Levi's Go Hemp For New Sustainable Collection
Posted by Calum Napier on
It really is great to see big brands go Hemp.
Hemp is one of the most misunderstood & under utilised plants in the world. Unfortunately it has been held back by confusion & an in-accurate association with its psychoactive cousin, Marijuana.
But as business keep innovating & pushing boundaries, it's clear that Hemp has a place in all our futures & could be the answer big business is looking for to offer a more sustainable offering to the consumer.
As consumers continue to look for more natural, sustainable & ethical alternatives, big business must keep up & give the consumer what they want, Hemp could play a key factor in offering a sustainable solution in a broad spectrum of industries.
The latest big business to look at Hemp is Levi's.
Traditionally made from Hemp, Levi's have gone back to their Hemp roots & this season will release their new "Cottonised Hemp" clothing line aimed at showing a more sustainable way of dressing that also saves water.
Save Water, Wear Hemp
It’s that easy. Well, sort of Levi's say.
While, it’s definitely easy to wear, a lot of work goes into the making of Cottonised Hemp that you’d never know from just feeling it.
What Is Cottonised Hemp?
Something you’ll hear a lot about as the industry becomes more sustainable is Cottonised Hemp.
Why Hemp? Because compared to Cotton, it grows quicker, uses less water & leaves behind cleaner, healthier soils.
Specially designed for Levi’s, this new innovative Hemp yarn is soft like Cotton — & easily woven into styles like their Stay Loose Jeans, Loose Sleeve Trucker Jacket & WellThread tees (just to name a few).
So you get the same authentic Levi’s look & feel in a garment that’s easier on the environment.
Sustainability For Businesses
For many companies that are turning to sustainability to appease customers & reduce their contribution to climate change, the availability of Hemp as a material choice is beneficial.
Levi Strauss is one of the companies starting to promote itself as more sustainable by incorporating Hemp into their materials catalog.
"Our intention is to take this to the core of the line, to blend it into the line, to make this a part of the Levi’s portfolio.
"So often there’s the assumption that to purchase a sustainably-made product is going to involve a sacrifice, & that the choice is between something ethically made or something that’s cute. You don’t have to sacrifice to buy sustainably."
The well-known clothing brand will be offering jeans made of 30% Hemp and 70% Cotton thanks to a breakthrough technology they developed that makes Hemp as soft as Cotton.
Typically, the texture of Hemp is much tougher than Cotton, but Levi found a solution after years of research so it could exchange less sustainable Cotton fibre for Hemp in its jeans.
A spokesman said:
"It’s a longer, stiffer, coarser fibre. It doesn’t want to be turned into something soft. It wants to be turned into rope."
"As a bonus, the fibres technology specialist working with the company developed the process in a way that uses minimal chemicals & energy & much less water."
They continued:
"We’re going to go from a garment that goes from 3,781 L of freshwater, 2,655 of that in just the fibre cultivation. We take out more than 2/3 of the total water impact on the garment. That’s saving a lot."
Pretty cool stuff...Save Water, Wear Hemp!
Hemp For Our Future... Or Levi's Future Anyway
The cultivation alone of Hemp uses a tenth of the water used in a Cotton plantation while producing twice as much fibre.
Even by substituting, only 30% of the Cotton is good for the environment.
The fact that Levi’s dedicated time and effort into making Hemp as soft as Cotton so it could do this is lovely.
Levi's now plan to substitute more clothing with Hemp in the future & will establish clothing that is 100% Hemp that feels as soft as if they were made of Cotton within five years.
Go Levi's!!
- Tags: Cottonised Hemp, Hemp Clothing, Hemp Jeans, Levi's, Levi's Hemp, Organic Hemp, Save water, Sustainable Clothing, The Wee Hemp Company, wear hemp
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