# LEVI STRAUSS SAVES 1 BILLION LITERS OF WATER THROUGH SUSTAINABILITY

- Link: https://greenlivingguy.com/2020/04/levi-strauss-saves-1-billion-liters-of-water-through-sustainability/
- Published: 2020-04-12T03:33:35-04:00
- Author: greenlivingguy

**_Global Jeans Leader Levi Strauss Saves Water. Also Goes Green and Boosts Bottom
Line!_**

Levi Strauss & Co. (LS&Co.) announced it has saved 1 billion liters of water since
2011 through its [Water Green Business Approach](http://www.levistrauss.com/how-we-do-business/use-and-reuse/)
to work. You see they saw all the green in green business.

A study shows 3,800 liters of water used throughout the lifetime of a pair of jeans.

That goes to:

 1. Cotton cultivation (68%)
 2. Consumer use (23%) continue to have the most significant impact on water consumption.
 3. On top of that, consumer use and care is responsible for the most significant energy
    use. Consequently, another (37%) of carbon dioxide emitted during the lifecycle
    of a jean.

_The new report expands on previous research. All to better understand the impact
of cotton cultivation. Therefore it also includes data from the world’s primary 
cotton producing countries. They are including:_
 1. United States 2. China 3. Brazil
4. India 5. Pakistan 6. UK 7. Australia

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.

#### **Levi Strauss &Co. will also continue to work toward using less water during manufacturing by expanding the Water**

The new report 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 Levi Strauss &Co. “Our 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.”

#### How Much Water?

Based on the study’s findings, consumers responsible for 23 percent of the water
used in the lifecycle of a pair of jeans. So therefore LS&Co. is launching a new
consumer education campaign. One to ensure consumers understand their environmental
impact. By taking the “Are You Ready to Come Clean?” quiz* on [www.levi.com/progress](http://www.levistrauss.com/how-we-do-business/use-and-reuse/),
consumers around the world will be able to find out how much water and energy they
use compared with average consumers.

One can rate consumers in the U.S., the U.K., France and China. Every year, between
World Water Day (March 22) and Earth Day (April 22). So consumers are encouraged
to take a pledge to wash their jeans less often.

_This latest update 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 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:**⏎  󠀁[⌊image⌉](https://i0.wp.com/greenlivingguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/wpid-wp-1426710380434.jpeg?quality=52&ssl=1)󠁿

#### Current average washing frequency:

U.S. consumers typically wear their jeans 2 times before washing them.

Whereas in the U.K. and France, consumers typically wear their jeans 2.5 times before
washing them.

#### Also China consumers typically wear their jeans 4 times before washing them.

So 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.

Consequently consumers in the U.K. and France mostly air dry their jeans. That’s
as well using more hot water than others.

#### Likewise consumers in China mostly wash in cold water and air dry.

Source: SAN FRANCISCO (March 17, 2015) –You can learn more about the latest LS&Co.’
s sustainability efforts on [http://www.levistrauss.com](http://www.levistrauss.com).
Information can also be found at [http://www.levi.com/progress](http://www.levi.com/progress).

[http://levistrauss.com/sustainability/products/waterless/](http://levistrauss.com/sustainability/products/waterless/)