Behind the Build: LS&Co. Brings Field of Jeans to Life : Levi Strauss & Co

Unzipped Staff
Levi Strauss & Co. November 25, 2014

Earlier this month, we teamed up with the San Francisco 49ers for a unique Field of Jeans™ clothing drive to benefit our nonprofit partner Goodwill and divert clothing from landfill. In just 2 weeks, the drive collected more than 18,850 pairs of jeans – all of which will be donated to Goodwill locations in the Bay Area, keeping more than 12 tons of textiles out of landfills.

Donation Day Bin for Field of Jeans

Following the success of the drive, LS&Co. enlisted the help of San Francisco-based artist, Hannah Sitzer from ANTLRE, to turn the denim collected into a one-of-a-kind art installation on the field at Levi’s Stadium. You can see the video documenting the entire two-day artistic process in yesterday’s Unzipped post here.

Artist crew hard at work IMAGE CREDIT: Whitney Dinneweth

Both LS&Co. and Goodwill are strong advocates for sustainability and wanted to create Field of Jeans™ to remind fans – especially during a busy shopping season – about the importance of donating old clothing when no longer needed. Such a small act can make a big impact.

Crew in a huddle IMAGE CREDIT: Whitney Dinneweth

Early start of the build IMAGE CREDIT: Whitney Dinneweth

To better understand the true scope of this undertaking – take a look at some of the numbers:

This incredible undertaking took 50 people 16 hours to create and used all 18,850 donated pairs of jeans in the installation.
The jeans collectively weighted more than 12 tons, that’s approximately 11,000 pounds MORE than the weight of the 49ers active roster – that’s a lot of football players!
The jeans on the field outweigh an iconic San Francisco Trolley car by 9,000 pounds.
Approximately 171,000 pounds of CO2 emissions from landfill were avoided, which is equivalent to the emissions generated from 36 round trips by car from San Francisco to New York.

Near completion, early am build. IMAGE CREDIT: Whitney Dinneweth

The Field of Jeans at the end zone in Levi’s Stadium IMAGE CREDIT: Jed Jacobsen for Getty

All the donated denim will be re-sold through Goodwill stores to fund job training programs for the Bay Area community. Thank you so much to all the volunteers who gave their time to create something truly breathtaking both visually and in its purpose.