Legendary jeans company Levi’s is looking to donate 200 million liters of water to communities in need: first, by changing the manufacturing process to create a more sustainable Water<Less pair of pants, and then by providing ideas for wearers on water saving (including the importance of loading washing machines to capacity to save an average of 300 liters a month). The company has done away with H2O in the stone wash and combined a few wet-dry cycles for a kinder production process, which has earned it one of Good Guide’s highest ranking apparel lines for water use.

In case you weren’t aware, last year Levis announced its new Water<Less jeans – made using significantly less water. The average pair of jeans uses 42 litres of water in the finishing process.  The Water<Less collection reduces the water consumption by an average of 28% and up to 96% for some new products in the line.

During the production process, a typical pair of jeans are “finished” inlarge washing machines and dryers to create a unique look and feel. Using traditional garment washing methods, the average pair of jeans undergoes 3-10 washing cycles – adding up to approximately 42 litres of water per unit.

Water<Less is just one way the Levi’s® brand is working to reduce the environmental impact of its products. The company also launched the “Care Tag for Our Planet” campaign, changing the product care tags in Levi’s® jeans to include instructions about ways consumers can reduce the environmental impact of their clothes by washing less, washing in cold water, line drying and donating to Goodwill™ when no longer needed.