{"id":13714,"date":"2016-11-04T17:47:41","date_gmt":"2016-11-04T21:47:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/levi-strauss-co-does-not-want-you-to-wash-your-levis-501-pair-of-jeans\/"},"modified":"2016-11-19T00:06:29","modified_gmt":"2016-11-19T05:06:29","slug":"levi-strauss-co-does-not-want-you-to-wash-your-levis-501-pair-of-jeans","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/levi-strauss-co-does-not-want-you-to-wash-your-levis-501-pair-of-jeans\/","title":{"rendered":"Levi Strauss & Co. does not want you to wash your Levi\u2019s 501 pair of jeans!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why should we care about water pollution and scarcity?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since 2005, the World Economic Forum (WEF) has published an annual report on The Global Risks Landscape about the challenges affecting the global economy. Of the 28 risks selected, which are organized in 5 different categories (e.g., geopolitical, societal, economic, environmental, technological), the WEF selected the water crises as the risk with the highest <\/em>potentially devastating impact for several countries or industries within the next 10 years[1]<\/a>. In a nutshell, water pollution and scarcity is the greatest risk to the global economy.<\/p>\n

Why Levi Strauss & Co. is both a victim and victimizer in the water crises?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Levi Strauss & Co. (LS&Co.), the American denim clothing company, is not only negatively affected by water scarcity, but it is also, given its supply chain and manufacturing processes, a contributor to the problem.<\/p>\n

Levi Strauss & Co. as a victim: Water scarcity decreases cotton crop yields, making the price spike, affecting the cost of goods sold, ultimately affecting profitability. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture\u2019s 2016 – 2017 world cotton projections, cotton demand will exceed supply for the second consecutive year, increasing cotton prices. This delta has been mainly driven by China\u2019s production drop over the last several years and India\u2019s 2015 production decline, mainly due to climate issues. [2]<\/a> [3]<\/a><\/p>\n

Levi Strauss & Co. as a victimizer: In order to further understand (and quantify!) how they are contributing to water pollution and scarcity, in 2007 and in 2015, L&Co. commissioned the apparel industry\u2019s first all-inclusive lifecycle assessment (LCA) focused on their emblematic pair of Levi\u2019s 501\u00ae medium stone wash jeans. What did they learn? Levi\u2019s 501 jeans\u2019 entire lifecycle uses 3,781 liters of water (equivalent to 3 days\u2019 worth of one US household\u2019s total water needs)![4]<\/a><\/p>\n

The study analyzed eight areas of the pair of jeans production: cotton production, fabric production, garment manufacturing, packaging, sundried, transportation. Given that they learned that 68% of the water consumed in the lifecycle is used in the cotton production stage and 23% in consumer care, they prioritized strategic and operational initiatives in these two stages. That been said, they launched initiatives to decrease water consumption in garment manufacturing (1% of overall water consumption). [5]<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2026so, what are they doing to decrease water consumption in cotton production? consumer care? garment manufacturing?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Better Cotton Initiative.<\/em> In order to address that ~70% of the water consumed in the lifecycle is used in crop production, and given that ~95% of LS&Co. products are cotton-based, the company co-founded the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI).\u00a0 BCI aims to make global cotton production better for farmers (improving labor standards and improving livelihood), better for the environment and for the overall industry. [6]<\/a><\/p>\n

BCI farmers use up to 18% less water than non-BCI farmers. In 2015, LS&Co. sourced 12% total cotton through BCI, increasing by 71% compared to 2014. By 2020, their goal is to use 100% sustainable cotton through BCI and recycled cotton.[7]<\/a><\/p>\n

Wash Less\/Wash Cold\/Line Dry.<\/em> LS&Co.\u2019s LCA consumer insights found that washing every 10 times Levi\u2019s 501 pair of jeans are worn instead of every 2 times reduces energy, climate change impact, and water consumption by 80%. [8]<\/a><\/p>\n

The company has launched marketing campaigns like the one below to motivate their consumers to decrease their water consumption when washing their pair of jeans.<\/p>\n

\"screen-shot-2016-11-04-at-4-53-29-pm\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Levi\u2019s Water<Less. <\/em>LS&Co.\u2019s launched an internal program to make designers come up with new innovative ways to get the denim finishes that the clients want, but using a lot less water! So far, the organization has saved 1 billion liters of water by reducing up to 96% of the water in the denim finishing process. Currently, 40% of all Levi\u2019s jeans are made under Levi\u2019s Water<Less rubric. The company aims that by 2020, 80% of their jeans will be made under this program. [9]<\/a><\/p>\n

What else can be done?<\/strong><\/p>\n

LS&Co. can increase the scale of their impact by rolling-out their sustainability initiatives within the organization and by being a catalyst leader in the apparel industry (recycled fabrics?).<\/p>\n

Internal scale. Even though the organization has shown true commitment and impact in reducing their water consumption, only 1 out of their ~80 manufacturing[10]<\/a> companies has rolled out the Levi\u2019s Water<Less manufacturing program. They should roll out these program to more of the plants!<\/p>\n

Apparel catalyst leader. LS&Co. should partner with other industry leaders to push the industry forward on recycling fabrics. Given the water consumption of the industry, that is going to be the long-run solution. According to The Global Leadership Award in Sustainable Apparel (GlASA), on average, approximately 100 to 150 liters of water are needed to process 1 kilogram of textile material. And an estimated 5 trillion liters of water, the equivalent of 2 million Olympic swimming pools, are used each year to dye 28 billion kilograms of textiles.[11]<\/a><\/p>\n

(798 words)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> World Economic Forum, \u201cThe 2015th<\/sup> Edition of Global Risks\u201d, http:\/\/reports.weforum.org\/global-risks-2015\/<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> United States Department of Agriculture, \u201cThe World and United States Cotton Outlook\u201d, http:\/\/www.usda.gov\/oce\/forum\/2016_speeches\/Cotton_Outlook_2016.pdf<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> The Economic Times, \u201cCotton prices may not decline till arrival of new crop: India Ratings\u201d http:\/\/economictimes.indiatimes.com\/news\/economy\/agriculture\/cotton-prices-may-not-decline-till-arrival-of-new-crop-india-ratings\/articleshow\/53318574.cms<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Levi Strauss & Co. \u201cThe life cycle of a jean: Understanding the environmental impact of a pair of Levi\u2019s 501 jeans\u201d.\u00a0 http:\/\/levistrauss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/03\/Full-LCA-Results-Deck-FINAL.pdf<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Ibid<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Better Cotton Initiative website. http:\/\/bettercotton.org\/about-bci\/<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Levi Strauss & Co. Sustanaibilty website. http:\/\/levistrauss.com\/sustainability\/planet\/<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Levi Strauss & Co. \u201cThe life cycle of a jean: Understanding the environmental impact of a pair of Levi\u2019s 501 jeans\u201d.\u00a0 http:\/\/levistrauss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/03\/Full-LCA-Results-Deck-FINAL.pdf<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> Ibid.<\/p>\n

[10]<\/a> Levi Strauss & Co. Sustanaibilty website. http:\/\/levistrauss.com\/sustainability\/planet\/<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n

[11]<\/a> The Global Leadership Award in Sustainability Apparel website. \u201cThe State of The Apparel Sector 2015 Special Report\u201d, http:\/\/glasaaward.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/05\/GLASA_2015_StateofApparelSector_SpecialReport_Water_150624.pdf<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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