Levi’s second sustainability report now live
Denim and casualwear group Levi Strauss & Co has published its sustainability report for 2021. The company released the first such document last autumn.
President and chief executive, Chip Bergh, remarked how the publication of this year’s report coincided with the launch of the Levi’s brand’s second global ‘Buy Better, Wear Longer’ campaign. The promotion looks to loop the business in with the idea of a circular economy by spotlighting how its denims can stand the test of time, if bought and worn with care.
In the words of Mr Bergh, this campaign “represents the continuation of our ongoing conversation with consumers about the need to combat overproduction and overconsumption in and by the apparel industry.”
Meanwhile, the report spotlights a range of measures the group has set in motion as it makes progress towards its 2025 objectives, with an emphasis on climate, consumption and community. It also includes a newer goal, net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases no later than 2050, which the firm plans to submit for Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) approval in 2023.
Other highlights from 2021, according to the document, include the implementation of Jeanologia’s environmental impact measuring (EIM) software during garment finishing at two company-owned factories, the shipment of 1,000 large containers with waste-based biofuels via Maersk’s Eco delivery option, as well as sponsorship of the US Regenerative Cotton Fund.
Elsewhere in the report, the group notes that it is prepared to lay out a path to make “fully circular” products by 2026. It defines articles of this kind as in keeping with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF)'s Make Fashion Circular guidelines. The timeline for this goal was previously delayed due to supply chain challenges and other external factors, it said. The firm goes on to reveal that it signed up to EMF’s Jeans Redesign initiative, plus joined Fashion for Good and began collaborating with Stony Creek Colors, in 2021.
Notably, 95% of all cotton used by the company was either organic, recycled or Better Cotton-approved at the end of last fiscal year, while 100% of all manmade cellulosic fibres purchased had been sourced from suppliers with a Canopy ‘green shirt’ rating. By contrast, only 8% of the business' polyester supply was made up of recycled fibres.
Find the full report here.
Image: Levi’s via Instagram.
