Profits through Principles

Levi’s adheres to a profits through principles approach and sustainability is literally woven into everything we do. It is how we do business and how we show up in the world. We take responsibility for the human and environmental footprint of our products and operations, doing right by the places where we live and work, and innovating around the best possible practices and policies for us, our industry, and the planet.

At the same time, we recognize that we still have a long way to go and that we’re far from perfect. We also believe that the fashion industry as a whole is not sustainable in its current form and needs to change. We want to help consumers understand the value of their clothing and the environmental impacts, both positive and negative, of their decisions. Then, we want them to keep their clothes; to care for them, cherish them and live with them for a long time.

Levi’s is trying to change the fashion industry and is encouraging consumers and other brands to join us in this mission through our new Buy Better, Wear Longer advert. Through the Buy Better, Wear Longer advert, Levi’s is giving a global platform to the voices of the next generation of environmental and social cause advocates and will be donating money to their organizations to further support their environmental and social initiatives.

Furthermore, by pioneering and scaling fiber technologies like cottonized hemp, we’re finding ways to use less water to make products. And on the policy front, we’ve advocated for legislation to mitigate the impacts of climate change for more than a decade, from carbon pricing to renewable energy standards to the inclusion of clean energy and infrastructure investments in economic stimulus plans.

• In 2017, , Levi Strauss & Co. was among the first wave of companies to sign on to the We Are Still In coalition, signaling our intent to continue working toward the treaty’s goals by reducing emissions across our operations.

• On 8 Dec, 2020, our CEO Chip Bergh signed the 2030 CEO Letter to the European Commission, calling for the European Union to increase its 2030 emissions reduction target to at least 55%. That same day, the Climate Disclosure Project (CDP) awarded LS&Co. an “A” score on its climate change survey in recognition of our commitment to science-based climate action to cut emissions, mitigate climate risks and help drive toward a low-carbon economy.
  
• Water>Less: 70% of our products are now made with Water<Less® techniques reducing the water used in the denim production process, which have cumulatively saved 43.25 billion liters r over the past decade.
  
• Poly Recycled Plastic: as part of our ambition to use more sustainable fibers, a selection of products including puffer jackets, shoes, backpacks and bags) incorporate recycled polyester in their fiber. In order to make recycled polyester, we shred old plastic bottles and discarded polyester fabric and turn them into chips. We then transform those chips into the usable fiber materials found in our latest designs. Recycled polyester requires less energy to make than virgin polyester and it reduces our dependency on fossil fuels.

• Levi’s is advertising on Ecosia, a search engine that uses ad revenue from people’s searches to plant trees. Since the beginning of the partnership, Levi’s has contributed to the planting of approximately 40,000 trees, with that number increasing every day.
• Levi’s is working with Tree Nation, an NGO working with 30 reforestation projects across 17 countries that help to plant trees, create jobs, support local communities and protect biodiversity. Levi’s will sponsor the planting of a tree every time that the Levi’s 247 App is downloaded in UK, Germany, Netherlands or Belgium to create a new forest in Madagascar. totaling 30,000 trees, which will be planted from July 2021.
• Levi’s is also involved in a number of smaller scale local initiatives:
• In 2020 Levi’s donated 375 trees to the city of Milan as part of the Forestami urban reforestation program.
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  • Levi Strauss & Co works together with the forest of Marston Vale in the UK, who focuses on planting trees and using woodlands to make life better for people and wildlife. In 2020, Levi Strauss & Co. enabled the planting of 300 trees in the forest.Levi’s is also contributing to other local projects in Europe to help replantintg trees.See Levi Strauss & Co. Commitment to Source Sustainable Wood-Based Fibers (references our work with/commitment to Canopy to not source from ancient and endangered forests)
    
  • We contributed to the The Nature Conservancy’s Greater Cape Town Water Fund, which restored habitat via the removal of invasive species, which helped to replenish the water supply
  • Sourcing less land and resource-intensive cotton and alternatives to conventional cotton, such as cottonized hemp
    
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• Surfrider Foundation is dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s ocean, waves and beaches, for all people, through a powerful activist network. Levi Strauss & Co. team has been partnering with the Surfrider Foundation in France since 2019. In the last couple of years Levi’s has financed various projects, including:

• ‘Plastic Origins’, during which 4,722 pieces of waste were collected (475kg total over an area of 65,789m2)
• ‘Coastal Defenders’: the organisation of two mobilisation events against port projects in Bretignolles-sur-Mer and Porto that would cause environmental harm and were opposed to by local communities. Both projects are currently suspended

• ‘Ocean Friendly Garden’: development of awareness raising activities and construction against rain gardens to fight against water pollution

• In addition to the financing of these projects, Levi’s has used its digital advertising investment to provide donations to the Surfrider Foundation via Goodeed donations. Levi’s also supports other partners such as Jane Goodall Institute, River Cleanup and Viva con Aqua through Good-Loop, an online advertising company that serves adverts for brands whilst raising money for charity.
• As part of its Community Day in 2020 (Community Day is an annual event that has been hosted for the last twenty years, during which all Levi’s employees spend a day to volunteer and give back to their local community) more than 500 Levi’s employees across Europe picked up 23.000 pieces of trash. This included a cleanup activity in Paris collecting approx. 5,000 pieces of trash in collaboration with Surfrider Foundation, as well as employee support to organisations including Jane Goodall Institute and River Cleanup.
• WET Program: Levi Strauss & Co. has been sponsoring the Project WET Foundation since 2015. The mission of the organization is to advance water education to understand global challenges and inspire local solutions. For Levi’s this translates into training all employees worldwide and teaching them about water conservation, hygiene and sanitation.
• In June 2020, we changed the packaging we are using to send out our Levi.com orders switching from a poly bag to a recycled paper envelope.

• See Water Action Strategy for overarching approach on water stewardship
• Water<Less® (see innovation manual) and recycled water standard/program conserve water, supporting terrestrial water systems (see recent update)
• In the early 1990s, we introduced wastewater effluent standards to the industry, work that set the stage for later innovations designed to advance and scale more sustainable chemicals management. We’ve fulfilled our Greenpeace Detox Solution Commitment to zero discharge of hazardous chemicals by 2020. And we continue to work cross-functionally on the screened chemistry program we developed and on our collaborative efforts with the Joint Roadmap Toward Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC Roadmap).Chemicals management programs, like Screened Chemistry, and wastewater treatment guidelines prevent harmful pollution and promote water quality (the direct impact is on terrestrial water bodies, which ultimately feed into the ocean).