A Care Tag for Our Planet: Levi's(R) Care Tags Promote Donating to Goodwill

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Jan 25, 2010, 09:04 ET

First Levi's(R) Jeans with Care Tags Now on Store Shelves

ROCKVILLE, Md., Jan. 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Goodwill and Levi's® are launching a new initiative this month, "Care Tag for Our Planet," designed at diverting billions of pounds of unwanted clothing from landfills. Levi's® jeans now feature a care tag that encourages owners to donate to Goodwill when no longer needed. The tags are a unique vehicle for educating consumers about how to care for their clothes responsibly.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090716/DC47803LOGO)

Donating to Goodwill not only diverts unwanted items from landfills but also helps people who need it most in local communities. Donations of gently used clothing and other items are sold in Goodwill stores, where the revenues help fund job training programs, employment placement services and other community-based programs for people with disabilities, those who lack education or job experience, and those facing other challenges to finding employment.

"The simple act of donating your used Levi's® jeans to Goodwill helps to reduce the approximately 23.8 billion pounds of clothing and textiles that go into U.S. landfills each year," said Jim Gibbons, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International. "The 166 local, independent Goodwill agencies in the United States and Canada use those donations to create job training services that help more than 1.5 million people."

"Care Tag for Our Planet" is the first partnership of its kind to encourage donation as a way to extend the life cycle of clothing and textiles and reduce the environmental impact of caring for clothing. As a kick-off to the launch, shoppers who donate clothes to Goodwill during the week of January 25 will also receive a 30-percent off coupon for regular priced items purchased at Levi's® Stores.

"Our research shows that the greatest opportunities for reducing environmental impact happen after consumers take their jeans home," said Robert Hanson, president of Levi Strauss Americas. "That is why we're excited to partner with Goodwill to let people know that they have a huge role in the climate change impact of their clothes. Together we hope to inspire people to wash in cold water, line dry and donate unwanted clothing and other textiles to Goodwill."

Tag, you're it. Because caring for our planet never goes out of style.

To learn more about "A Care Tag for Our Planet", go to http://donate.goodwill.org/care.

To find Goodwill in your area, call (800) 664-6577 or visit www.goodwill.org.

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ABOUT GOODWILL INDUSTRIES INTERNATIONAL

Goodwill Industries International is a network of 180 community-based, independent agencies in the United States, Canada, and 13 other countries. One of the nation's top five most valuable and recognized nonprofit brands as well as a leading social services enterprise, Goodwill generates opportunities for people to achieve economic stability and build strong families and vibrant communities by offering job training programs, employment placement services and other community-based programs for people who have disabilities, lack education or job experience, or face other challenges to finding employment . To pay for its programs, Goodwill sells donated clothes and other household items in more than 2,300 retail stores and online at shopgoodwill.com. Local Goodwill agencies also build revenue and create jobs by contracting with businesses and government to provide a wide range of commercial services, including packaging and assembly, food service preparation, and document imaging and shredding. More than 1.5 million people in the United States and Canada benefit from Goodwill's career services. Goodwill channels 84 percent of its revenues directly into its programs and services. To find your local Goodwill, use the online locator at www.goodwill.org or call (800) 664-6577.

ABOUT LEVI STRAUSS & CO.

Levi Strauss & Co. is one of the world's largest branded apparel companies and the global leader in jeanswear, marketing its products in more than 110 countries worldwide. The company designs and markets jeans, casual wear and related accessories for men, women and children under the Levi's®, Dockers® and Signature by Levi Strauss & Co.™ brands. Levi Strauss & Co. reported fiscal 2008 net revenues of $4.4 billion. For more information, go to http://levistrauss.com.

SOURCE Goodwill Industries International