To help community organizations become more sustainable, Levi Strauss & Co. launches a $100,000 denim insulation fund, an initiative designed to reuse unwanted denim while keeping it out of landfills. The company will provide grants to organizations currently undergoing construction projects to offset the cost difference of using recycled denim insulation instead of conventional insulation.

The company will be accepting proposals from non-profit organizations from October 1— November 21, 2010. This program is for U.S. based nonprofits organizations. Additional details about the program and how to submit a proposal can be found at www.levistrauss.com. Levi Strauss & Co. provided a grant earlier this year to The Trust for Public Land to help the organization upgrade to denim insulation.

In 2008, the company donated more than 200,000 pairs of recycled jeans to insulate the newly reopened California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, helping the building earn the highest possible LEED environmental rating. Recycled denim insulation can also be found throughout the company’s newly renovated headquarters in San Francisco.

The denim insulation fund is just one way Levi Strauss & Co. is working to decrease the environmental impact of clothes. According to recent Levi Strauss & Co. research about the lifecycle of a pair of Levi’s 501 jeans, nearly 60 percent of the environmental impact comes after consumers take their jeans home. That’s why last year the company launched the «Care Tag for Our Planet» campaign, changing the product care tags in Levi’s jeans to include instructions about ways consumers can reduce the environmental impact of their clothes by washing less, washing in cold, line drying and donating when no longer needed. Consumers can also promise to care for their jeans and the planet by taking the Care Tag Pledge online at www.levi.com/care.