Levi's(R) and Goodwill(R) Partner to Launch a "Care Tag for Our Planet"

"As a company built on values, we have long worked to promote sustainability in how we make our products and run our operations," said John Anderson, president and chief executive officer of Levi Strauss & Co. "This initiative uses our global voice to empower hundreds of millions of consumers around the world to join us by providing simple and actionable ways to help care for our planet."

"A Care Tag for Our Planet is Goodwill's first partnership of its kind designed to increase the life cycle of clothing and textiles to address the approximately 23.8 billion pounds that end up in U.S. landfills each year," said Goodwill Industries International CEO and President Jim Gibbons. "As the 'Original Recycler,' 166 community-based Goodwills in the United States and Canada collectively divert more than 1.5 billion pounds of clothing and textiles every year from landfill by recovering the value in people's unwanted material goods. In addition to funding community-based services, these landfill diversion programs create job-training opportunities for more than 1.5 million people a year."

"We're launching with the Levi's brand as a founding partner because it's an iconic brand with the ability to make an immediate impact with consumers," said Goodwill of San Francisco CEO and President Deborah Alvarez-Rodriguez. "Our collective goal is to extend the idea of Care Tags beyond washing, drying and ironing--to encouraging consumers to donate these clothes when no longer needed. By doing so, millions of pounds will be diverted from landfill and thousands of lives will be transformed by the power of work in the Bay Area and across the country."

The new care tags will be available in Levi's (R) retail and wholesale operations the U.S. beginning in January 2010 and the regional and global tags will appear in clothes in Fall 2010. The Levi's (R) brand and Goodwill(R) will also spread the word to consumers through online viral campaigns and in retail store communications.

This partnership was reached through shared values held by each organization: Levi Strauss & Co.'s goal to reduce the environmental impact of its products and Goodwill's commitment to help communities recycle usable items while helping those in need. The initiative was conceived by BBDO West, Goodwill of San Francisco's pro bono agency, which came up with the unique idea to use care tags to communicate this message.

For more than two decades, Levi Strauss & Co. has been a leader on environmental issues. The company was the first to establish requirements for suppliers, guidelines on water quality, and restrictions on the substances that can be used to make its clothes. To determine where even greater environmental improvements could be made, the company studied every stage in the life cycle of a typical pair of 501 jeans. The findings indicated that one of the greatest opportunities for reducing climate change and water impact happens after consumers take their jeans home. That's why, in addition to asking consumers to donate used clothing to keep it out of landfills, Levi's is encouraging consumers to wash less, wash in cold water and line dry when possible-- all of which together reduces your climate impact from washing and drying your Levi's jeans by more than 50 percent.

For more information about A Care Tag for our Planet, please visit www.levi.com/care.

About Levi Strauss & Co.

Levi Strauss & Co. is one of the world's largest branded apparel companies and the global leader in jeanswear, marketing its products in more than 110 countries worldwide. The company designs and markets jeans, casual wear and related accessories for men, women and children under the Levi's(R), Dockers(R) and Signature by Levi Strauss & Co.(TM) brands. Levi Strauss & Co. reported fiscal 2008 net revenues of $4.4 billion. For more information, go to http://levistrauss.com.

The Levi's(R) brand epitomizes classic American style and effortless cool. Since their invention by Levi Strauss in 1873, Levi's(R) jeans have become the most recognizable and imitated clothing in the world -- capturing the imagination and loyalty of people for generations.

About Goodwill

Goodwill Industries of San Francisco, Marin and San Mateo Counties (www.sfgoodwill.org) is dedicated to recovering value in both people and material goods through businesses and programs that provide workforce training, many of them helping the environment at the same time, empowering more than 4,100 program participants a year, placing more than 700 people in jobs with more than 200 employers throughout the Bay Area. Annually, Goodwill of San Francisco diverts more than 18 million pounds of material goods from landfill.

Goodwill Industries of San Francisco is part of Goodwill Industries International. In 2008, 166 community-based Goodwills in the United States and Canada provided training and other services to more than 1.5 million people and diverted more than 1.5 billion pounds of useable product from landfills. More than 2,300 Goodwill donated goods stores around the country fund this job training, employment placement and environmental work. To learn more about Goodwill Industries International, or to find your local Goodwill store, visit www.goodwill.org or call (800) 664-6577.

SOURCE: Levi Strauss & Co.

Levi Strauss & Co. 
Kelley Benander, 415-501-7598 
kbenander@levi.com 
or 
SF Goodwill 
James David, 415-575-2146 
jdavid@sfgoodwill.org 
or 
Goodwill Industries International 
Lauren Lawson, 240-333-5266 
lauren.lawson@goodwill.org