Inventor of Blue Jeans channels a new water-saving idea
Levi Strauss & Co. has been forced to address water scarcity more aggressively than most, thanks to the great thirst of the jeans-making process. In the journey from cotton field to factory to closet, a single pair of jeans has been known to consume up to 3,800 litres of water.
Not a good look for a consumer-facing brand. As part of a wider water-saving effort, the San Francisco-based company, which invented blue jeans in 1873, has become an early pioneer of a method known drily as “contextual water targets.” The idea is that saving a litre of water where it’s plentiful is less important than saving a liter where it’s scarce. It means Levi Strauss must move more forcefully to curb water use at its Egyptian factories, say, than its US plants, even though saving water in the US may be easier to achieve.
Water scarcity is appearing across the world. The Colorado River is drying up, rainfall levels plunged in China’s Yunnan province this January, and scientists are predicting another ruinous drought for Europe this summer. As the planet warms and populations grow, the United Nations expects a 40% shortfall in the world’s water supply just seven years from now.
That grim outcome will directly affect billions of people. It will also challenge a swath of industries. About three quarters of publicly traded companies say they are exposed to water risk that could significantly alter their business.
For a multinational, the first step is to identify where in its vast, far-flung supply chain the danger lurks. It must then find smart ways to curb water use without hurting production targets. Finally, it has to ensure that the local water supply — often down to the nearest basin — will continue to flow for decades to come.
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