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!

Apr 05 2011

Award-Winning Levi's® Water<Less™ Jeans!

If you’re in the market for a pair of blue jeans, may we suggest some green ones?The folks at Treehugger have just announced their “Best of Green” awards, and in the Fashion and Beauty category, Levi’s® Water<Less™ collection has been named Best Jeans.Here’s what Treehugger said:People take their jeans seriously, so when an innovative way to cut down their environmental impact comes around we get a little excited.

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

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Mar 25 2011

Why We Remember the Triangle Factory Fire

If you have a good job – decent hours, safe working conditions, health benefits – it’s easy to take it for granted. But today might be a good day to give it some thought and recall when worker rights weren’t as common as they are today.Why today?

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Posted By: Terrie S. Norris, President-elect, American Society of Safety Engineers

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Mar 25 2011

Fire Safety and Levi Strauss & Co.

In her thoughtful post today, Terrie Norris reminded us of the Triangle Factory Fire and why that tragedy 100 years ago is so important to remember.As president-elect of the American Society of Safety Engineers, Terrie understands the importance of a safe workplace -- and the price paid when companies place profits above the safety of workers.

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

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Mar 22 2011

Safe Water for All

Today is World Water Day. You may give it only a passing thought. Not Kebedech Hagos, though. For her, it’s a reminder of how far she’s come.Until the Water.org water project, which resulted in a well in her Ethiopian village, Kebedech would walk miles to a river to fetch and carry—on her back—the five gallons of contaminated water that would barely sustain her family’s needs for the day.

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Posted By: Gary White, Executive Director and Co-Founder, Water.org

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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 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

GoodGuide, You and Your Clothes

So, just how much do you know about those jeans you’re wearing? Or that t-shirt? Where were they made? And how?More and more consumers want answers to these questions. They want to know how a manufacturer’s practices affect the environment, workers and communities.Leading apparel companies have developed initiatives to monitor factory conditions, measure energy and water use, and even trace cotton to its source. But this information has primarily been used internally.Until now.

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Posted By: Dara O'Rourke, GoodGuide Co-Founder

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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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