Evrnu™ and Levi Strauss & Co. Create First Jeans Made from Post-Consumer Cotton Garment Waste

Major industry advancement in sustainability and closed-loop
technology

SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#sustainability–Textile technology startup Evrnu™, SPC and global jeanswear leader Levi
Strauss & Co. (LS&Co.) today announced they have created the world’s
first jean made from regenerated post-consumer cotton waste. Using a
new, patent-pending recycling technology, discarded consumer waste is
converted into renewable fiber. The first prototype, in the form of a
pair of iconic Levi’s® 511® jeans, represents a future where textile
waste is reduced considerably and cotton garments are continually
regenerated to create a more sustainable world.

Each year in the U.S. alone, 13.1 million tons of textile waste is
created and of this 11 million tons ends up in landfills. Until now,
there hasn’t been a viable solution that effectively transforms old
clothes into new without compromising quality or strength. With Evrnu
technology, discarded cotton clothing can be turned into a new
cotton-like fiber, creating new possibilities.

The Levi’s® jean prototype, developed by Evrnu and the LS&Co. innovation
team, was created from approximately five discarded cotton T-shirts and
uses 98 percent less water than virgin cotton products, based on Evrnu
data. Both companies are aligned on the vision of creating a circular
economy that extends the life of cotton and eliminates waste by
breathing new life into used clothing.

“LS&Co. was the perfect first partner for us to demonstrate our
technology and capability as they are an iconic American company with a
product that’s recognized around the world,” says Evrnu CEO Stacy Flynn.
“Our aspiration is to build a pair of Levi’s jeans that are just as
beautiful and strong as the original and we’re making great progress
toward that goal.”

“This first prototype represents a major advancement in apparel
innovation. We have the potential to reduce by 98 percent the water that
would otherwise be needed to grow virgin cotton while giving multiple
lives to each garment,” said Paul Dillinger, head of global product
innovation at Levi Strauss & Co. “Although early days, this technology
holds great promise and is an exciting advancement as we explore the use
of regenerated cotton to help significantly reduce our overall impact on
the planet.”

LS&Co. was the first apparel company to partner with Evrnu and apply
their industry-altering technology into a garment. Evrnu executives
expect that LS&Co.’s participation will improve investor awareness and
represents the first step towards future commercialization of their
garment recycling technology.

For LS&Co., this collaboration is part of a wider innovation and
sustainability strategy. LS&Co. recently open sourced its Water<Less®
finishing techniques globally to increase adoption across the apparel
industry and reduce water consumption overall. The company is also
taking a more holistic approach to sustainable product design with its Wellthread®
products which consider social, environmental and economic
sustainability factors.

Through its lifecycle
assessment, LS&Co. identified that the cotton growing stage has the
biggest impact on water use during the product’s life. At 68 percent of
the total water used in the lifecycle of a pair of jeans, cotton
presents the biggest opportunity.

“By tackling water conservation through new fiber innovation, the
apparel industry has the potential to significantly reduce its water
footprint,” Dillinger continued. “As technologies such as Evrnu evolve
over time, there will be greater opportunities to accelerate the pace of
change towards a closed loop apparel industry.”

About Evrnu™, SPC

Evrnu™ is a social purpose corporation registered in the State of
Washington, USA and founded in 2014 for the purpose of addressing the
problem of the resource-intensive, environmentally negative impact of
the textile & apparel industries. The Evrnu technology safely converts
post-consumer cotton garment waste by breaking down to the molecular
level and converting in to a high quality, premium textile fiber. For
more information, go to: http://www.evrnu.com

About Levi Strauss & Co.

Levi Strauss & Co. is one of the world’s largest brand-name apparel
companies and a global leader in jeanswear. The company designs and
markets jeans, casual wear and related accessories for men, women and
children under the Levi’s®, Dockers®, Signature by Levi Strauss & Co.™,
and Denizen® brands. Its products are sold in more than 110 countries
worldwide through a combination of chain retailers, department stores,
online sites, and a global footprint of approximately 2,800 retail
stores and shop-in-shops. Levi Strauss & Co.’s reported fiscal 2015 net
revenues were $4.5 billion. For more information, go to http://levistrauss.com.

Contacts

Evrnu, SPC
Amy DuFault, 508-364-2833
Amy@evrnu.com
or
Levi
Strauss & Co.
Amber McCasland, 415-501-7777
newsmediarequests@levi.com