The program will see broken-in, but still wearable, Levi’s denim pieces revived and re-sold to extend their life, taking way from what Levi’s and e-consignment company ThredUp cite as the 64% of the 32 billion garments produced each year that end up in a landfill. Through the program, customers can sell their used Levi’s denim pieces back to the brand at participating Levi’s stores in exchange for gift cards worth $15 to $25 that can be used for future purchases. Items that are too well-worn to resell will be exchanged for a $5 credit and recycled in partnership with Renewcell, a clothing recycling company.       

Those pieces that are in good quality will be cleaned and put up for sale on Levi’s secondhand marketplace, with prices ranging from $30 to $100 — a competitive price point compared to what many reclaimed or used vintage Levi’s denim pieces sell for online on sites like Ebay, Etsy, Poshmark and Depop. “Repurposing and repairing clothes requires minimal additional energy input, no water and no dyes to make more jeans,” said Levi’s CMO, Jennifer Sey. “Buying a used pair of Levi’s through SecondHand saves approximately 80% of the CO2 emissions and 700 grams of waste compared to buying a new pair of Levi’s.”The new marketplace can be shopped at secondhand.levi.com.Levi’s SecondHand joins the denim brand’s several other sustainability projects, including Waterless.