Nice Idea. Now Lower the Price by 75%.

New 'green' jeans to hit the shelves
11 October 2006
Daily Mail

For the first time since [Levi Strauss] started making trousers for cowboys more than 100 years ago, the famous clothing company is bringing out a pair of "sustainable" jeans to satisfy environmentalists.

The cotton is organic, the button on the waistband is made of coconut shell, there are no metal rivets, the dye is from natural compounds include indigo and the label is from recycled cardboard.
As the factory is in Hungary, the cotton will come from Turkey, the nearest available source, and other materials will come from Europe too, to cut down on long distant transport and associated fuel costs.

Not that it will stop the trendy trousers from having a hefty price tag, at least to start off with. According to reports the first pairs in the US will sell for 250 dollars each, around £140 here.
But there are also plans to steadily bring the prices down as the company introduces organic versions for as little as £40-60.

Levi's Eco, as they will be called when they launch in November, is the US company's response to growing pressure from the green lobby.
A spokeswoman said: "When you wear them, you can honestly say that you are making a small contribution to a better world." [Or at least to Levi's bottom line - M.H.]

You Nguyen, Levi's senior vice president added: "There is clearly a trend towards organic and environmentally responsible products.
"With Levi's eco jeans, we are reaching out to fashion-conscious consumers interested in high-quality products that demand less from the environment."

The dye does not use any chemicals but instead is made from a process involving natural indigo, potato starch, mimosa flower and Marseille soap...

Even the "lower priced" organic versions will cost $ 75, which is three times more than I've ever paid for a pair of jeans. If Levi's can get them to retail for $ 50 or less, then I'll take a look.

But really, all of my clothing purchases "make a small contribution to a better world". They're either used, which theoretically means that the world is saved from having to make me a new one, or a fraction of the purchase price of those that I buy new goes towards preventing a Chinese person from starving.