Levi’s fellowship will reward sustainability
Denim company Levi Strauss & Co (LS&Co.) have launched an annual fellowship programme to reward socially and environmentally conscious entrepreneurs who are helping to create a more sustainable apparel industry.
The LS&Co. Collaboratory will allow innovators, designers and entrepreneurs to work together to advance sustainability in the industry. They will have access to LS&Co.’s Eureka Innovation Lab and be able to make use of the company’s resources and staff expertise to further their design ambitions. Fellows may also receive up to $50,000 to develop their sustainable ideas.
“As an industry, we need to make sustainability a top priority and this means coming together to tackle the big social and environmental issues of our time,” said Chip Bergh, CEO of LS&Co. “The LS&Co. Collaboratory embeds the principles we’ve followed over the last 163 years to help foster the next generation of designers and entrepreneurs so that together we can build an apparel industry that restores the environment and protects our most vital resources.”
The curriculum, which will be designed by the Aspen Institute Business & Society Program, will focus on a different social and environmental issue each year including textile waste, water shortages and workers’ rights. The initial fellowship will be targeted at entrepreneurs interested in developing new technologies and techniques to reduce the amount of water wasted by the apparel industry.
