On average, jeans are washed 3-10 times–using 42 liters of water for each pair–in their finishing process; that’s before they even reach the hands of the consumer. At Levi’s Workshop in New York City last night, Levi’s announced the latest in their sustainability initiatives: the "Water<Less" jeans collection, which reduces water consumption on an average of 28% per pair of jeans and up to 96% for some styles.

It all started with a team of designers who went to one of the Levi’s laundries and told the folks there that they wanted to do the most incredible denim finishing  ever done – but they didn’t want to use water. If you’re into blue jeans like I am, you know that’s a tall order. Anyone can create a jean using less water. But the challenge is using innovative techniques to create the finishes customers want, without using a lot of water.

Thus the Levi’s brand is announcing its new Water<Less jeans, which are made using less water, significantly less. The first collection of Water<Less products is available from this  January of 2011 and will include over a dozen classic Levi’s jeans, including the Levi’s 501 jeans and the popular 511 and 514 jeans, as well as the Levi’s® trucker jacket.

The Levi’s spring 2011 product lines will contain more than 1.5 million pairs of jeans with the Water<Less method, saving approximately 16 million litres of water.   The line will also include jeans made with brand’s traditional rigid finish which, by its nature, utilizes virtually no water in its production. 

The Levi’s brand will continue to introduce these finishing techniques to even more supplier factories around the world with the goal of increasing the numbers significantly in Fall 2011.

Water<Less is just one way the Levi’s brand is working to reduce the environmental impact of its products. Recent Levi Strauss & Co. research shows that during the lifecycle of a pair of Levi’s 501 jeans, the largest water impact comes from the cotton growing process and through the laundry habits of consumers after they leave the stores. As a company, Levi Strauss & Co. is making strides in these key areas – from supporting more sustainable ways to grow cotton to monitoring how suppliers use water in the manufacturing process.

The company also launched the “Care Tag for Our Planet” campaign, changing the product care tags in Levi’s jeans to include instructions about ways consumers can reduce the environmental impact of their clothes by washing less, washing in cold water, line drying and donating to Goodwill™ when no longer needed.

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