Levi Strauss & Co.

Headquarters location: 1155 Battery St. San Francisco, CA 94111 Tel. 415-501-6000 Job offers, investor relations: www.levistrauss.com

Levi Strauss belongs to shareholder country     % source Robert Haas 100	Brands name items photo compare the prices Dockers Ethishop Farvista Ethishop Levi's Ethishop Middlebrook Ethishop Slates Ethishop Shop local, ethical and at the best price on Ethishop !
« ETHICAL » RATING OF LEVI_STRAUSS , group Robert Haas and subsidiaries [?] 4 Labor: 4 violation(s) of fundamental labor rights 1 Delinquency: 1 act(s) of financial or trade delinquency 8 Tax haven, secret bank account, shell companies: operates in 8 offshore financial center(s) 2 Influence: 2 act(s) of direct corruption or lobbying Full profile >>>
World locations & Manufacturing country incentive : address & contact : production type source   : 1 facility   : 8 facilities   : 6 facilities   : 11 facilities   : 8 facilities   : 107 facilities   Financial Ti.   : 8 facilities   Levi Strauss Eximco de Columbia Limitada :   Pereira :   : 21 facilities : 2 facilities : 3 facilities   : 2 facilities   : 1 facility : 1 facility Levi Strauss (Hong Kong) Ltd :   : 30 facilities   Levi Strauss (India) Private Ltd :   : 19 facilities   : 2 facilities   : 2 facilities   : 7 facilities : 4 facilities   : 7 facilities   "Levi's uses around 35 different factories in Mexico, all of which are contract facilities." : Sous-traitance, Corriere Del.   : 23 facilities   : 9 facilities : 19 facilities   : 2 facilities : 14 facilities   : 7 facilities Levi Strauss Eximco (Asia) Pte Ltd : Levi Strauss (Suisse) S.A : Levi Strauss (Geneva) S.A :   : 13 facilities   : 17 facilities   : 25 facilities   : 12 facilities   : 18 facilities The map of tax haven, secret accounts and shell companies Levi Strauss is managed by year name photo position; compensation source 2006Anderson, John Chief Executive Officer; 2002Chiasson, Bill Chief Financial Officer; Financial . 2002Marineau, Phil Chief Executive Officer; Financial . Highest paid executives in 2007 Advertising & marketing year dubious practice : image source 2006 value: Empathy - Originality - Integrity - Courage; Dubious practices in 2007

Made by year employees <> social impact : country source 2006 ILO violation 87, 98 : Son fournisseur, Manufacturas Lajat, a fermé son atelier de Gomez Palacio, Durango, au Mexique pour empêcher ses employés de constituer un syndicat.: Mexico Campaign f. 2005 minimum wage/day: 25 US$; Turkey 2005 minimum wage/day: 10 US$; Thailand 2005 minimum wage/day: 6 US$; China 2005 minimum wage/day: 5 US$; India Livre 2005 minimum wage/day: 4 US$; Pakistan Livre 2005 minimum wage/day: 4 US$; Bangladesh Livre 2004 9500 -10000 Closure/Bankruptcy: In seven years, Levi Strauss closed 61 out of its 66 plants in the world. 9 out of 10 apparel sold by Levi Strauss are now manufactured by subcontractors.: Les Echos 2004 9500 Les Echos 2004 -453 Relocation: Les Echos 2003 12300 2003 -1180 CBC 2003 -650 AP 2002 -3300 Expansion . 2002 -600 BBC News 2000 17300 1999 -5900 Reuters 1999 -660 BBC News 1998 ILO violation 1 : up to 12-hour days, seven days a week: Northern Mariana Islands Sweatshop . 1998 ILO violation 87 98 : "shadow contracts" waiving basic human rights, including the freedom to join unions, attend religious services, quit or marry, blocked exits, movements strictly supervised by guards, workers subject to lockdowns or curfews.: Northern Mariana Islands Sweatshop . 1997 -7400 Reuters 1992 ILO violation 29 87 98 : Prison labor: China Alternet Layoff plans and labour conditions in 2007 Influence year purpose : intermediary/lobby : institution source 2001 Access to foreign market (through MAI, WTO, GATS), prevent binding environmental regulations : USCIB (US Council For International Business) : : US Government translate USCIB 2000 Prevent binding regulation, co- or self-regulation instead. : American Chamber of Commerce's EU Committee : : European Commission translate Corporate . Influence in 2007 Financials year financial misdemeanor sales income source 2004   4.07 0.03   billion US$ Le Monde 2003   4.09 -0.35   billion US$ 2002 Overstated net income by $26 million in 2001 (because it "mistakenly took the same tax deduction twice") and 4,9 million in Q3 2003     Wall Stree. 2002   4.14 0.02   billion US$ 2001   4.3 0.15   billion US$ 2000   4.65 0.22   billion US$ 1999   5.14 0.01   billion US$ 1998   6   billion US$ Financial delinquency in 2007

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Further investigation

The Life and Death of a Border Town   from Corpwatch - Wednesday 20 June 2007 at 07h00

http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=14511

Morelos is a clean, quiet, small Mexican town in the state of Coahuila, just across the Texas border, a day's drive and a world away from the bustle of Nuevo Laredo, where a U.S. company named Sights Systems Denim set up a maquiladora a few years ago.

Sights is a 20 year-old family owned business from Henderson, Kentucky, that specializes in "grunge" clothing - taking new jeans and making them look old and used, which are then sold at a premium. The company shipped alread [+]

Morelos is a clean, quiet, small Mexican town in the state of Coahuila, just across the Texas border, a day's drive and a world away from the bustle of Nuevo Laredo, where a U.S. company named Sights Systems Denim set up a maquiladora a few years ago.

Sights is a 20 year-old family owned business from Henderson, Kentucky, that specializes in "grunge" clothing - taking new jeans and making them look old and used, which are then sold at a premium. The company shipped already-manufactured jeans to Morelos, where they were stone-washed, ripped, torn and shredded at the plant, then loaded onto trucks to be hauled away again and sold in the U.S. to companies like Levi Strauss.

E.J. Bernacki from Levi Strauss told CorpWatch that this practice is fairly common, but completely depends on the style of the jeans. "Sometimes they can be cut in one factory, sewn in another, and finished in a third," he says, "other times it's all done in one plant." He said Levi's uses around 35 different factories in Mexico, all of which are contract facilities.

Former Sights worker Rodrigo Castro lives on the southern side of Morelos. His house is small and sits on a corner lot, with an earth yard cluttered with childrens' bikes and parked cars out front. I rap on the door and a small man in pajama pants and a T-shirt answers. He takes me into his living room, which looks more like an office – with walls covered by bookshelves and a desk with a computer humming in the corner. Indeed Castro is an organizer who lived in Minneapolis for 18 years working as a store manager. A couple of years ago, he returned to his hometown where he took a job with Sights. "I took the job at the Sights plant because it was fun," Castro tells me. "I enjoyed the work because I was in charge. And I have to say I liked it because they treated the workers with some respect." In September 2006, Sights factory management informed workers that the plant would be closed for three days over the Mexican Independence Day weekend.

On Saturday, Castro went into the plant to look at some invoices. "I noticed something was not right. The manager kept calling me and impatiently asking if I was finished yet, whereas it seemed he wouldn't care on a long weekend. When I was finished, at about 3 p.m., the security guard almost pushed me out the door," he said.

Castro also heard from other townspeople that strange trailer-trucks had been spotted in the plant's parking lot, not the usual company trucks. The next day the local people noticed even more activity inside the building.

"One lady went in to check what was happening and she was stopped by the security guards," said Castro. "We called the manager, Shane Smithart, and asked him what was going on. He assured us nothing was changing."

No one believed Smithart, and word spread like wildfire throughout town. "The radio stations announced it, people went to the plaza and yelled through loudspeakers, come to the plant! In minutes the front of the plant was crowded with people. 800 employees, all out front, " Castro continued.

"At that point we figured out that six trucks had already left, but there were still five inside. We blocked those from leaving, and called the electric company and told them to shut off the power to the plant and they did."

Castro smiles at the memory, leans back in his chair, and lights a cigarette. "Boy, when you get people all together like that and moving, you can do anything."

Soon the mayor arrived, and the workers organized a delegation to go inside the plant and negotiate. At the same time, the people who worked in the import-export office had figured out that the trucks that had departed were in Piedras Negras. The mayor called the governor and he ordered the trucks back to Morelos.

"We assured them we would not harm the trucks or the drivers. I tell you we were moving," says Castro.

"We had trucks filled with 250,000 pairs of jeans. That is worth more than a million dollars, as some of these jeans sell for $300 new. We wanted 11 million pesos, which was the amount of everyone's termination pay based on their seniority. Sights Denim Systems was under pressure from Single Source, which is who they contracted under, and they in turn were under pressure from Levi's to whom they were contracted. Single Source was looking at millions of dollars in losses, and so they contacted us with an offer. It was too little and we refused."

He pauses again to explain. "You see, in Mexico there are strong labor laws. A foreign company signs a contract when it sets up here which guarantees the employees something if they leave, three months pay, arranged depending upon seniority. Now Sights wanted to leave to the Dominican Republic without paying us our due."

Eventually Sights gave into the workers’ demands and paid them. But they also shut down the factory, putting 800 workers out of jobs.

"What hurt me most was that it was a good company. We treated them well. I just never expected them to do that, to leave like they did," says Castro.

"I talked with the owner of Sights Denim Systems, Bart Sights, and I told him, "You didn't have to leave like this." You know what he said? He told me, "These plants never last."

Sights Denim Systems did not respond to multiple CorpWatch requests for comment.

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