Levi Strauss & Co. (LS&Co.) announced it is granting more than $380,000 to the second class of LS&Co. Collaboratory fellows who are working to create a more sustainable apparel industry. The funding will go toward new approaches and innovations in the apparel supply chain that address issues related to climate change. Projects include rescuing excess fabrics to create beautiful clothes designed by award-winning sustainable designers, a data platform for garment factories and textile waste recyclers that enables end-to-end trading and tracing, and reinventing the way goods are sent and received.
The Collaboratory is a fellowship program for entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs who see design and sustainability as inextricably linked and are working to create a more sustainable apparel industry. The program tackles different social and environmental sustainability challenges that are critically important to the future of the apparel industry and the planet. The first Collaboratory class focused on water. This class focused on climate change.
LS&Co. believes that climate change is one of the most important issues of our time and a critical challenge for the apparel industry. Mitigating climate change and transitioning to a low-carbon, more circular future are vital to the health and well-being of the people who wear and make our products, and the future supply of raw materials needed to make those products. For those reasons, LS&Co. released its Climate Action Strategy in 2018, setting very ambitious carbon emissions reduction targets based on a 1.5-degree temperature rise scenario.
This class of Collaboratory fellows attended a weekend workshop at LS&Co.’s Eureka Innovation Lab, where they had the unique opportunity to work through ideas and challenges with LS&Co. leaders and employee mentors, along with sustainability and apparel industry experts, as they developed concrete, tangible plans for reducing their organization’s, and the industry’s, climate impact.
Fellows came from around the U.S., as well as Europe, Asia, and Central America. Following the Collaboratory workshop weekend, they submitted project proposals focused on innovative and impactful solutions tied to climate change, with the opportunity to receive funding from LS&Co. to implement their solutions. The ideas selected represent bold, cutting-edge ideas from leaders who represent the future of the apparel industry. (A full list of Collaboratory fellows and their projects is below.)
“Taking part in the Levi’s Collaboratory gave my passion for a more sustainable fashion industry the perfect supportive and amplifying sounding board, which allowed ideas to grow from concept into real change,” said Christina Dean, founder of the Hong Kong-based Redress and the R Collective. “Being around the table with my fellows – from around the world and from around Levi Strauss & Co.’s business – to look at life and fashion’s bigger picture gave me a new spring to my stride, so needed on the long climb ahead.”
“Getting a seat at the table in the Eureka Lab, sharing perspectives and debating climate action in our industry alongside the other fellows, internal leaders from Levi Strauss & Co. and outside speakers was recharging and inspiring,” said Amanda Grogan, founder of Make It Black. “Levi Strauss & Co. put so much thought and consideration into the structure and programming of the Collaboratory. I came away from my time at the Eureka Lab feeling so inspired to push forward with actionable climate crisis solutions.”
“The energy and creativity on display from this class of fellows was wonderful to see,” said Paul Dillinger, vice president of global product innovation at LS&Co. “We all know how urgently our industry, and our planet, need real solutions to the challenges presented by climate change, so we are proud to support ideas and projects that can help get us closer to where we need to be.”
More information can be found at levistrauss-collaboratory.com.
