Levi’s® x Surfrider Foundation Europe
Campaigns and Collaborations /
June 2021
FOR WORLD OCEAN DAY WE EXPLAIN ALL ABOUT OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH SURFRIDER FOUNDATION EUROPE.
Embedded in our company endeavours and values for more than 20 years, water conservation is a subject close to our hearts at LS&Co. Every day, we try to reduce the water consumption throughout our jeans production processes. Since 2019, we have been supporting NGO (Non-Governmental Organisation), Surf Foundation Europe, that ceaselessly works to protect our oceans, lakes and rivers and their users.
World Ocean Day offers us the perfect opportunity to share the practical measures being taken in the field alongside Surfrider Foundation Europe to combat aquatic waste and to fight for water quality and users' health.
2019, ACTION BEGINS FOR LEVI'S® X SURFRIDER FOUNDATION EUROPE
Between September and November 2019, campaigns managed by Levi's® on the Goodeed* platform raised almost €70,000, which was then given to the NGO in support of three practical measures in the field:
*Goodeed is a French website that collects funds for NGOs using advertising revenue generated on the web and mobile Internet
Plastic Origins aims to gather data to help with reducing waste that reaches the sea at source. We were able to equip the teams at Surfrider Foundation Europe with kayaks so they could map and study the waste in watercourses for one year in the Mediterranean, the Adour river and the Nord-Pas-de-Calais.
Ocean Friendly Gardens: Surfrider Foundation Europe believes that biodiversity must be protected and even increased in urban environments to combat water pollution and encourage citizens to act by creating their own gardens. Our support has helped to organise amazing trips, hikes for schoolchildren, to raise their awareness of the water cycle and also to create a garden encouraging participation as well as renovate the outside space at the Surfrider Foundation Europe HQ in Biarritz. (in progress)
Ocean Initiatives is the Surfrider Foundation Europe programme that organises waste collection on beaches and in towns, near lakes and rivers. Ocean Initiatives raises awareness of the battle against aquatic waste on a grand scale, through education, participatory science and lobbying. With the above project, we've enabled the organisation of 210 collections in Europe, collecting 100m3 of waste and educating 4,142 participants.
2021, THE BATTLE RAGES ON
For this year, we are committed to supporting a new Surfrider Foundation Europe initiative: “L'Échappée Bleue” (blue escape)
For the first time, Surfrider Foundation Europe and one of its leading ambassadors, Paul Meilhat, famous yachtsman and winner of the “Route du Rhum”, are joining together to raise awareness in the younger generation about the preservation of aquatic ecosystems by discovering and learning about sailing.
The funds provided will allow one of the four events planned in France to be achieved: in the South-West, Marseilles, Paris and Le Havre.
A total of almost 80 children who would otherwise not be able to access the ocean will enjoy a day of sailing organised by Paul Meilhat and will take part in waste collection (river/ocean) organised by Surfrider Foundation Europe.
THE TWO FACES OF OUR CAMPAIGN
Rémi Sico, aged 31, communications manager at Surfrider Foundation Europe and keen surfer.
What was your ecological trigger point?
I think it was more an accumulation of small triggers: the amount of plastic bags, the volume of waste on the beaches, the first waste collections… it's an accumulation of all that. It makes you want to protect the ecosystem you love.
What cause is closest to your heart?
The fight against plastic because, when you surf, you realise that plastic is everywhere, all the time, on the beaches and in the water. We produce so much today that, for me, it's really the number one scourge, especially single use plastics.
What is your perception of the fashion industry?
It wasn't great at first, especially fast fashion, the collections that aren't made to last, where clothes are changed before they're even worn out because they are no longer in fashion. Even if, now, production techniques are getting better. I think we are moving towards more ethical, responsible, fashion that tries to take the fight to its own level and move towards better product quality and durability.
I think people might now be ready to pay a little more for their clothing if it lasts longer and is better quality.
Elena Vignerte, aged 29, foundation partnerships manager at Surfrider Foundation Europe and keen surfer.
What was your ecological trigger point?
I was lucky enough to grow up in a family that always taught me the value of protecting the environment. My real ecological trigger was surfing, because then you realise the extent of ocean pollution.
When and why did you want to join Surfrider Foundation Europe?
Surfrider Foundation Europe is an association I've known about for many years. When I was little, I regularly took part in beach waste collection. From 2018, I really boosted my ecological commitment to protecting the ocean, in particular, by joining the volunteer branch, Surfrider Côte Basque and by taking part in the citizens movement "Rame pour ta planète” (Row for your planet), which let me work on mobilising surfers to protect the ocean. I joined the Surfrider Foundation Europe team in 2019 to be able to dedicate myself full-time to protecting the ocean.
Conscious of our environmental footprint, we also work every day towards achieving a cleaner textile industry that is more respectful of the environment and of people.
Since 2011, 76% of Levi Strauss & Co. products and 70% of Trucker Levi's® jeans and jackets, are made using our Water<Less® technology. This consists of over 20 different production techniques that, since their introduction, have allowed us to reduce our water consumption by 4 billion litres and to recycle almost 10 billion.
