Original Style, Sustainably Made

Now, your pair of jeans can contribute to fighting the global water crisis! Here’s how.

12 October, 2020

Sustainability has been the buzzword in fashion for a while now, and with good reason, These days, when more than 85% of textiles end up in landfills, product longevity matters more than ever. A movement for fostering a change in the fashion system towards greater ecological integrity, the sustainable fashion movement has been gaining popularity in India of late, both with brands and consumers alike.

Sustainable fashion concerns itself with more than just fashion textiles or products, it addresses the whole system of fashion, be it a shift towards season-less collections, a movement towards upcycled and re-worn vintage clothing and accessories, and the promotion of fair and ethically produced fashion.

Denim against the global water crisis

By 2030, an estimated 45 cities worldwide (that’s nearly 470 million people) will be categorised as high-stress - which means the demand for water is higher than what’s available. One such move has also been made by Levi’s India, for their Fall/Winter 2020, its most sustainable collection yet.

Ever since 2011, when they launched their Water

How?

Well, unless you’re buying raw denim, most denim is finished to give it a broken-in look, and this process uses a lot of water. This technology uses more than 20 different manufacturing techniques. This means that instead of washing denim with a fabric softener to create that worn-in feel, they might tumble jeans with bottle caps and golf balls, eliminating the use of water out of the wash altogether! The result? Same denim you love, made with less water. By 2021, the brand hopes to finish at least 80 percent of Levi’s jeans with Water

The Levi’s mainline also supports sustainable cotton farming and farmers teaching smarter practices while using less water and less harmful chemicals.

The brand firmly believes that saving water is more important than profits and has also invited other apparel companies to their Eureka Innovation Lab - so they could learn how to implement the Water

The future is sustainable

The 2025 Water Action Strategy by the brand focuses on conservation in areas experiencing high water stress, to bring greater resilience to their operations and communities and watersheds in places where our products are made. Their factory in South Africa, for instance, worked with the city of Cape Town to complete a project enabling us to use only recycled water in manufacturing, preserving local freshwater supplies. Their goal is to reduce water used for manufacturing in high-stress areas by 50 per cent and have 80 per cent of the factories and fabric mills becoming distinguished Water

Also, by sourcing sustainable materials and supporting ethical farming

The brand has long been a staple in many wardrobes with iconic styles such as the 501s or the newer, skinny 711s. While jeans are made to last, there are other sustainable fabric innovations, Levi’s collections henceforth will be made using a lot of Cottonised Hemp.

Compared to cotton, hemp grows quicker, uses less water and leaves behind cleaner, healthier soils. The hemp being used by Levi’s is new, innovative hemp yarn that is specially designed to be soft like cotton. So, you get the same authentic Levi’s look and feel in a garment that’s easier on the environment.

Not only that, Levi’s is teaching millions of farmers smarter farming practices, such as how to grow more cotton while using less harmful chemicals. ¾ of the cotton grown in the world is used for apparel and that Levi’s aims for 100% sustainably grown cotton usage. As farmers learn to grow more from less, this leads to an increased pay that can be invested towards their families and their children’s education.

Lastly, reuse, recycle to reduce your carbon print!

Levi’s jeans are built to withstand daily wear and last. With more than 85 per cent of textiles ending up in landfills, product longevity matters now, more than ever. Did you know, for example, that wearing a garment for just 9 months longer than you normally would, shrinks its carbon footprint by 30 per cent? So, by opting for a pair of sustainably manufactured jeans and wearing them for eons, you can minimise your clothing’s environmental impact.

Given that Levi’s jeans are made to last, we decided to use a classic pair of Levi’s to create 3 distinct fashion looks that are in tune with the latest fall fashion trends. Be it work, a casual evening at home with friends or a dinner date, here’s how you can style one pair of Levi’s jeans to create three distinctly stylish outfits, doing your bit to re-wear your jeans and support the sustainable fashion movement.

Look 1: Work