LS&Co. Unzipped

Welcome to our blog. Here’s where you’ll find a “behind-the-seams” look at what’s going on with Levi Strauss & Co. You’ll hear from a variety of voices, from both inside and outside the company. And you have the chance to share your thoughts. So read on — and weigh in!

Mar 11 2011

All Eyes on Japan

Update - March 22, 2011The Levi Strauss Foundation has announced a donation of an additional $150,000 toward emergency relief efforts to help flood and earthquake victims in Japan, bringing its total donation amount to $200,000.The Foundation’s initial $50,000 donation to the International Red Cross on the day of the earthquake has been followed by donations to the Central Community Chest of Japan, part of the United Way worldwide network, and the Japan Multicultural Relief Fund.

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Posted By: Cory Warren, Editor, LS&Co. Unzipped

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Mar 10 2011

An Original Approach to Women and the Workplace

The eyes of the world have been on Egypt in recent weeks, as thousands of people have taken to the streets to seek greater justice and economic opportunity. Even before the scenes from Cairo’s Tharir Square erupted into public consciousness, signs of progress were emerging.

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Posted By: Aron Cramer, President & CEO, BSR

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Mar 07 2011

We've Come So Far, But...

When I started my career – let’s say – “a number of” years ago, more than half the people in my department were women. This was in the finance organization of a major U.S. carmaker. Having so many female colleagues was, I thought then, both amazing and promising.But guess what happened?

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Posted By: Mary Boland, Senior Vice President, Finance & Distribution, Global Levi's® Brand

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Mar 02 2011

(Green) Parks for People

Imagine growing up without a neighborhood park – a place to run and play and dream. For too many children, that’s a reality. Streets and vacant lots – not the safest places – become the next best thing.

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Posted By: Meghan Pecaut, The Trust for Public Land

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Mar 01 2011

Buy New...Or Make Do?

How old’s your cell phone? Your home computer? Your car? Your Levi’s® jeans?According to The New York Times, you’re holding on to things longer than in the past.As a company that makes money by selling you new things, how do we feel about that? Actually, we’re okay with it.According to the Times:

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Posted By: Cory Warren, Editor, LS&Co. Unzipped

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Feb 22 2011

Levi Strauss Foundation: Why We Do What We Do

Within the first year of opening his dry goods company in San Francisco, Levi Strauss made a financial contribution to a local orphanage. It was 1854, nearly a decade since he had left a dicey economy and religious persecution in Germany.In 1897, not long after Levi Strauss & Co. began manufacturing denim overalls, he funded scholarships at the University of California in Berkeley. Half of these were for women, at a time when they were largely excluded from higher education.

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Posted By: Daniel Lee, Executive Director, Levi Strauss Foundation

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Feb 17 2011

Around the World: Doing the Right Thing Matters

The competition between the two neighboring shoe factories reached the point a few years ago where the owners refused to talk to each other.Until last month’s fire.It was about 5 o’clock in the morning when the blaze broke out in the small Brazilian town of Picada Café. It started at the Cooper Shoes factory. If something wasn’t done quickly, both it and the Sugar Shoes factory located next door, would easily be destroyed.Here’s where it gets interesting.

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Posted By: Choke Huckuntod, Levi Strauss & Co. Social & Environmental Sustainability

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Feb 09 2011

Fighting for Change

“If my grandmother, who lived and cleaned houses in Jim Crow South, would’ve ever been told that her granddaughter would get paid to talk about freedom, she wouldn’t have believed it.”

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Posted By: Daniel Lee, Executive Director, Levi Strauss Foundation

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Feb 04 2011

Worn-Out Art

Leave it to art students to turn worn-out blue jeans into works of art.The students are from the San Francisco Art Institute. And they worked with us on a unique case study. The focus? Sculpture and sustainability. The medium? Recycled denim.Over the course of their four-week intensive, Sustainable Sculpture, the students met and talked with Levi Strauss & Co. experts. We shared what we know about sustainability, the life cycle of our products, denim design and production.

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Posted By: Cory Warren, Editor, LS&Co. Unzipped

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Feb 04 2011

Happy Lunar New Year!

Before the newness slips away, we want to wish everyone a Happy New Year!

The Lunar New Year is now underway, with festivities and parades taking place in the Asia-Pacific region and around the globe.

This is especially noteworthy for us for a couple of reasons. Our hometown of San Francisco has one of the largest Asian communities — outside Asia Pacific — in the world. Plus, Hong Kong is the headquarters of our newest brand, Denizen, which recently launched in China, India, Singapore and Korea.

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Posted By: Cory Warren, Editor, LS&Co. Unzipped

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