Brown beer bottles, green soda bottles, clear water bottles and even black food trays are being used in a fashion collection by Levi Strauss. The company launched its WasteLess™ range in 2013 as part of a commitment to find ways to leave a net positive legacy.
Levi Strauss is re-using polyethylene terephthalate (PET) materials, collected via municipal recycling programmes, in the clothing. The bottles and food trays are sorted by colour and chipped into flakes that generate a polyester fibre. This is then stretched into material that can be blended with traditional cotton yarn to make the denim used for Levi's® WasteLess™ jeans and trucker jackets.
Each garment uses fabric made from at least 20% waste, equating to – on average – eight recycled bottles.
The collection hit retail stores in spring 2013 using approximately 3.5m recycled bottles and is available, around the world, for men and women. Use of PET waste creates an undertone of colour that the company claims adds a unique finish to the garments, proving that products that are kinder to the environment do not have to compromise on quality, comfort or style.
The WasteLess™ collection follows introduction in 2009 of "a care tag for our planet", which was designed to instruct people on how to clean clothes with less environmental impact.
Levi Strauss has developed a WaterLess™ collection, using treatments in the denim finishing process that reduce by up to 96% the water needed for finishing in some styles.
To date the company has produced more than 50m WaterLess™ garments, saving around 699m litres of water. In addition, it encourages consumers to donate used jeans to Goodwill Industries.
Lynn Beavis is part of the wordworks network
The Guardian Sustainable Business Sustainability Case Studies contain articles on all the initiatives that met the criteria for the GSB Awards.
