E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
Levi's
Levi's plans to turn about 3.5 million recycled bottles and other plastic waste into soft, high-quality denim.
They don’t look like they’re made from trash – and that’s the whole idea behind Levi’s new Waste-Less jeans.
The company says at least 20 percent of the material that goes into making this denim comes from recycled plastic bottles and food trays. That means about eight 12- to 20-ounce bottles are reborn in each pair.
“It’s good for people and better for the planet,” said Jonathan Kirby, vice president of men’s design at Levis Strauss.
The company plans to turn about 3.5 million recycled bottles and other plastic waste into soft, high-quality denim for its Spring 2013 Waste-Less collection. And just to make sure you don’t miss that fact, Levi’s puts a tag on each pair: “These jeans are made of garbage.”
“We decided to take something that was trash and turn it onto something that was valuable and viable,” Kirby told me. “The end goal is to get people to think a little bit differently about what they do with their waste. We want them to realize that a piece of trash can actually become something else that’s relevant to them.”
Right now, this sustainable denim is being made into jeans for both men and women, as well as the classic Trucker jacket for men. The jeans start at around $68, which Kirby calls “a very fair price for a product of this quality and value.”
How do they do it?
The recycled plastic – brown beer bottles (yes, they’re plastic), green soda bottles, clear water bottles and black food trays – is collected from communities across the country and shipped to a manufacturing plant where it is broken down into tiny pellets and spun into polyester fibers. That polyester yarn is then woven with cotton into denim.
The Waste-Less jeans are thin and lightweight, darker than some other denim. The inside of the jeans also looks different. They’re not the typical blue and white. These are more brown and blue.
“The brown bottles and the food trays give the fabric that unique shade and color,” Kirby explained. “You can actually see the recycled material in the garments themselves.”
Is this really good for the earth?
The recycling of plastic bottles has increased dramatically during the last few years. The International Bottled Water Association recently reported that 39 percent of the plastic water bottles in the United States were recycled in 2011. That’s up from 32 percent the year before.
Levi's
Of course, something has to be done with all of this waste plastic before recycling truly takes place. It must be made into new products, such as plastic lumber, carpets, new containers or clothing. Environmentalists call this “closing the loop.”
“It’s a great way to make sure there’s an end market for recovered materials,” said Darby Hoover, senior resource specialist with the Natural Resources Defense Counsel. “When consumers put plastic bottles into the recycling bins, this helps ensure that there’s a market for them to actually get turned into useful products.”
Hoover points out that this does not decrease the plastic that’s being used to make new plastic bottles – environmentalists would like to see fewer of them used – but it does help keep some plastic waste out of landfills.
“Using recycled content helps decrease environmental impacts across the board as compared with using virgin materials for manufacture,” Hoover told me.
So what does denim made with trash look at feel like?
Levi’s sent me a pair to wear for a few days.
I asked some friends and colleagues to feel the material. Most described it as “smooth”or “soft.” They were completely surprised when I told them there was recycled plastic in the denim and they all wanted to know more.
One person asked if the plastic in the jeans would melt if ironed or thrown in the dryer. The company assured me they will not.
A long-term commitment to the environment
This is not the first environmental initiative for Levi’s. The company’s Water-Less manufacturing technique introduced in 2011 reduces the water used in the finishing process of some products by as much as 96 percent. The company says the Water
“We don’t just want to reduce our impact on the environment, we want to leave it better than we found it,” said James Curleigh, global president of Levi’s brand in a statement.
Clearly, Levi Strauss believes it can be a leader in eco-fashion. Vice president Jonathan Kirby told me he’s looking into a number of different sustainable clothing options for next year.
“It’s the beginning of something that will hopefully become a bigger initiative for us,” he said.
Herb Weisbaum is The ConsumerMan. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter or visit The ConsumerMan website.
Lisa Marsh from Good Housekeeping tried on 74 pairs of jeans in order to find the perfect fit. She says that whether you're skinny, need some extra support or have long legs, there are jeans for you!
Leave a Comment:
Has there been any consideration of BPA absorption through the skin? Are all bottles being used BPA free?
"kid lover" (wtf ) there is no BPA in PET bottles
If the pants make me look that thin...I'm in
BPA is found in plastics with the #7 in the recycling triangle
In your mind, you think they just grind up the bottles in little strips and glue the strips in the shape of jeans?
Think before you post this crap.
I wonder when Levi's are going to move their manufacturing back to the US... you know, the place where they were invented and where they made the strong foundation to their company.
Ask Obama and Co.
Can't cast vote for some reason but I like them.
Yeah, vote doesn't work for me either. Judging by its stats (0/0) nobody else can, either.
Only available in 16 ounce or smaller size in NYC.
I have other "cloth" products made of 100% recycled bottles. Pretty neat and it doesn't stain. Washable. Couldn't see wearing them. BUT since the jeans are only 20%, would give it a try!
Short term thinking. As pointed out in the article, it does not take plastic out of the stream. It just delays how long it takes the plastic to reach the dump - by a few years. If it were made instead into another recyclable product, then it would stay out of the dump indefinitely. I recently bought a pair of Levi's made in Lesotho and they were complete garbage - went into the dump in only 6 months.
What is wrong with plastic in the dump?
It's a shame that it was not noted in the article that clothing material fabricated from plastic recyclables has been on the market since the late Aaron Feirstein, owner of the Malden Mills in Malden, MA with the help of his smart chemists dreamed up POLARFLEECE. You know, that nifty warm stuff of jackets, blankies, earwraps, etc. Mr. F, in addition to being an inventive artifical fabric producer, was an avid environmentalist aghast at the mounds of plastic that strewed the parks and highways and determined to do something about it. Thank you million times, Good Sir.
Yes, I would definitely wear plastic Levis, since I've love the old cotton and cotton blend ones and have worn them all my life. The late great Levi Strauss would be happy and proud.
Well, when you have drop-outs writing writing they don't mention a lot of things. These types of things have been done since late 1960s.
They claim that ironing won't melt them. BUT one shouldn't wear them around anypotentially hazardous area. Even if they won't catch fire, if they will melt they could melt on your skin with disasterous results. Pure cotton used to be approved for such areas, but I'm not sure if it still is.
Ahahaha... another drone.
No and won't drink water out of plastic bottles either.
Stop making petroleum based plastics in the first place, I wouldn't wear this crap if you paid me, I would wear hemp though.. Hemp jeans can be organic and no oil or petroleum.. make plastic out of hemp instead.
this is what plastics do to the earth.
What's wrong with petroleum? Petroleum is more organic than your hemp.
Go to youtube and look up midway , watch this video on the dying albatross birds that east plastic, freakn website wont let me post the video,,, butt wipes.
votehemp.com
the jeans on the accompanying video, some are hundreds of dollars. Poetic justice. Waste the plastic on the soda bottles, get obese and pay more money for the jeans that are made from the frigging stuff in the first place. We "boomers" had glass bottles that were recycled by washing, and being reused, had deposits on them, so if you were a child, you could pick up the ones others dropped and return them for the deposit and make a little money in the process. "Head Slap!"
When I was in school, a pair of Levi 501's (brand new) cost $3.95. I'm guessing that these "green" babies will price in at about 25-30 times that much. KEEP THEM!
100% Cotton or Don't Bother, Make that American Cotton. And while you're at it let's get back to the realistic price of $9.95 a Pair, this inflation crap and designer jeans screwed up the world.
Everyone loves fleece, and it is made from recycled plastic. What's the difference? Most people seem to forget you're not chewing on the plastic in fleece and won't be eating the jeans, so what's the big deal? If you're afraid of 'absorbing BPA' through your skin from wearing jeans, you should investigate every other fabric you wear, too. You might want to look into all the chemicals used to treat fabric of every kind before you worry yourself to death -- or preferably just worry yourself to death in the first place.
BPA's are an issue and I wonder if Levi's, which aren't made in the U.S. anymore, cares about that.
Also, rather than used easy accessable plastic bottles, why don't they mine the millions of square miles of ocean for plastic?
Wouldn't that be a better ecological statement?
I know, I know. Sorry, I was thinking again.
Is polyester flammable or flame resistant? Like, if jeans are common wear, so if a lit lighter got drop and falls on someone's lap, can the jeans with recycle plastic bottle catch on fire? I kind of remember tests were done on !00% cotton jeans to test wearable safety but I do not remember if tests were done on polyester mixed cotton jean fabric .... Even if there were private tests on polyester, did someone make sure polyester come from recycle bottle? Is that necessary?
maybe there should be an fashion standard rating for "casual fire encounter safety rating"
The comments by all of the "experts" here make me cry.
I think it's great that use recyclable material to produce new products like this in allusion, assess this alternative.
<a href="venturyjeans.com/3-jeans-levanta-cola-medellin">Jeans levanta cola medellin</a>