Posted on 09/12/2002 5:06:20 PM PDT by GeneD
NEW YORK - Levi Strauss pants were tough enough to outfit 19th-century gold rushers, but do they have what it takes to block radioactive waves that may or may not emanate from wireless phones?
The question has already stirred debate. Although from a scientific standpoint the cell-phone-proof pants may be silly, Levi's latest offering shows its creativity in trying to recapture something it hasn't had in years: relevance.
Privately owned San Francisco-based Levi Strauss introduced a pair of Dockers brand pants that will feature cell-phone pockets with "anti-radiation lining to prevent possible health risks." The pants will hit shelves in Europe next February. The company said the new product was in response to customers concerns, not to any scientific proof that mobile phones actually emit harmful radiation.
The move has put a Levi's product in the headlines--a rarity for the company in recent years. Most of the recent media coverage of the 149-year-old firm has been negative, such as last spring, when it reduced its workforce by 20% and shuttered all but one of its seven American factories.
The company, which had debt of almost $2 billion as of last April, had sales of $4.65 billion in 2001, a giant drop from the $7.1 billion it reported for 1996. In 1999, seven members of the Forbes 400 list of richest Americans owed their fortune to the Levi Strauss empire. Last year, only one remained on the list.
How did this come about? Levi Strauss' fashions, which include the Dockers and Slates brands, stagnated; the company ignored the smaller players, which wound up devouring market share, and became deaf to changing styles (such as baggy jeans popularized by hip-hop culture). Two years ago, the company tapped Philip Marineau, former chief executive of PepsiCo, to reintroduce the historic name to young consumers. To catch up with Generation-Y, in recent months the firm has been aggressively promoting its sexy low-rise jeans with the sales pitch "Dangerously low."
It also has created tech-friendly clothes. Levi partnered with Philips Electronics last year to create jackets equipped with a mobile phone, an MP3 player, a remote control, a microphone and earphones. The Dockers Mobile Pant, meanwhile, has pockets designed to carry wireless phones and handheld computers.
But since the dot-com meltdown, tech isn't quite as cool as it used to be. In a show that Levi is more attune to the times, it is now making clothes to protect consumers from technology.
U.S. jeans maker Levi Strauss & Co. denied on Thursday it was playing on consumer fears by launching a line of trousers fitted with "anti-radiation" pockets for mobile phones.
The trousers, with a lining which the makers say shields against radiation, are designed by Dockers, a brand name of Levi Strauss -- famous for its classic "501" jeans.
Retailers were currently viewing the new line, called Icon S-Fit, with an eye to sales from next spring, a Levi's spokesman said.
"We're not implying in any way that mobile phones are dangerous," Levi's European communications manager Cedric Jungpeter told Reuters.
"Our intention is not to cash in on consumer fears but provide the consumers with what they want," he said from Levi's European headquarters in Brussels.
The finished design was the fruit of extensive market research showing that the fashion conscious were also health conscious, Jungpeter said.
"The debate is open. Although no study has proved mobile phones are harmful, no study has proved the contrary either," he added.
Officials from Dockers, which announced the launch of its new line in July, were not immediately available for comment.
Worldwide studies into the possible dangers of mobile phones produce often conflicting conclusions.
A recent one carried out by Australian researchers over a three-year period showed that radio emissions from mobile phones did not trigger the growth of tumors in mice, and therefore probably did not do so in humans either.
That research followed another Australian study on mice five years ago that concluded cellular phones could foster tumor growth.
Swedish research published in August concluded that long-term users of first generation mobile phones faced an up to 80 percent greater risk of developing brain tumors than non-users and the World Health Organization ( news - web sites) said last year more research was needed.
But a Danish study last year of 400,000 mobile phone users showed no increased cancer risk.
"Our intention is not to cash in on consumer fears but provide the consumers with what they want," he said from Levi's European headquarters in Brussels.
Yeah, right.
(idiots)
...Wranglers as long as I can remember, kj
They need to come up with a way to make a profit.
Back then, new jeans had to be washed about 12 times before they became really comfortable. A year was a long time to wait before my new jeans felt right.
I quit buying their products years ago, when the got on the homosexual bandwagon. I doubt that it did any good, although it makes me feel a bit better.
I quit shopping at K-mart a few years ago when they chose Rosie for a symbol. I doubt that that did any good either.
I'm currently considering avoiding all things Disney, though I doubt that it will do any more than giving up K-mart and Levi..
Sound like some leftist have their heads where the sun don't shine.
wireless phones do not emanate radioactive waves. Radioactive refers to the decay of unstable isotopes (atoms).
Not likely indeed. For those who don't know, what NHDuo's referring to here is that the Levi's corporation is a MAJOR gun control organization funder.
My Wranglers fit just fine, thank you. (Who in the world keeps a cellphone in their jeans pockets anyway?)
It is reported that Disney's stocks are also heading into the toilet as well. I wonder why? Answer: Example, we went to 6 Flags and Water Country water park (owned by evangelical Christians) the last four years instead of Disney World and have not spent a cent on the perverted mouse’s merchandise.
People and these businesses laughed when we declared a boycott based on their decision to promote and support homosexuality. They said it wouldn't effect their prophets or businesses... They were wrong and it is costing them Billions of dollars. We are not alone, MILLIONS are also doing likewise and we are demonstrating our opposition with our pocketbooks.
Well, Levi Strauss sure does.
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