Levi's Apparel Gears Toward Recycling, Building, Insulating by 2020

Levi's VP of Social and Environmental Sustainability, Michael Kobori, announced last year that along with a partnership with Goodwill, the company will move their brand away from landfill usage and take-back programs. Their apparel will be diverted towards recycling, building insulation and cushioning materials by 2020. This move's ambition was to establish an infrastructure that supported recycling of closed-loop products into new ones.

In addition to Levi's resource conservation projects, the brand aimed to find ways in incorporating alternative raw materials such as cotton as a critical component in their transition to a sustainable resource-constrained economy.

Levi's also announced a new collaboration with Italian fiber supplier Aquafil to produce a new men's collection incorporating a nylon made from used materials such as carpeting, discarded fishing nets and other plastics. The partnership will begin with Levi's 522 men's tapered pants line, according to a feature from Tree Hugger.

Due to partnerships such as this, Aquafil continued to create a circular economy for fabric. The company began gaining attention in 2013, when corporations such as Interface joined Aquafil's Healthy Seas initiative which was geared towards tackling the marine litter issue.

Aquafil Chairman and CEO Giulio Bonazzi said that he envisioned a world where items did not come at the expense of nature. The company's partnerships were aimed towards the use of sustainable materials to reinvigorate products that had been traditionally produced.

Levi's planned to redefine the denim industry. The brand hoped that their shift will help in reshaping the way people interacted with the environment. The company looks to become the national leader in commercializing and developing textiles with eco-friendly properties. The collaboration hoped to inspire more efforts to nurture new green industries, and grow them to scale in the market as vital pieces of innovation to support the next generation of eco-friendly technology and the development of environmentally-conscious workforce, according to a feature from Sustainable Brands.