LS&Co. Unzipped

Aug 16 2010

Well Hung

One of the coolest things about art, is that different people see different things in the same piece. In “Nothing is What it Seems,” Canadian Caleb Hill saw…a way to air dry his clothes.

What judges saw in the Levi Strauss & Co. Care to Air Design Challenge was a winner.

Caleb’s piece was the top entry among six finalists chosen from nearly 140 entries globally. As a result, he took home the top prize -- $4,500. Not bad, eh?

The judges, some contestants and plenty of others gathered this afternoon in San Francisco’s Mission District – at the Levi’s® Workshop – to talk about the contest, hear from the finalists and find out who won. And who was the runner-up.

A bit of background, which, if you’re a regular reader, you’ll have seen before. But don’t stop me – ‘cause it’s important stuff I love to share.

Levi Strauss & Co. performed a lifecycle assessment of a pair of Levi’s® 501™ jeans. And in that study, we found that, on average, almost 60% of the climate impact comes during the consumer phase. Nearly 80% of that is due to the energy-intensive method we choose for drying.

Yep, that dryer in your laundry room or closet or at the Laundromat up the street.

So, we launched a contest to find a better way to dry those jeans – and every other article of clothing that typically ends up in the dryer.

We partnered with Myoo Create, and they spread the word to the whole world. It was cool and collaborative. In fact, two of the entry finalists found each other on the Myoo site and combined their designs in a collaborative coup.

Each of the finalists submitted a video. You’ll find them here.

As I said, there was also a runner-up. The Evaporation Station, designed by Jeff Munie and Marlowe Baca –  a series of nested racks that can be installed anywhere in the house and easily stored away.

You may have picked a different winner and runner-up, as you perused the entries. And that’s okay. What’s more important is getting folks to think about their energy use when it comes to something as basic as drying their clothes.

Regardless of which air-drying approach you take, the winner’s, one of the many others or, perhaps, your own invention – the fact that you’re thinking about the process, energy use and climate change is all a good thing.

Don’t have your own idea? Look for do-it-yourself instructions here.

Whatever way you air-dry your clothes, you can bet they’ll be well hung…because they – and you – are helping the planet.

Enjoy, below, some pictures from the event.

Posted By: Cory Warren, Editor, LS&Co. Unzipped
	Tags: Events,Levi Strauss & Co.,Levi's®,LS&Co,Planet,Social Responsibility,Sustainability

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