Levi’s unveils its most sustainable jeans to date

Global denim brand Levi’s has launched its most sustainable jeans ever,
made from organic cotton and Circulose, a breakthrough material made from
worn-out jeans.

The sustainable jeans represent more than five years of research in
circular denim design for the brand and will be available as part of its
Wellthread line in the classic 502 tapered fit for men and the High Loose
style for women, a modern interpretation of a classic ’90s style with a
loose leg and flattering high rise.

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Each pair of jeans are formed of 20 percent recycled denim, 20 percent
sustainably sourced viscose, and 60 percent organic cotton, in addition,
the denim also reduces the water, chemical and CO2 footprint during
manufacturing. But more than that, the new denim jeans have been designed
to maximise recyclability, the brand explained in a statement, as it wanted
to ensure that its new sustainable jeans could be regenerated into new
jeans again, from the trims to the thread.

Commenting on the sustainable jeans, Una Murphy, Levi’s senior designer
for innovation, said: “We want to recycle Levi’s jeans in a way that
doesn’t diminish their quality. By collaborating with Re:newcell, our
garment-to-garment recycling takes an important step forward.

“Recycling keeps garments out of landfills and minimises the use of
natural resources. We’re transforming old jeans into high-quality
materials, moving us beyond traditional cotton recycling, which shortens
and breaks fibres. By using high-quality fibre, Levi’s jeans last longer,
and designing for circularity allows our old jeans to become new jeans,
again and again.”

New Levi’s made of Circulose are fully recyclable and circular

Levi’s Wellthread research and development lab has collaborated with
Re:newcell, the Swedish startup behind the Circulose innovation, to bring
denim full-circle, by carefully calibrating the design process to ensure
its meets recycling specifications to allow each pair of denim to have a
second life when it’s worn out, as well as allowing Levi’s and the wider
fashion industry to reduce its dependency on virgin materials.

“This is a sustainability challenge that we’ve been wrestling with for
years, so it’s really exciting to see an aspirational concept become a
familiar pair of Levi’s jeans that consumers can actually buy and wear,”
added Paul Dillinger, Levi’s vice president of global product innovation.
“The fashion industry has long been chasing the potential of the ‘circular
economy.’ The jeans we’ve made in collaboration with Re:newcell proves that
it can be done.”

The jeans utilise Circulose, which Re:newcell makes from repurposing
discarded cotton textiles, such as worn-out denim jeans, through a process
akin to recycling paper, where it breaks down the waste fabrics using
water, as well as stripping the colour and removing any synthetic fibres.
The slurry-like mixture is dried into a sheet of Circulose that is then
made into a viscose fibre which is combined with cotton and woven into a
new fabric.

To ensure that its Wellthread jeans made with Circulose and organic
cotton could, in fact, be recycled, again and again, Levi’s used
Re:newcell’s like-for-like fibre input to demonstrate that the garment can
itself be recycled through an existing chemical recycling processes to
create jeans that are fully recyclable and truly circular.

“Bringing fashion full circle, denim-to-denim, together with a brand as
iconic as Levi’s is a dream come true,” said Patrik Lundström, chief
executive of Re:newcell. “To make fashion sustainable, it’s important to
show people that a material like Circulose is a real alternative to virgin
cotton both in performance and style. I can’t think of a better proof than
putting truly circular Levi’s 502’s into stores worldwide.”

The Levi’s recycled denim jeans are priced 115 pounds / 148 US dollars
each and are available on the Levi’s App and on Levi.com.

Images: courtesy of Levi’s