Levi’s Automates Finishing Process, Saving Time and Cutting Chemicals

(Photo Credit: Levi Strauss & Co.)

by | Mar 5, 2018

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Levi Strauss & Co. jeans finishing automation supply chain

(Photo Credit: Levi Strauss & Co.)

Levi Strauss & Co. is piloting a new operating model that replaces labor-intensive manual finishing techniques with an automated digital laser-based system. Called Project Future-Led Execution or Project FLX, Levi’s model shortens the time to market, and cuts chemicals from the finishing process.

Project FLX was developed in-house by designers, developers, chemists, and engineers at Levi Strauss & Co.’s Eureka Innovation Lab. They also collaborated with longtime partner Jeanologia on using laser technology for sustainable apparel manufacturing.

Previously, finishing jeans by hand to replicate the look of vintage denim required 18 to 20 steps per finish. Using laser technology for finishing the jeans reduces the number of steps to three, according to the company’s video about the model.

“For more than 30 years, the apparel industry has used hand-finishing to accentuate worn, faded design elements on denim,” the company says. “By using lasers in new ways, finishing time is cut dramatically — from two to three pairs per hour to 90 seconds per garment — followed by a final wash cycle.”

Digitization means the company can quickly replicate a pair of vintage jeans down to the whisker patterns and crackles. Project FLX also gives Levi’s on-demand and hyper-local capabilities.

Levi Strauss & Co. says new operating model enables them to:

  • Replace manual techniques and automate the time-consuming, labor-intensive, and chemical-reliant process of hand-finishing.
  • Use advanced imaging that cuts finishing design and development time in half, from months to weeks and sometimes days, and is so accurate that the digital files can be sent directly to the vendor and quickly scaled to mass manufacturing.
  • Stage garments that await their on-demand finish order closer to the market, reducing lead times from more than six months to as fast as weeks or days.
  • Eliminate thousands of chemical formulations from its supply chain.

LS&Co. plans to cut the total number of chemical formulations used in the finishing process from thousands to a few dozen. The company has committed to achieving zero discharge of hazardous chemicals by 2020.

Liz O’Neill, Levi Strauss & Co.’s chief supply chain officer, says the company is scaling the model across its entire denim supply chain. Some employees have already been retrained in software development and laser operations, and the company is starting to pilot Project FLX with vendors and retail partners. LS&Co. aims to roll out the model globally over the next two years.

Sustainable Denim Design and Manufacturing

The sustainability tide is turning in the denim manufacturing world. Apparel, footwear, and accessories company VF Corporation, which owns jeans brands including Lee and Wrangler, shifted to a circular business model. Letitia Webster, VF Corporation’s vice president of global corporate sustainability, told Environmental Leader that most of the impact of any company within the apparel industry comes from materials. In order to change that, she says, VF is focusing on rental, recommerce, and design for circularity.

Recently the Dutch denim-maker G-Star Raw detailed numerous changes within its supply chain to produce what the company calls the most sustainable denim ever. To help push the industry forward, they also made the information open-source through Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute’s Fashion Positive Materials Library.

The 3rd Annual Environmental Leader & Energy Manager Conference takes place May 15 – 17, 2018 in Denver. Learn more here.

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