Thrifting for Levi's

Advocating for a thrifty lifestyle is more than encouraging others to shop secondhand. I have come to realize I am also promoting specific brands, materials, and stores when I speak enthusiastically of my thrifted treasures.

A brand I have never been shy to showcase my love for, are my thrifted Levi’s.

I never understood peoples love for jeans before thrifting my first pair of Levi 512’s. I thought for sure I would hate their high-rise style emphasizing my mom pooch and bum, creating a constant camel toe that would keep me from ever leaving the house in them! I had justified getting my “trend fix” by purchasing a secondhand pair for only $7.99 at New 2 You thrift shop.

Headline News:

I didn’t hate the mom jean style. Actually, the opposite happened. I had become obsessed with my thrifted Levi’s.

I have since donated all other jeans in my wardrobe and am now the proud owner of 3 gorgeous, amazing, and perfect Levi cotton jeans. I have found true love in denim form.

And what’s not to love?!?!

Besides the brand’s perfect fit for the past 145 years, Levi’s has set the standards of ethics in the fast fashion industry. In 1991, the brand established the first ever workers code of conduct for multi-national textile corporations, and the brands transparency on their website speaks in high regards of their sustainable intentions.

However, upon researching the company to gain a better understanding on what exactly the brand does for the environment, I discovered a #toodirtytowear past that until Tuesday, made me think twice before boasting about my love for Levi's.

Levi’s sustainability page on their website goes into great detail about their commitment with Changing Markets to reduce its emissions by 25% and use 20% renewable energy by 2020. But, as Stand.earth points out in the organization’s April 2018 “Too Dirty to Wear” campaign.

"Those goals were for its direct operations only. Levi’s direct operations account for a mere 1% of its total climate pollution, with the remaining 99% of its climate pollution in its supply chain” -Stand.earth

Levi Strauss, a company to have once set the ethical standards for the fast fashion industry, was now simply one of the many brands to make a commitment with Changing Markets Roadmap agreement. This agreement was set in motion to better the conditions of textile factories producing viscose.

“Viscose is a man-made, biodegradable fiber with characteristics akin to cotton” Grasim.com

Changing Markets released an updated report of the Grasim viscose plant in India, stating,

“Conditions on the ground were markedly worse than during our previous investigation in spring 2017. More sites were characterized by visible and highly odorous pollution, which had turned the water dark red. Contaminated water has wiped out most forms of agriculture and farmers are only able to grow wheat. Farmers are unable to obtain a fair price for their produce at local markets because of fears it is contaminated, and various local sources report alarmingly poor worker safety within the Grasim plant, with repeated accidents and deaths in the workplace” - Changing Markets

With no sign of conditions improving at Grasim, it seems remarkable to believe the plant

“plans to double its viscose production capacity from 127,750 to 255,500 tons per year” - Changing Markets

As most know, yesterday, August 1, 2018, we celebrated another #EarthOvershootDay. So, it seems insane to think textile plants are motivated to DOUBLE their production for next year. I sometimes forget that there are people living outside the Instagram, slow-fashion bubble, because the rate at which we consume new items still shocks me!

Changing Markets are not the only ones upset with these findings, and just as I was about to shamefully hang my head in loving jeans that are #toodirtytowear, Stand.earth campaigned for Levi Strauss & Co to once again set the standards for other fast fashion brands,

to once again set ethical standards that lead the way.

On Tuesday, July 31, 2018, Levi Strauss & Co. committed with Stand.earth to reduce 40% of greenhouse gas emissions in its supply chain by 2025. This commitment towards renewal energy in all aspects of Levi operations, has made the brand once again set the standards of ethics in fast fashion. Stand.earth executive director Todd Paglia hopes this is only the beginning.

I’ll continue to wear my Levi’s, proud of their American history and their continuous motivation to lead other fast fashion brands towards an ethical, sustainable future.

But, as Changing Markets has proven to us already, a company promising for sustainability is only part of the solution.

We, the consumers, need to do better focusing on the difference between needs and wants, be more mindful of the entire process of production when investing in products, and make things instead of buy them.

Together, consumer and company can do better.

Continue learning along with me on Thrift Ethics. See you on the feed Thrifters.