Leverage the leadership of Levi Strauss Foundation and invest in our communities to advance pioneering societal change
Leverage the leadership of Levi Strauss Foundation and invest in our communities to advance pioneering societal change
Drive societal impact in communities where LS&Co. operates through advocacy, grantmaking, employee giving and volunteerism
Drive societal impact in communities where LS&Co. operates through advocacy, grantmaking, employee giving and volunteerism
Nearly 170 years of business has helped us build a platform to drive for meaningful social change and environmental action. When we advocate for public policies, we do so by outlining the business, and sometimes moral, case for corporate and policy action. Over the years we have taken stands on issues such as gun violence prevention, equitable access to voting, the rights of LGBTQIA+ people, paid family leave, and science-based climate policy, along with many other issues important to our business, our customers and the communities we serve.
The Levi Strauss Foundation and LS&Co. underpin these efforts with grants to organizations working for lasting changes on the important issues of our time. We have been sharing our profits with the community since Levi Strauss founded the company in 1853. Today, we invest about 2% of our annual earnings back into communities we serve through our contributions to the Levi Strauss Foundation and direct corporate grants, with an emphasis on addressing the issues important to us as a company, to our employees and to the communities where we work. We amplify our impact by further supporting nonprofit organizations through employee volunteering and giving.
Throughout our history, we have made changes to our own operations, from integrating our factories in the southern U.S. before it became law, to extending health benefits to unmarried domestic partners — the first Fortune 500 company to do so. We will continue advocating for social change and encouraging others to do the same in contributing to a more just, safe and inclusive society.
LS&Co. leaders regularly speak publicly about our top advocacy issues, and we use our platforms to amplify those messages whenever we can. Our CEO Chip Bergh regularly discusses these issues during interviews and has become known as a leader in the broader push toward a form of stakeholder capitalism that considers the role a company plays in society, not just the revenue it generates.
Just a few 2021 examples include:
At a time when voting rights are under attack in the U.S., we believe that the critical avenue for employees to engage civically is their vote. Every year we make sure our U.S. employees have access to the information and tools they need to vote in their local elections. In the face of continued infringements on the right to vote in various U.S. states, we believe it is especially critical to provide safe, accessible and secure voting to all eligible voters and to inform employees about the changes on election dates, vote by mail specifics and evolving rules in their locations. In 2021, we developed and executed a plan to support voting rights through our own advocacy as well as grant support to organizations working to preserve fair access to voting.
Early in 2022 we advocated at the U.S. federal level for passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and signed statements in opposition to anti-voter legislation. We monitored legislation in four states that have large LS&Co. employee populations and restrictive voting laws that disproportionately affect communities of color. LS&Co. provided more than $500,000 in grants to organizations in those states, as well as to national organizations building awareness of legislation, educating young people on the importance of voting rights, and engaging eligible voters in local elections. We also kept voting top of mind for employees, encouraging them to participate in local elections and reminding them of our policies allowing time off to vote. Other activities included:
In 2021, gun violence in the U.S. claimed the lives of almost 45,000 people in a worsening gun violence epidemic that disproportionately affects Black and Brown communities. LS&Co. has pledged ongoing support for gun violence prevention by rallying the business community on the issue, advocating for gun safety measures and providing philanthropic support to organizations on the frontlines of the epidemic.
Our advocacy work also included reaching out to elected officials to pass common-sense gun safety legislation. For instance, in 2021, LS&Co. joined Giffords’ Impact Network as a founding member, lending our support for increased and coordinated corporate engagement to prevent gun violence and pass meaningful gun safety legislation. Throughout the year, we continued support of organizations that are born from and work closely with communities of color disproportionately affected by gun violence, as laid out in our Gun Violence Prevention Plan.
In 2018, we established the Safer Tomorrow Fund to support nonprofits working to address gun violence in the U.S. In 2021, the Safer Tomorrow Fund supported organizations that work closely with communities of color disproportionately affected by gun violence, providing direct support to community violence intervention programs and youth advocates working to make communities safer.
Work from our Safer Tomorrow Fund grantee partners is designed to bridge the following gaps:
In 2021, we provided $475,000 to organizations working in these three pillars, most of which are led by people of color. Our 2021 grantee partners included LIVE FREE, Giffords, Cities United, Youth Over Guns, Community Justice Action Fund, Generation Progress and The Trace.
LS&Co. has long been, and will continue to be, a vocal supporter of equality and non-discrimination. We were the first Fortune 500 company to extend health benefits to domestic partners and have continued to use our voice to advocate for an equitable society for all. We were the only California business in 2007 to file an amicus brief with the California Supreme Court in support of same-sex marriage, and we have proudly supported the Equality Act since the bill’s introduction in 2015. In 2021 we rejoined a Texas Competes business statement in support of the inclusion of common-sense LGBTQIA+ protections in Texas’ nondiscrimination laws.
In recognition of our many ongoing efforts in support of full equality, we have received a perfect score of 100 points on the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Corporate Equality Index for 18 years. We have awarded grants to fund the HRC Foundation Youth Ambassador Program, which tackles multiple issues around sexual orientation, gender identity, race, immigration and discrimination.
We achieved a perfect score — 100 points — on the HRC Corporate Equality Index in 2021, our 18th year
We believe that no one should have to choose between a paycheck and taking care of themselves or their family in moments of need. We continue to improve benefits for our employees and advocate for national paid leave for America’s workers. In 2020, we implemented a new paid family leave benefit that provides U.S. corporate and retail benefits-eligible employees with up to eight weeks of paid time off per year to care for an immediate family member with a serious health condition.
National paid leave would make it possible for working people to take paid time off to take care of themselves and their loved ones under job protection guarantees, no matter in which state they live or for whom they work. LS&Co. has been a leading business advocate for national paid leave since 2018, and in 2020 and 2021, we stepped up our efforts, advocating for national paid leave legislation as part of building back better after the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to our CEO’s op-ed with CNN Business calling for a national paid family leave policy, he also appeared in a CEO advocacy ad with Melinda Gates and gave an interview on LinkedIn Live. Our Chief Human Resources Officer Tracy Layney spoke at a business roundtable hosted by the U.S. Secretary of Labor, and appeared on Facebook Live in a conversation with a White House representative. LS&Co. also joined more than 350 businesses in a letter to Congress organized by PL+US.
Over the years, LS&Co. has conducted outreach to the U.S. Congress advocating for the bill, and our Rivet Women’s Employee Resource Group has organized phone-banking sessions in support of paid leave during Women’s History Month. In a related initiative, back in 2019 we were one of eight companies to first endorse the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which now has more than 30 corporate endorsers who re-issued a letter of support in February 2022.
We have been advocating for a permanent legislative solution for Dreamers — undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children — since 2017, when more than 600,000 young people were put in legal uncertainty about their status. Dreamers are members of our workforce, they are our consumers, and they are members of the communities where we live and work, and they deserve their shot at the American dream. In 2021, some of our actions included:
Climate change is the issue of our time. We embrace responsible environmental practices across the company — including limiting emissions toward our goal of net-zero emissions by 2050 — and collaborate with others who share our commitment to limiting global temperature rise to no more than 1.5°C compared to pre-industrial levels. LS&Co. has been advocating for meaningful policy to mitigate climate change for over a decade. Read more about our climate advocacy in Climate Action.
Our environmental policies are determined through a consultative process customarily led by our Sustainability Team, frequently in partnership with the Corporate Affairs team, and with input and review from functions across the organization. Members of our Executive Leadership Team approve these policies, and the Board of Directors is updated regularly. Our present policies — most notably our targets around climate, water and waste — are designed to create environmental awareness, reduce emissions and waste, shape and monitor the company’s performance against our key metrics, report on our progress, and use resources more efficiently and in ways that allow them to be reused. In all these policies and goals, our imperative is to find ways to use less water, reduce emissions, better support workers, drive safer chemistry, further reduce waste, and become more circular in our approach and our products.
For nearly 170 years, we have endured by staying true to our values: empathy, originality, integrity and courage. These values were instilled by our founder, Levi Strauss, who donated some of his first profits to a local children’s organization. Today, our philanthropic work is bolstered by:
| Type of Giving | Amount Provided |
|---|---|
| Levi Strauss Foundation grants | $9.5 million |
| LS&Co. Direct Corporate grants* | $3.1 million |
| LS&Co. product donations | $0.9 million in LS&Co. product donations** |
| Red Tab Foundation grants | $2.2 million in grants*** |
Formed in 1952, the Levi Strauss Foundation advances pioneering social change on the issues and events of our time. The Foundation aims to take courageous risks in service of these values and strives for meaningful impact over the course of decades — with core program areas focused on advancing social justice, improving the lives of apparel workers and ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
The Foundation combines a long-term focus with a commitment to working for social change now. Its grants are intended to bolster advocacy, leadership and engagement. The Foundation goes “beyond the grant” to build grantee capacity, link grantees with influencers and other funders, and tell the story of pioneering change. LS&Co. contributed $11 million to the Foundation during the first quarter of FY22. While we never wish to make reporting burdensome, we do ask beneficiary organizations for brief annual impact reports, which provide an overview of progress and aid in future decision making about grants.
The Foundation supports organizations devoted to advancing apparel worker rights and well-being in the countries where we operate. This commitment includes sharing learnings with industry peers to influence their giving as well. A network of nonprofit organizations partners with factories in the LS&Co. supply chain to implement programs designed to improve worker health, satisfaction and engagement as part of the Worker Well-being initiative. They also advocate for more cooperative relationships between workers and factory management, providing workers with much-needed avenues to share their needs and concerns for improvements.
Over the past two years, approximately, $4.5 million in donations went to pandemic relief directed toward supply chain communities and to nonprofit partners in the U.S. struggling to stay afloat during the pandemic. Beyond the pandemic, the Foundation grants funds to organizations dedicated to improving the long-term rights of apparel workers. Some of these include facilitating “know your rights” workshops, building grassroots labor rights group capacity, engaging in dispute resolution with factories and brands, and working to strengthen labor laws. Collectively, these actions have affected hundreds of thousands of apparel workers.
The Levi Strauss Foundation is also supporting reproductive health organizations. This includes the Center for Reproductive Rights, which has been leading legal efforts to preserve reproductive rights in the U.S., and organizations assisting the most affected communities, including ARC-Southeast and Groundswell Fund. Internationally, the Foundation supports organizations providing comprehensive reproductive healthcare for apparel workers, such as International Planned Parenthood Federation and MSI Reproductive Choices.
Some of the Foundation’s grantmaking is designed to directly support gender equity issues, such as reproductive justice, women’s leadership, transgender rights and apparel worker rights. For instance, the Foundation supports the Texas-based Afiya Center, which works to transform the lives and well-being of Black womxn and girls through reproductive freedom, maternal health programming, HIV/AIDS resources and others. The Foundation also supports Fondo Semillas, a women’s fund that works to improve women’s lives in Mexico and empower them to fight against gender-based discrimination and unfair labor conditions. By providing financial support and guidance to women’s organizations, Fondo Semillas has directly reached more than half a million women in the country.
During 2021, the Foundation completed the Pioneers in Justice initiative, which worked for 11 years to empower and support next-generation BIPOC social justice leaders in the Bay Area of California. The program evolved to connect grassroots leaders working on systemic change in gender equity, climate change, criminal justice, LGBTQIA+ rights, racial equity, immigrant rights and gun violence. The Foundation remains committed to supporting the issues represented by the Pioneers in Justice initiative.
LS&Co. and our brands aim to create a values-aligned societal impact in communities where we operate. To do this, we make the most of grantmaking, employee giving and volunteerism, with a focus on sustainability, voting rights, equality and racial justice. Key initiatives in 2021 included:
Of LS&Co.’s FY21 racial justice grantmaking, 51% of grants were to organizations led by people of color, and 53% toward addressing racial equity goals.
The Red Tab Foundation, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2021, is a public, nonprofit foundation set up to help LS&Co. employees, retirees and their families who face unexpected financial hardship. Widely thought to be the first employee-funded corporate hardship fund, it provides financial assistance, education and preventive programs to help these individuals in their own efforts to maintain their financial, physical and emotional health. A valuable safety net contributed to by employees for other employees, it serves as the connecting point between people needing help and those providing it. Current employees are eligible for support from their first day of employment and funds are distributed as grants or short-term, no-interest loans.
During the Red Tab Foundation’s 2022 fiscal year (June 2021-May 2022), the Foundation provided $2.2 million in cash grants, helping to alleviate 1,880 hardships. The Red Tab Foundation raised the most money from employees and retirees in the Foundation’s history — $2.1. million — that went directly to people in need. Since its founding in 1981, the Red Tab Foundation has helped more than 27,000 grantees, providing assistance of about $28.7 million.
Five case managers in the U.S. and in our company-operated factories in South Africa and Poland provided empathetic support and rapid access to funds, with assistance from human resources partners around the globe. As in 2020, the Red Tab Foundation provided substantially higher levels of support to employees and retirees — roughly double that of a pre-pandemic year and the second-highest grant giving in the Foundation’s history. The Red Tab Foundation continues to address the impacts of today’s global challenges on employees, including more frequent extreme weather events, rising fuel prices and ongoing pandemic impacts.
The annual (Run) For Red Tab was held virtually in 2021, with employees running, walking, biking, swimming, jump-roping and hula-hooping to raise money for the Red Tab Foundation. Across the company, more than 500 employees across 38 countries selected an activity and set up a fundraiser in their networks, collected donations for the Foundation — a total of almost $140,000 to support LS&Co. employees and retirees facing hardship.
The annual (Run) For Red Tab was held virtually in 2021, with employees running, walking, biking, swimming, jump-roping and hula-hooping to raise money for the Red Tab Foundation. Across the company, more than 500 employees across 38 countries selected an activity and set up a fundraiser in their networks, collected donations for the Foundation — a total of almost $140,000 to support LS&Co. employees and retirees facing hardship.
The Red Tab Foundation created and shares the Hardship Fund Playbook, open sourcing its learnings from four decades of operations for others to use. The playbook had been downloaded nearly 1,000 times by global public institutions, Fortune 500 companies, nonprofits and small businesses alike, reflecting the unique leadership of our program in the industry. The Foundation also advises other companies, such as by hosting calls and information-sharing sessions for those that want to start new hardship funds or strengthen existing programs.
The Red Tab Foundation created and shares the Hardship Fund Playbook, open sourcing its learnings from four decades of operations for others to use. The playbook had been downloaded nearly 1,000 times by global public institutions, Fortune 500 companies, nonprofits and small businesses alike, reflecting the unique leadership of our program in the industry. The Foundation also advises other companies, such as by hosting calls and information-sharing sessions for those that want to start new hardship funds or strengthen existing programs.
The Red Tab Savers program is available to hourly employees in the U.S. and Canada to help them build a short-term emergency fund and a habit of savings. The 6-month matched savings fund also provides a dollar-for-dollar match from the Red Tab Foundation. During the Red Tab Foundation’s 2022 fiscal year, more than 1,900 frontline retail store and distribution center employees have taken part, and participants hit an impressive milestone of collectively saving $1 million of their own money since the program launched.
The Red Tab Savers program is available to hourly employees in the U.S. and Canada to help them build a short-term emergency fund and a habit of savings. The 6-month matched savings fund also provides a dollar-for-dollar match from the Red Tab Foundation. During the Red Tab Foundation’s 2022 fiscal year, more than 1,900 frontline retail store and distribution center employees have taken part, and participants hit an impressive milestone of collectively saving $1 million of their own money since the program launched.
Each year, employees across the company give both time and money to the causes they care about. In 2021, employees in 36 countries either made donations or volunteered to support 1,234 causes. Their donations totaled almost $1 million, a total that climbed to nearly $1.7 million given matching donations from LS&Co. A total of 18% of LS&Co. employees either donated money, volunteered or both in calendar year 2021, which is 4 percentage points higher than industry peers according to benchmarks compiled by Benevity, a charitable donation management platform. Notably, participation increased among our retail store employees by almost 6%.
We provide employees with tools and resources to become informed on issues and make a difference in their own communities. Our company culture empowers them to use their voice and volunteer their time to make a difference on the issues that matter most to them. We connect them with opportunities to get involved and provide 5 paid hours per month for civic engagement and volunteering with causes important to them. Their charitable giving impact is doubled up to $2,000 per year with a match from the Levi Strauss Foundation. And in keeping with our commitment to voting, encouraging all eligible voters to participate in their democracy, we provide U.S.-based employees with paid time off to vote.
In 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic continued to create obstacles for volunteers to engage in person. For instance, LS&Co. reinvented our traditional global Community Day, our company-wide volunteer event that takes place in more than 100 cities on the same day, to include remote and individual options over 60 days. Collectively, corporate, retail and distribution employees clocked almost 13,000 hours of volunteer service in calendar year 2021. Overall participation of LS&Co. employees, whether giving or volunteering, continued to be ahead of retail industry average.
152 team volunteer grants were awarded in 2021, supporting 122 nonprofits
1,917 causes supported by individual employees globally
The past two years have emphasized just how important our advocacy, grantmaking and volunteering tools are in helping us to address pressing social issues, enable employees to engage on issues important to them, uphold our obligations to communities, and build a workplace that truly lives its values. We will continue on all these fronts, seeing them as key elements to delivering profits through principles.
This includes continuing our efforts to protect voting rights and enable voter participation. We will also continue monitoring the public policy landscape and seeking opportunities for advocacy to promote gun safety. This includes supporting organizations aligned with the Safer Tomorrow Fund’s objectives and increasing awareness of the gun violence happening in communities across the U.S. For example, in June 2022, we led an effort to get business leaders to sign a CEO Letter to the U.S. Senate calling for gun violence prevention legislation — a letter that had more than 420 signatories just days after it was first launched. We anticipate advancing our environmental justice grantmaking portfolio through 2022 and beyond.
We will also continue to make the business case for sound, comprehensive federal climate policy in the U.S. This includes partnering with the Ceres Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy (BICEP) network and America is All In coalition to advocate for legislation that prioritizes investments in clean energy and modernizing electrical, water and transportation infrastructure.
As in the past, we will leverage the leadership of the Levi Strauss Foundation to advance pioneering social change by investing in our communities on the issues and events of our time, such as by supporting causes that support inclusive democracy. The Red Tab Foundation team will continue working toward its 2024 strategic plan, which aims to expand program awareness and access around the globe, with a particular focus on Latin America, and serving as a connection point for the LS&Co. community.
