LS&Co. Unzipped
Sep 23 2010
Beyond 'Paper or Plastic'
I confess: When I go to the grocery store, I sometimes forget my canvas bags. When the clerk asks the inevitable question, “Paper or plastic?” I’m stuck – asking myself, which one is better?
These days it seems like everyone’s trying to make greener, more environmentally conscious choices.
But if you really want to think sustainably about everything you touch, like we’re trying to do at Levi Strauss & Co., you have to start asking all kinds of tough questions, like, what is the overall environmental impact of the products I buy? What’s truly sustainable?
To tackle some of these questions, we conducted a complete life cycle assessment of the environmental impacts associated with two of our iconic products – a pair of Levi’s® 501s® and Dockers® Original Khakis.
When our designers and product development teams looked at the results, they asked what it would take to develop an index or tool that would tell them which materials were more sustainable than others.
So our Social and Environmental Sustainability team began developing a scientifically-based tool that would evaluate the environmental impact of different fabrics, but would have the potential to calculate the environmental impact of complete products – including every button, snap, zipper and rivet.
Many product indexes rely on general averages and broad indicators of sustainability, like “paper vs. plastic” rather than actual data. Our new tool, “E-valuate,” is different. It relies primarily on hard data
Working closely with our suppliers to gather that data, we examined just about every facet of the process – from cotton production to transportation to the energy and water associated with spinning, dyeing and weaving. We also considered whether or not renewable energy, recycled content and sustainably-grown fibers went into producing a particular fabric.
The first E-valuate pilot examined seven core fabrics, but we’re currently adding an additional 85, and this next round of data will be used to help make sourcing recommendations for our Spring 2012 collection.
Ultimately, E-valuate gives our designers the information they need to create more sustainably produced products well into the future.
As to “sourcing” your supermarket checkout options, if you’re still pondering paper or plastic, the best answer has to be…don’t forget your canvas bags!
Posted By: Colleen Kohlsaat, Senior Manager, Environmental Sustainability, Levi Strauss & Co. |
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Tags: Levi Strauss & Co.,LS&Co,Planet,Product,Product Suppliers,Social Responsibility,Sustainability |
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James Brady, CPA (not verified) - Dec 28 2012
Good stuff, as usual by Levis. Life Cycle Analysis should be required for all companies to perform on their largest revenue driving sources. Because so much of everything these days are outsourced to 2nd world countries, management, designers, engineers, finance, and marketing has essentially become detached from the very product they build. - The famous saying is this: it would be like trying to write a cookbook without ever having cooked in your life. No prep, not sample tasting, nothing. Doing these LCA's provides the 2013 companies that perform them what our pre 1985 companies had, and that is vast knowledge of every inch of their product.
DePete (not verified) - May 03 2012
In Denmark where I come from they've been charging for plastic bags for years - about 0.50$ apiece - because of special taxes etc. It hasn't stopped the sale of plastic bags that much though. But you can actually make your own grocery bag from an old pair of jeans and a sewing machine. It's not that hard, you just study a canvas bag and copy the design. Hey, if I can do it, anybody can! When you've learned it, make them for your friends too, they're ideal as gifts, and they'll love them. Or how about launching an official blue denim Levis grocery bag? Come on, that would be like sooo cool Doesn't necessarily have to be shrink to fit though :)
Britt Bauer (not verified) - Sep 08 2011
This is so amazing! I am so excited to be an employee of Levi and greatly look forward to following the progress of this project!!!
Kate (not verified) - Apr 03 2011
So I'm super curious now, which pair had the least footprint....dockers or denim jeans? !! Thanks!!
narender reddy (not verified) - Jan 02 2011
save the nature...... creating awarness in people to use paperbags and starting my own paper bag industries in march 2011
Charlie (not verified) - Oct 05 2010
i always forget my bags, too. in china, i went to a grocery store where they charge for plastic bags! maybe if they did that here, we wouldn't forget!
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