Levi’s | Water<Less Jeans | $68
This post is less about fashion and more about a company doing something to correct a problem that I never even knew existed. Did you know that it takes a ton of water to manufacture a pair of jeans? Well, it did.
Levi’s used to wash a pair of jeans between 3 and 10 times during the manufacturing process. Apparently all that water (and, undoubtedly, chemical and dye runoff) adds up. Now, with their Water<Less line, they wash them once. By Spring 2001, they will have saved 16 million gallons of water.
Presumably they will still be dying the rest of their jeans in the traditional fashion, but this is a good start… Particularly because Kelly Bernander, Director of Corporate Communications for Levi Strauss, says, “This won’t be a proprietary formula. We’re talking to companies doing similar things.” Nice.
Dana Lee | Double-Chambray Soft Jeans | $230
Uniqlo | Corduroy 14 Wale Regular Fit Jeans | $30
Gap | Selvage Authentic Fit Jeans | $88
A little back story… I bought a pair of A.P.C. Petit Standards last November, and since I wore them 4 or 5 times a week since then, they have unsightly and embarrassing holes worn in the crotch. After getting called out on them one too many times, I’ve decided to send them off to Denim Therapy to be repaired.
The only problem? They were my sole pair of jeans. So this past weekend I headed to the Gap to pick up a pair of inexpensive and unoffensive jeans to act as an interim replacement and was pleasantly surprised to see that the Gap is coming correct with the Authentic.
I think in the early ’90s the Gap was actually a cool place to get your jeans, but I’m not sure because I was 8 years old. Regardless, that was before the rise of ultra premium denim, but I think THE GREAT RECESSION has taken some of the wind out of that movement’s sails.
BOTTOM LINE: If you are looking for a pair of jeans that fit well, come in a variety of washes, and won’t drive you to bankruptcy—the standard issue version is only $55 and selvage will run you just $88—the Authentic by Gap is actually a pretty legitimate choice.
