Travel Through 50 Years of a Pair of Levi 501’s in Latest Buy Better, Wear Longer Initiative
On September 21st, Levi’s is launching the next iteration of its ‘Buy Better, Wear Longer’ campaign which builds on the brand’s long-term commitment to making fashion more sustainable and prolonging the lifespan of its products. Levi’s is on a mission to help consumers love their jeans for decades, not seasons.
To support this effort, Levi’s teams up with AKQA to create a cinematic short film from the perspective of a pair of Levi’s that tells a multigenerational story: the film takes us through the life of Levi’s most iconic design, the 501. Transformed through the decades with each owner, adapting to the style of the times, the 501 is just as relevant, and wearable today as it was in the 1960s.
“The campaign speaks to Levi’s legacy, durability, and appeal to a broad global audience. A pair of Levi’s ages beautifully, engaging generation after generation, with a few tweaks and changes. Timeless and versatile, yet fashionable -- no matter the decade. This message is more relevant today than ever before, when we’re all thinking how we can contribute to a more sustainable future” - Karen Riley-Grant, global chief marketing officer
The Buy Better, Wear Longer campaign is both a plea and a promise. It’s a plea for consumers to be more intentional about their purchasing decisions and to look for ways to rewear, repurpose, and hold on to their clothes as long as possible, before passing them down to future generations. And it’s a commitment from the brand to continue its work on numerous fronts to be responsible stewards of the natural resources we use, to innovate across its design and manufacturing platforms to become more sustainable, and to move towards more circular products and practices across the board.
Climate, consumption, and community are at the core of our approach to sustainability, and Levi’s is pursuing a variety of initiatives to support this vision: Investment in materials such as Cottonised Hemp and Organic Cotton, which reduce water consumption; pioneering Water<Less manufacturing in denim; launching the Second Hand resale platform and featuring in-store tailors to repair and repurpose garments. Most of all, Levi’s has open-sourced their learnings and tools to affect broader change. Today, Levi’s continues to work alongside partners and leaders like Fashion for Good and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to help shift the industry to a more circular model and Levi’s R&D lab, WellThread, constantly searches for radical new ways to make clothes that can reduce its environmental footprint.
“Reconfiguring supply chains takes time but we have found partners that are as concerned about their footprint, and are as excited to experiment as us. These collaborations have allowed us to introduce more circularity in how we make our products.” - Paul Dillinger, vice president, head of global product innovation
The Buy Better, Wear Longer short film will launch worldwide on September 21st across digital and social platforms. To build on their message, Levi’s will also highlight stories from their partners and changemakers Xiye Bastida, Melati Wijsen, and Emma Chamberlain, who have been an integral part of the campaign since its launch last year and represent the next generation of voices on sustainability.
