Letter to the editor.

Dear Editor:

I feel compelled to respond to Ryan Pintado-Vertner's recent article in ColorLines (Summer 2002), entitled: "From Sweatshop to Hip-Hop."

It is unfortunate that in the course of researching his article, Mr. Pintado-Vertner did not attempt to contact Levi Strauss & Co. (LS&CO.) to check his facts. Had he done so, he would have avoided some serious factual errors in his story and may have arrived at a more balanced and accurate conclusion.

For example, Mr. Pintado-Vertner asserts that until recently, our marketing images were, "above all, white." This is not true. LS&CO. has long been recognized for advertising that transcended racial and socioeconomic boundaries. In the early '80s, our now-famous 501 Blues campaign was heralded for portraying a fresh, edgy and importantly, realistic view of the diversity of urban life. We marketed as early as the 1900's to Spanish and Chinese immigrants, too.

Mr. Pintado-Vertner says we are part of the "mostly white fashion world." In fact, LS&CO. has a longstanding commitment to diversity. It is part of the culture and the composition of our company. As a perennial member of Fortune magazine's annual "50 Best Companies for Minorities," this year's list ranks us at No. 5 for both "Companies with the largest percentage of minorities among officials and managers," and "Companies with the highest percentage of minorities among all employees" with minorities making up the majority of our workforce (56.5%).

Had Mr. Pintado-Vertner checked our record related to LS&CO.'s longtime commitment to diversity, he would have learned some more interesting facts that distinguish us from other companies in our industry and in business:

* We desegregated our factories long before civil rights laws required us to do so. Our California plants were desegregated in the 1940s. In the 1950s, we integrated our first Southern plant, an action that prompted more than one community to change age-old discrimination practices.

* In 1972, we started a Supplier Diversity Purchasing Program that promoted the use of suppliers owned and operated by gays, lesbians, women and people of color.

* In 1998, we received the U.S. President's Ron Brown Award for Corporate Leadership for outstanding achievements in employee and community relations. We were recognized for creating Project Change, an initiative of the Levi Strauss Foundation that combats institutional racism in four rural communities.

* In 2000, the Council on Economic Priorities ranked LS&CO. No. 1 out of 320 companies in a corporate social responsibility survey. We received an "A" rating in several categories, including minority advancement.

In fact, our support of diversity initiatives even extends to this publication. The Levi Strauss Foundation has given financial grants to support the work of the Applied Research Center, publisher of ColorLines.

Although Mr. Pintado-Vertner's theory about our recent,, discovery" of urban culture makes for interesting reading, unfortunately, it is not supported by the facts.

Sincerely,

Theresa Fay-Bustillos

Vice President,

Worldwide Community Affairs

Executive Director, Levi Strauss Foundation