Levi’s Waterless denim jeans logo.
In an announcement November 3, 2010, Levi Strauss presented a new concept of “water-less” denim jeans. “We challenged ourselves to operate at the intersection of style and sustainability,” said a design spokesperson for the brand.
According to Levi’s, a typical pair of finished denim jeans takes an average of 3-10 washing cycles to achieve certain looks and feels. Levi’s new concept will reduce the number of washing cycles by combining other wet cycle processes and remove the water from stone wash denim jeans.
Overall, the water amount used will decrease by an average of 28%, and in some cases (depending on the wash) 95%.
The first collection of water-less jeans will debut in January, 2011.
Levi’s will also be launching their “Care Tag for Our Planet” campaign which basically provides information for consumers to reduce their environmental impact through denim by people washing denim less, suggesting cold water for washing, line drying, and donating jeans to Goodwill once they no longer want them.