Sustainability is woven throughout the culture at Levi Strauss & Co., and Dockers® has often been at the forefront of product innovation in this regard. This month, the Dockers® brand is celebrating an important milestone, launching its Dockers® 10 Year Water<Less® Collection which highlights the anniversary of Levi Strauss & Co.’s Water<Less® techniques.
This special head-to-toe anniversary collection is unique in that each piece has a washed, worn-in vibe crafted while saving water in the process. Dyeing and finishing – the steps that create a product’s unique look and feel – require a significant amount of water. The Water<Less® techniques developed by LS&Co., including specialized dye methods and multiple garment finishing recipes, can reduce the amount of water normally used in the garment finishing process by as much as 96%. First introduced in Dockers® products 10 years ago, currently 47% of Dockers® overall line is produced using Water<Less® methods.
Supporting Sustainable Practices
The brand is fully committed to doing its part in helping to reverse the effects of negative environmental impact. In the first half of 2020 alone, the Dockers® brand saved over 20 million liters of water in the finishing stages of production, adding to the 3.5 billion liters of water saved and nearly 5 billion liters of water recycled across all LS&Co. brands since the introduction of Water<Less® in 2010.
In addition to Water<Less® techniques, the Dockers® brand also utilizes materials from organic cotton farms and recycled cotton suppliers, and it has an ongoing partnership with the Better Cotton Initiative, the largest cotton sustainability program in the world. Dockers® has committed to using 100% more sustainably sourced cotton in the near future.
“Right now, our operational objectives are to present consumers with high-quality products that offer confidence and style, accomplished through sustainable production methods,” said Lauren Johnson, Head of Global Marketing at Dockers®. “We will continue to challenge our perspective and our commitment to exploring new ways of improving our products and our footprint.”
Looking Ahead
Dockers® is also set to introduce select products with performance polyester fibers recycled from plastic bottles this fall, and is exploring the possibilities of incorporating cottonized hemp, which requires less water and fewer pesticides to grow, into its main line in 2021. Both efforts would further reduce the use of natural resources in Dockers® products.
“It is now more important than ever to focus our efforts on reducing our environmental impact through programs like Water<Less® and other innovations,” said Nick Rendic, Global Head of Design at Dockers®. “We will continue to innovate and design at the intersection of sustainability and style because that’s what feels right for the future of Dockers products, represents our values and meets today’s consumer where they are.”
The Dockers® 10 Year Water<Less® Collection is now available on Dockers.com and at select retailers.
