You can learn more about the latest LCA and LS&Co.’s sustainability efforts on www.levistrauss.com. Information can also be found at www.levi.com/progress.
*If accessing the “Are You Ready to Come Clean?” quiz outside of the U.S., please use this link.
About Levi Strauss & Co.
Levi Strauss & Co. is one of the world’s largest brand name apparel companies and a global leader in jeanswear. The company designs and markets jeans, casual wear and related accessories for men, women and children under the Levi’s®, Dockers®, Signature by Levi Strauss & Co.™ and Denizen® brands. Its products are sold in more than 110 countries worldwide through a combination of chain retailers, department stores, online sites and a global footprint of approximately 2,700 retail stores and shop-in-shops. Levi Strauss & Co.’s reported fiscal 2014 net revenues were $4.8 billion. For more information, go to http://levistrauss.com.