San Francisco-based Levi Strauss & Co. has introduced the Levi's® Waste<Less™ collection of denim jeans and trucker jackets made using materials derived from post-consumer recycled (PCR) polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles and food trays. The garments, to be featured in the Levi's Spring 2013 collection for men and women, will include a minimum of 20-percent PCR content, with an average of eight 12- to 20-ounce PCR PET bottles going into each pair of jeans and more than 3.5 million bottles going into the overall Spring 2013 Waste<Less collection.
The PCR materials include brown, green and clear bottles and black food trays; and will be sorted by color and processed into flake and then into fiber. The fiber will be blended with cotton in yarns that Greensboro, N.C.-based Cone Denim will weave with cotton yarn into fabric for the collection. Levi's notes that the color of the bottles used will provide an undertone to the fabric and a unique finish to the garment.
According to James Curleigh, global president, Levi's brand, the new collection demonstrates the company's commitment to reducing its environmental impact and encouraging others to do the same, while providing products of good quality. "By adding value to waste, we hope to change the way people think about recycling, ultimately incentivizing them to do more of it," he said. "This collection proves that you don't have to sacrifice quality, comfort or style to give an end a new beginning."
October 23, 2012
