Tag Archives: levi’s

December 2012 Photo of the Month

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The December 2012 Photo of the Month by Christian Åslund turns perspective perpendicular. One of many actions in an imaginative global campaign that got Levi’s to commit to working with their suppliers to stop the release of hazardous chemicals into waterways, Danish activists staged a vertical fashion show on the side of a Levi’s store in Copenhagen.

Vertical Catwalk

An activist "model" walks up the side of a Levi's store

I picked the picture for the way the “model” appears close to the camera balanced and poised taking a step forward as the photographers lie flat on the ground to shoot is well balanced and the flash firing brings it all together. Continue reading →

Levi’s shapes up to become a Detox leader

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Detox Protest At Levi's Headquarters

The world’s biggest denim brand joins ten other clothing companies that have made credible commitments to Detox, including the world’s largest fashion retailer, Zara.

Levi’s commitment comes just eight days after we launched our “Toxic Threads: Under Wraps” report in Mexico, and screened a documentary about a family struggling to hold factories in the region to account for the pollution they are causing, including suppliers of brands like Levi’s. Continue reading →

Sharing the true facts about your jeans

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The past few weeks have been slightly guilt inducing at Greenpeace for those of us who consider ourselves fashionistas. And since we launched our report “Toxic Threads” I’ve found it a little harder to slip into my jeans. It used to be that the random facts I knew about denim and jeans were their etymology (Pop quiz! What are the two Mediterranean cities that “denim” and “jeans” get their names from? Put the answer in comments!) but now I’ve learned some new facts about the hazardous chemicals which have been found in Levi’s clothes, and the toxic pollution these chemicals are causing in the environment. It’s an ugly story. Continue reading →

The Chemicals In My Closet

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Big brands are forcing consumers to buy clothes containing chemicals that cause toxic water pollution

I gave up most designer labels after my dad bombarded me with snippets from ‘No Logo’ at breakfast every day for a month. Any temptation I might have felt to shop at Abercrombie was quelled by my sister’s peculiarly effective way of reminding my younger self of the retailer’s dubious child labor practices.

This is more stomach-turning: Continue reading →

November 2012 Photo of the Month

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The November 2012 Photo of the Month by Thitima Bunhumasuta shows two women posing in a blue boat at the edge of a waste water pond across from a factory with smoking chimneys. They hold shopping bags bearing the messages ‘Fashion Without Pollution” and “Stop Our Water from Becoming a Fashion Victim.”

Toxic Fashion Shoot

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Because we fight for life

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Graciela invited me to her home in El Salto, a city on one of Mexico’s most polluted rivers, the Rio Santiago. She wanted to share the story of her community’s struggle for environmental justice.

“Every family here has at least one person with a serious illness or a loved one who passed away before their time,” Graciela told me. “The people are suffering. Their health and livelihoods are suffering. And industry is earning billions of pesos. It’s just not right.” I saw anger and sorrow wash over her eyes as she spoke about their plight. Continue reading →

PHOTOS: Mannequins revolt against Levis for their toxic fashion

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Greenpeace activists dressed as mannequins staged a “mannequin revolt” outside Levi’s flagship store in San Francisco, Dec. 6, 2012, to demand Levi’s commit to eliminating all hazardous chemicals from its supply chain. Greenpeace released the “Toxic Threads: Under Wraps” report Wednesday detailing the extent of the toxic water pollution coming from two of Mexico’s largest clothing manufacturers, both of which supply Levi’s. Join the campaign, and let’s give Levi’s 501,000 reasons to #GoForth and Detox! Continue reading →

Let’s give Levi’s 501,000 reasons to Detox

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“From the way we make our products to how we run the company, we’re committed to restoring the environment. Consumers expect this from us, employees demand it, and the planet requires it.”

This is a very honourable statement from Chip Bergh, President and CEO of Levi Strauss and Co, the producer of the very famous Levi’s jeans.

No doubt good intentions were behind the statement, but the reality is that popular fashion brands like Levi’s are directly linked to the use and discharge of hazardous chemicals into Mexican rivers.

San Pedro River Pollution © Guadalupe Szymanski / Greenpeace

In Greenpeace International’s latest report, “Toxic Threads: Under Wraps”, we show the results of water samples that were taken at discharge pipes used by two manufacturing facilities supplying Levi’s: Lavamex and Kaltex. Both facilities were found to be discharging a cocktail of hazardous chemicals. One of the facilities was also found to be discharging nonylphenol, a chemical used in textile manufacturing that has already been banned in many countries. This chemical is very persistent and remains toxic even as it works its way through the food chain. It is able to act as a hormone disrupter, accumulate in the tissue of fish and has recently been detected in human tissue. Continue reading →