Levi’s jeans are pretty sustainable. Don’t believe us? The company recently calculated just how much water it takes to produce its jeans. All in all, the water usage it takes to make a pair of the company’s jeans is rather low.

According to Levi’s “Life Cycle Assessment,” it only takes 2,835 liters of water to produce a pair of the company’s popular 501 jeans. The company has been able to curb its water usage in a number of ways:

The company works with the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI). BCI works to make “global cotton production better for the people who produce it, better for the environment it grows in and better for the sector’s future.”

The company also has recently created “water saving and recycling processes to their manufacturing facilities.”

In addition to doing a lot of internal work to make its jeans more environmentally friendly, Levi’s is also urging its customers to consider water usage when caring for their jeans. The company urges its consumers to wash jeans after several wears and to use cold water when washing jeans. Levi’s also asks buyers to line dry their clothing rather than use a conventional dryer. The company came out with is “Life Cycle Assessment” before World Water Day (March 22).

As our readers know, watching your personal water usage is imperative to helping our world survive and thrive. I’m incredibly “eco-minded,” but am always finding new ways to limit my personal water usage.

Similar to many Levi’s consumers, I wash my jeans rarely. I also limit my water usage by washing everything on a cold rinse cycle, by taking incredibly short showers, and only washing my hair once or twice a week.

Do you know of any other companies who are as water usage savvy as Levi’s? How do you limit your water usage?

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Image: Michael Carian

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The new film “Watermark” looks at our massive dependence on a finite resource.

The opening scene of “Watermark,” a new film from Edward Burtynsky and Jennifer Baichwal, creates a disorienting effect that leaves the viewer feeling tiny against the pure force of water. The film takes features 20 stories across 10 countries in what director Baichwal, (“Manufactured Landscapes” and “Payback”), calls a “river-like rhythm.” Inspired by Burtynsky’s images, the numerous stories create an overarching narrative around the ways we use, control and pollute water.

After working with Butynsky on “Manufactured Landscapes” (2006), Baichwal wanted to team up with the photographer again. His work had been the focus of her previous film about industrial manufacturing. When she saw the images he had been working on for a National Geographic essay about water in California, she knew it was the next film.

She felt that the dire tone of other environmental docs failed. Instead Watermark presents a visually compelling story that combines aerial vantages, macros shots and time lapses to present a holistic and artistic perspective. Baichwal said they wanted to capture the full reach of human interaction with water, resulting in a 90 minute film edited from 200 hours of footage.

“Watermark” moves between the expansive industrial projects around water, like China’s Xiluodu Dam, which is six times the size of the Hoover Dam, and the individual human interactions with water, such as the water guard pacing the rice paddies of Yunnan, making sure no one diverts his family’s supply. The lone guard’s patrol of trickling waterways contrasts with the Maha Kumbh Mela, a ritual gathering of 30 million people who bathe in a sacred river. Baichwal said the Maha Kumbh Mela served as the “spiritual connection to the water.”

“We had broad and respectful ways of filming these stories,” Baichwal said. “Instead of having experts talking about it, we had the people living it.”

Another story focuses on the Dhaka, Bangledesh, leather tanneries that pump chemicals into the local water supply, highlighting the interconnectedness of different water usages. The same water used to process hides is later used for washing people and their clothes. In another scene the parched Colorado River Delta serves as a distinct contrast to the pools of Discovery Bay, a community built right onto the California Delta, built mere feet away from a body of water. California agriculture needs the scarce resource to produce the substantial amounts of produce it supplies the rest of the country, while the abalone farms near China’s Fujian coast are built into the water itself. There are parallels and divergences in how water is used by people around the world, but the recurring theme is that it is necessary for existence.

“It’s interesting living in Canada, which has about twenty percent of world’s fresh water supply. It’s very easy to take advantage of it,” Baichwal said. “When you see the devastating effects of water pollution it’s impossible to take it for granted.”

She wanted to create a greater awareness of and respect for water, but wanted to approach it different from other environmental documentaries. Instead of inundating viewers with interviews from experts, she chose a more philosophical approach. “We wanted to create a river – we wanted to immerse viewers in it,” Baichwal explained.

“I’m much more interested in understanding the complexity. Acknowledging complexity means not making quick judgements,” she said. “We worked hard on this film. Wanted to open up a space and move people. The power of film is that it can move you. The goal of the film is to do that and create an awareness, or expand our awareness, of this incredible natural force.”

Burtynsky’s studio is featured frequently as he makes edits to his book, Burtynsky-Water, which spans five years of work. The photographs were also part of a traveling exhibition in 2013, making this project a multi-platform experience.

The film, which won Best Documentary at the Canadian Screen Awards and Best Canadian Film from the Toronto Film Critics Association, is playing around the USA in limited release.- Bianca Hernandez

This article originally appears on Sierra Magazine

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Understanding the organic behind the wool.

Technically wool is organic, but the processes involved in turning the fiber into soft sweaters, mittens and heavy winter coats renders it a far cry from the original plush coats of fluffy sheep. Unfortunately, a large percentage of wool fiber comes from farms where pesticides, insecticides and chemical inputs have become the norm that are depended on.

Conventional wool farming also often involves a toxic and cruel procedure called “dipping,” in which sheep are submerged in pools of chemical parasiticides. Not only does dipping have severely negative effects on the health of the sheep, but studies have found that these parasiticides can cause changes in human nervous systems. Disposal of the dipping liquids can also contaminate ground water, looping right back into the entire process.

H Fredriksson

Wool production is classified as livestock production, and organic wool farming requires strict adherence to a set of rules and standards. This means farmers cannot use any chemical inputs on their fields or their feed crops and must steer clear of chemical based insecticides and pesticides. The fiber bearing animals can only be fed 100% organic grains, graze on organic pastures, cannot be vaccinated with anything synthetic, and should be well-managed and cared for.

Wool farmers must therefore control parasites without chemicals, keep pastures clean and provide good nutrition for their livestock in order to keep them as happy and healthy as possible. Sustainability is also practiced through organic wool farming, as stocking ratios are set so that the land can regenerate itself and sustain its environment and the animals grazing on it. Mills that process the wool must also be free of synthetic chemicals and demonstrate water consciousness, methods that are not deemed viable in the world of fast fashion.

However, thanks to the efforts of farmers, textile producers and designers that understand the importance of sustainable livestock management and production, organic wool can make its way into our closets. Wool is an extremely versatile option for apparel, since its natural cell structure allows it breathable qualities that can be applied for warming or cooling effects, especially when blended with other fibers.

Jasco is a fabric producer that has noticed this and has been providing fashion designers with eco fabrics made in the USA since 2005. One of their most popular products is their range of organic wool, which is sourced by the likes of Carrie Parry, Helena Fredriksson, Rolando Santana, Nicole Bridger and Araks. New York City based designer Eviana Hartman of Bodkin has also favored organic wool in her contemporary designs, featuring it in her fall collection for German label Hessnatur.

Bodkin

The Fibershed Project in Northern California fully integrates the concepts of organic livestock management and fiber production. Three of the farmers in Fibershed produce wool through sustainable methods and a high level of animal care. Farmers Jean Muir and Sally Fox raise Merino sheep that produce extremely beautiful, fine gauge wool in a range of natural colors, while Julie Rosenfeld keeps a very healthy flock of alpaca and Alisson Arnold obtains fluffy fleece from her angora rabbits.

Their wool can be purchased either as raw fiber, yarn or finished garments online at the Fibershed Marketplace. These farmers demonstrate the versatility in wool types that even one breed of sheep can produce, as everything from the rainfall to the grass quality and food type in a certain area will affect the type of wool that the animals offer.

Imperial Knits in northeastern Oregon produces wool by considering the impact of each part of their production process. Although not certified organic, their methods are often more sustainable and considerate of the land than what certification guidelines require. They have integrated a no plow method that has improved soil tilth and radically reduced their use of fossil fuels.

Imperial Knits transports their wool to a family-owned mill in Alberta that uses no sulfuric acid, chemicals or extreme heating in processing the wool, nonetheless producing beautiful, fine quality wool. Imperial Knits yarn can be purchased online and in yarn shops nationwide alongside creative director Anna Cohen’s gorgeous patterns. Make sure to check out her next runway show at Portland Fashion Week in October.

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