When China's factories go green, the world profits

Roughly 20 pairs of jeans are sold in the United States every second. Imagine if all jeans were green—that is, if they were sustainably produced?

Levi Strauss & Co. took a step in that direction in 2011 when it partnered with EDF to improve the energy efficiency of its supply chain in China, where 40% of jeans sold by the apparel industry in America are made.

The project evolved from our partnership with retailing giant Walmart, in which EDF experts visited more than 400 Chinese factories to identify energy-saving opportunities.

• 33% of China’s greenhouse emissions are from exports.

“Energy efficiency is the fastest, most cost-effective way to cut greenhouse gas and air pollution in China,” says our project manager, Andrew Hutson, Ph.D. “Simple changes to lighting, heating and ventilation have yielded impressive results.”

Removing a barrier by raising money

Our partner in the Levi Strauss & Co. initiative is Sustainable Development Capital LLP, a London-based investment bank.

“One of the main barriers to energy efficiency improvements is the lack of access to capital,” says Hutson.

EDF is initially working with five denim mills, with a first-year goal of enrolling 100 factories and attracting $50 million in private capital to cut their energy use by 20 to 25%. Long term, we aim to unlock billions of dollars of capital to invest in energy efficiency for Asia’s entire textile industry.

As Levi Strauss & Co. says, quality never goes out of style. Neither should energy efficiency.