LS&Co. Unzipped
Feb 22 2013
In Good Company
You’ve heard us talk a lot about sustainability on this blog. With the company’s commitment to building sustainability into everything we do, there’s often a lot to talk about. Although we do understand that actions speak louder than words.
That said, in sharing news about our sustainability work, we’ve recently found ourselves in good company.
We are among the top companies in terms of “best practice social media sustainability communication,” as published in the SMI-Wizness Social Media Sustainability Index.
Quoting the report on Levi Strauss & Co.
The success of good sustainability storytelling often depends on having a good story to tell. And in sustainability, the more a company does what it says it wants to do rather than refer to what others are doing, the better the story. That's why we've included a judging category around authenticity - who is walking the walk rather than just talking the talk, so to speak.
Levi Strauss, it seems to us, has a good story to tell, whether it be the sourcing of more sustainable cotton, offering customers useful advice on how to wash and care for their jeans and, ultimately, introducing a product line, Waste<Less made, in part, from post-consumer recycled plastic bottles and food trays.
You may read more here.
We appreciate being recognized, along with companies like BBVA, eBay, Danone, Telfonica and IBM.
And we also like what the UK Guardian newspaper had to say in its Sustainable Business blog.
We know, though, it’s all about sustainability actions – in all aspects of our business. And our commitment to such actions is as strong as ever.
Posted By: Cory Warren, Editor, LS&Co. Unzipped |
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Tags: Dockers®,Levi Strauss & Co.,Levi's®,Social Responsibility |
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2013
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Andrew Herbst (not verified) - Apr 28 2013
I don't know if sustainability is the best place for my comment, but it was the best one I could find on the webpage. I have Levi jeans made in Bangladesh, and they are well made and I like them a lot. Levi has a posted workers rights policy and I am assuming it is being upheld. I am not complaining. That is not the purpose of my comment. But I am asking Levi to "come out swinging" on this recent garment factory collapse near Dhaka. This is the time to pull snap inspections of all suppliers and sub-suppliers, and demand to see copies of safety records and building inspections. The recent catastrophic structural collapse of the factory in Rana Plaza has exposed serious concerns about ethics in this area, and now is the time to make sure it isn't widespread and infecting Levi suppliers. Please Levi Strauss - take the lead on this! You will be doing Bangladesh a favor.
Editor's note: Thank you for your comment, Andrew. Prior to this most recent tragedy, we've been making changes to our policies related to sourcing in Bangladesh. Our efforts were related to the fires and factory challenges that have occurred there previously.
The biggest change was that we decided to not produce our garments in facilities that are multi-level or owned-and-operated by multiple parties, where safety standards are more difficult to enforce. This decision was made to ensure our ability to enforce compliance with our Terms of Engagement related to fire safety standards and requirements.
We currently source with 13 factories in Bangladesh. All of our suppliers, in Bangladesh and elsewhere, are required to pass fire safety and emergency preparedness assessments. We also require all of our suppliers in Bangladesh to undergo third-party electrical safety audits.
In 1991, Levi Strauss & Co. was the first multinational apparel company to establish a comprehensive workplace code of conduct for our manufacturing suppliers. Our Terms of Engagement (TOE) specify the requirements by which all of our contract factories and licensees must abide. These requirements include strictly regulated health and safety standards.
Over the years, we have learned that while the factory assessment process is important, the key to lasting improvement in working conditions is for our suppliers themselves to understand and appreciate the importance of operating a responsible workplace. We've established a strong program to assess how well our suppliers are meeting our code and on how to improve them on an ongoing basis. We also continue to participate in industry conversations and initiatives, focsuing on fire prevention and other workplace-related topics.
Silvia (not verified) - Feb 27 2013
Congratulations!
Lon Wisket (not verified) - Feb 24 2013
Went to J C Penny to look for my size. 33/28 and found NOTHING! Looked on your site and also found nothing. So, it looks that after 65 years of being a LEVY'S customer I am one no longer. Shame on you!
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