By Thomas Miner

May 27, 2010 – According to a recent lifecycle assessment conducted by Levi’s, almost 60% of the climate impact associated with a pair of jeans happens during the laundry phase - after a consumer takes them home - and over 80% of that impact happens during the drying. The company hopes to drastically reduce this number by promoting air-drying through their Care to Air competition.

While Levi’s is working toward completely eliminating their company carbon footprint, the fact that 60% of their product’s impact takes place after it leaves the factory means that greatest opportunity to improve their environmental performance is by engaging consumers.  By air-drying jeans, consumers can eliminate the largest impact their clothing has on the environment, as the clothes-dryer is the second biggest energy using appliance in the home.

The competition itself will award $10,000 to the person who can design the world’s most innovative, covetable, and sustainable air-drying solution for clothing. Levi’s is sponsoring the challenge in partnership with the Myoo Create community, an online platform where designers can submit their ideas, view other submissions, and vote for their favorite. Entries can be submitted starting June 1 and the challenge closes on July 31 for voting.

To learn more about Care to Air or view and submit project ideas visit the Myoo site here. You can also read more about Levi’s other efforts by visiting their site.