Green Jeans

Eco-friendly clothes go mainstream

October 16, 2006—Environmentally friendly clothes are a lot of things—comfortable, unpretentious, patchouli-scented—but fashionable hasn't traditionally been one of them. A number of companies, both big and small, have been trying to change that state of affairs lately, though, and one of the most promising examples of this trend arrives next month in the form of Levi's new Eco line of denim. Made from 100-percent-organic cotton (the designation can indicate any number of things—here it essentially means the crops were grown and harvested in ways that don't degrade the environment), the jeans come in two varieties—Red Tab and Capital E—and are stylish enough to attract an audience beyond followers of the Tao of Woody Harrelson. "It's the right idea at the right time," says Levi's president, Robert Hanson, who's evidently seeing two kinds of green. "Look at the food industry: Whole Foods has been one of the biggest success stories while charging a significant premium."

Another devotee of the green gospel is British label Bamford & Sons, which recently introduced a range of menswear made of Japanese organic cotton and leather goods tanned with chemical-free vegetable dyes. As more and more brands hop on the (hybrid-powered) bandwagon, they're bound to realize there's only so much raw material to go around. "Less than one percent of all available cotton is organic," says Hanson. Not that he's complaining—in the fashion world, a little scarcity has its advantages.

Levi's Eco jeans, $68–$245, select Levi's stores.