Today, Fast Company announced the winners of its 2021 World Changing Ideas Awards — honoring businesses, policies, projects and concepts that are actively engaged and deeply committed to pursuing innovation when it comes to solving health and climate crises, social injustice or economic inequality. We are thrilled to announce the Levi’s® WellThread® x re:newcell collaboration was selected as a winner in the consumer products category.
The Levi’s® WellThread® collaboration with re:newcell led to the launch of our most sustainable jeans ever, a garment made with organic cotton and Circulose®, a breakthrough material from re:newcell developed in part from worn-out jeans. Available online now, this jean represents more than five years of research in circular denim design. This collaboration further marks a significant milestone in the fashion industry’s pursuit of circularity and an important step in our journey to reduce the environmental impact of our products. By using high-quality recycled denim, we reduced the water, chemical and CO2 footprint of the garment and kept used denim out of landfills.
“It really ups the opportunity for fiber and garment recycling to become legitimate displacement opportunities to wean ourselves off the need for huge quantities of first-generation cotton,” Paul Dillinger, VP of design innovation and Levi’s, told Fast Company.
Now in its fifth year, the World Changing Ideas Awards showcase winners, finalists and honorable mentions across an array of categories. The 2021 awards feature entries from across the globe, showcasing some of the world’s most inventive entrepreneurs and companies tackling exigent global challenges. Check out the feature on fastcompany.com and on newsstands May 11.
