Levi's announces new clothes recycling initiative

Levi’s has recently joined the wave of recycled, exchangeable clothing. The premium denim company just announced its new closet, jean-swap initiative.

The campaign states that customers can come into any Levi Strauss & Co. store or outlet and drop off a clean, dry item of apparel and receive a discount in exchange. When the customers drop off the piece of clothing, they will receive a voucher for 20 percent off any of Levi’s regular priced in-store items. The items can be any piece of clothing, including shoes, and can originate from any brand. The announcement disclosed that Americans annually discard approximately 28 billion pounds of clothing, textiles, and footwear. Out of that, only 15 percent make it to charities while the remaining 85 percent end up at landfills. The idea of the initiative is to make recycling easier and put out an incentive for Levi’s customers. The company hopes to decrease that landfill number of clothing.

The garment initiative is in partnership with I:CO, Switzerland-based recycling clothing company. The business is known for its reuse and recycling of apparel, textiles, and footwear globally. As part of the campaign, the company will handle all of the incoming apparel that can be reused. I:CO will sort all of the clothing and resell wearable items. The pieces of apparel that are not suitable for resale will be re-purposed into different goods that could range from cleaning, insulation and padding.

Levi's promotes sustainability with new recycling program

Other companies that have excelled in this type of exchange-for-exchange clothing include Buffalo Exchange and Crossroads Trading Co. Both retailers are known for providing in-house apparel, but mostly for their vintage pieces that have been brought in by customers. Customers will bring in their barely-worn duds to resell to the company. If the company decides the apparel is worthy, they will resell it in their store. In return, the customer gains either cash or store credit for the swap. Similarly, in Levi’s new program, customers will receive 20 percent off of their purchase. They cannot receive cash however; and Levi’s will not be reselling the clothing at their stores directly. Overall, the idea to promote eco-friendliness and reduce waste when it comes to the apparel industry.

“We’re thinking about sustainability across all facets of our business and how to shift consumer behavior to make recycling clothing the norm,” said Michael Kobori, vice president of sustainability at Levi Strauss & Co. The expansion of their recycling program is geared towards helping the brand achieve their goal creating a more circular economy by 2020. The company has been making it very apparel that their stance on sustainability is a vivid part of their brand. They decided because of this that they should expand the clothing recycling program to all of Levi’s mainline and outlet stores in the U.S.

Levi’s has been established as a company since 1853. As inventors of the first original, blue jeans, the company is known for their high-quality staple product. In addition to jeans, the company offers khaki pants, apparel, and more. The San Francisco-based company employs over 17,000 around the world. “As an industry leader, we consider all phases of our product life cycle, including stages beyond our direct control like the product’s end point,” said Kobori. “Collecting used clothing at our stores makes it simple and easy for consumers to do their part and builds upon our commitment to do the right thing for the environment.”