Levi’s targets Gen Z with new sustainability campaign

The ‘Buy Better, Wear Longer’ initiative serves as a call-to-action for Gen Zers, urging them to reuse, repurpose, and reduce their consumer footprint.

Levi’s – one of the fashion industry’s biggest names and a long-time pioneer of sustainability – is on a mission to raise awareness about our collective responsibility to tackle the environmental impact of clothing production and consumption.

Launching Monday, the denim brand’s new multi-platform global campaign (their first in three years) will ask consumers to consider investing in quality garments designed to last, rather than further contributing to the climate crisis by purchasing cheaper, disposable items more often.

‘Ultimately, Levi’s denim is meant to be worn for generations, not seasons,’ said Levi’s Brand President, Jen Sey, in a statement.

‘So, we are using this campaign to encourage consumers to be more intentional about their apparel choices: to wear each item longer, for example, to buy second-hand, or to use our in-store Tailor Shops to extend the life of their garments.’

Titled ‘Buy Better, Wear Longer,’ the initiative is serving as a call-to-action for Gen Zers, urging them to reuse, repurpose, and reduce their waste output.

With this conscious demographic in mind, Levi’s has tapped the likes of Marcus Rashford, Emma Chamberlain, and Jaden Smith – alongside some remarkable young activists – to endorse their message.

In terms of why the brand is directly appealing to 16–24-year-olds, according to Sey, their concern about the future of our planet is bringing about more, concrete change than ever before.

In fact, VoxBurner’s 2020 Youth Trends Report revealed that 97% of Zers have switched up their behaviour to protect the environment in one way or another. If that doesn’t prove to you the power Gen Z holds, I don’t know what will.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7ZBIcUz-lE&t=3s&ab_channel=Levi%27s%C2%AE

At its core, ‘Buy Better, Wear Longer,’ is striving to counteract the message that we constantly need to keep up with the latest fads.

Personally, after the year we’ve just had and the reckoning faced by fashion during a pandemic-induced reset period, this comes as no surprise. But it’s certainly encouraging to see such an established brand promoting something this important.

The campaign also encapsulates Levi’s ongoing efforts to drive more sustainable production practices including investing in materials and technologies like organic cotton, scaling waterless manufacturing, and pushing for ambitious climate-focused action.

Consequently, they’ve recycled close to a staggering ten billion litres of water since their founding.

‘The world we live in encourages us to constantly buy,’ says trailblazing Zer, Jaden Smith.

‘It puts us in this bad cycle. I’m glad that Levi’s is changing that message by making thrifting cool. And I’m even happier to see that Levi’s is supporting these amazing young voices who are all speaking up for the environment. The tides are turning.’

As Sey puts it, ‘the more of us that can get behind change, the more powerful and likely it becomes.’ And by Jove does she have a point.

Read more about the campaign’s partners here.