Daily Front Row

2012 December 13

Levi's Goes Green

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Levi's Fall 2012
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(NEW YORK) Zara isn't the only one taking on a green initiative; Levi's has committed to eliminating all hazardous chemicals from its supply chain and products by 2020. The green detox follows Greenpeace's "Toxic Threads: The Big Fashion Stitch-Up" report in Beijing in November and their "Toxic Threads: Under Wraps" report in Mexico City on December 5th. As a result of the Mexico City report, over 210,000 people have urged Levi's to purge its factories of PFCs, or perfluorinated compounds, taking to Twitter and Facebook as a call to action. Additionally, 700 people have protested outside of Levi's stores in over 80 cities worldwide. Similar social media campaigns and protests have resulted in ten other brands committing to the Toxic Threads campaign in 2011 including Nike, Adidas, Puma, H&M, M&S, C&A, Li-Ning, Mango, and Esprit.

“Now more than ever, we are seeing brands such as Levi’s listen to the groundswell of support for toxic-free fashion,” said Greenpeace toxics campaigner John Deans in a company release. “Now it’s time for other brands such as Calvin Klein, Gap, and Victoria’s Secret to follow Levi’s lead and end their toxic addiction."

What will Levi's toxic fashion ban entail in the short-term? By the end of June 2013, the world's largest denim brand will require 15 of its major suppliers in China, Mexico, and the Global South to disclose pollution data reports. The second stage of detox, which requires 25 additional suppliers to disclose similar data, will be implemented by the end of 2013.