Clothing company Levi Strauss has reported that it has saved one billion litres of water since 2011 through its Water Less process, which reduces by up to 96% the amount used in garment finishing.
The figure is included in the firm’s new lifecycle assessment (LCA) report, which updates it inaugural LCA study, published in 2007. The company says the latest report analysed the complete product lifecycle, probing deeper into the environmental impacts of cotton in key growing regions, apparel production and distribution in a range of locations, and consumer washing and drying habits in key markets.
It found that, on average, a pair of jeans consumes almost 3,800 litres of water throughout their lifetime – more than two-thirds (68%) during the cultivation of the cotton and almost a quarter (23%) after they are purchased by a consumer.
The LCA also discovered that the consumer is responsible for the biggest proportion of energy and climate impacts – 37% of the 33.4kg of carbon emitted during the lifecycle of a pair of jeans.