Levi Strauss & Co. has expanded its clothing recycling initiative to all Levi’s mainline and outlet stores in the US.
Annually, Americans discard more than 28 billion pounds of unwanted clothing, shoes and other textiles. About 85 percent — 24 billion pounds — end up in landfills, Levi’s says.
The company says its expanded program, in partnership with I:Collect (I:CO), will reduce the volume of waste sent to landfills and will help create an infrastructure that supports a circular economy by 2020.
Consumers may drop off any brand of clean, dry clothing or shoes in the collection boxes at any Levi’s store. Any consumer who brings an item of clothing or shoes to recycle will receive a voucher for 20 percent off a single, regular-priced Levi’s item in-store.
In the company’s other efforts to support a circular economy, last year Levi’s piloted Wellthread, a 100 percent recyclable product from a single fiber — cotton — that the company says met durability expectations of consumers and could also be easily remade into new garments.
