To help community organisations become more sustainable, Levi Strauss & Co. announced the launch of a $100,000 denim insulation fund, an initiative designed to reuse unwanted denim while keeping it out of landfills. The company will provide grants to organisations currently undergoing construction projects to offset the cost difference of using recycled denim insulation instead of conventional insulation.
“Denim is a staple in nearly everyone’s wardrobe, but it shouldn’t be a staple in our landfills,” said Jill Nash, vice president of corporate affairs, Levi Strauss & Co. “By encouraging our consumers to donate unwanted jeans and then promoting recycled denim as insulation in buildings, we can green our communities from the inside out and extend the lifecycle of every pair of jeans.”
The company will be accepting proposals from non-profit organisations from October 1 – November 21, 2010. This programme is for US-based nonprofit organizations. Additional details about the programme and how to submit a proposal can be found at www.levistrauss.com/sustainability/product/re-use.
Levi Strauss & Co. provided a grant earlier this year to The Trust for Public Land to help the organisation upgrade to denim insulation.
“We’re excited to use recycled denim to insulate our new clubhouse and provide local children with a non-toxic environment to run, jump and play,” said Will Rogers, President of The Trust For Public Land. “Levi Strauss & Co.’s new denim insulation fund shows the kind of thoughtful, creative way that this city’s leading companies are working with groups like The Trust For Public Land to create places and communities that are healthy and more livable.”
In 2008, the company donated more than 200,000 pairs of recycled jeans to insulate the newly reopened California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, helping the building earn the highest possible LEED environmental rating. Recycled denim insulation can also be found throughout the company’s newly renovated headquarters in San Francisco.
The denim insulation fund is just one way Levi Strauss & Co. is working to decrease the environmental impact of clothes. According to the company`s recent research about the lifecycle of a pair of Levi’s 501 jeans, nearly 60 percent of the environmental impact comes after consumers take their jeans home. That’s why the company 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, line drying and donating when no longer needed. Consumers can also promise to care for their jeans and the planet by taking the Care Tag Pledge online at www.levi.com/care.
