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Conservation

Levi's CEO settles the debate on just how often you should wash your jeans

There are a lot of diverse opinions on the topic.

via Levi Strauss and Ricardo Gomez Angel/Unsplash

How often should you wash your jeans?

Social media has become a fertile breeding ground for conversations about hygiene. Whether it’s celebrities bragging about how little their family bathes or battles over how often people should wash their sheets or bras.

One of the debates that gets the most diverse responses is how often people wash their denim jeans.

Denim atelier Benjamin Talley Smith tells Today that jeans should be washed "as little as possible, if at all.” Laundry expert Patric Richardson adds they should be cleaned “after nine or 10 wearings, like to me, that is the ideal." At that point, they probably have stains and are "a little sweaty by that point, so you need to wash 'em," Richardson says.

Still, some people wash and dry them after every wear while others will hand wash and never hang dry. With all these significant differences of opinion, there must be a correct answer somewhere, right?

The CEO of Levi Strauss, Charles Bergh, has stepped up to set the record straight on when and how to wash your jeans. He caused a stir in 2014 when he said he only washes his jeans once a year, but it was for environmental reasons more than hygiene.

He later clarified his thoughts in a blog post, “The Dirty Jean Manifesto” he posted to LinkedIn.

“I made this provocative statement because I believe strongly in what our brands stand for: quality, durability and lasting products made sustainably. I also said it because I believe we don’t need to wash jeans as often as most people think we do,” Bergh wrote.

"We learned that an average pair of jeans consumes roughly 3,500 liters of water — and that is after only two years of use, washing the jeans once a week," Bergh wrote. "Nearly half of the total water consumption, or 1,600 liters, is the consumer throwing the jeans in the washing machine. That’s equivalent to 6,700 glasses of drinking water!"

To add to the problem, denim jeans are often manufactured in places where water is scarce, such as India, Pakistan, Mexico, China and parts of California.

Bergh recently spoke with CNBC’s Christine Tan and clarified his thoughts on jean cleanliness.

“True denim heads, people that really love their denim, will tell you to never put your denim into a washing machine. So that’s what I do,” Bergh explained. “If I drop some curry on my jeans, I’m gonna clean it. But I’ll spot-clean it. And if they get really gross you know, if I’ve been out sweating or something and they get really gross, I’ll wash them in the shower.”

However, when Bergh washes his jeans in the shower, he does it while wearing them and washing them with soap. The image that the scene conjures is of a cowboy bathing in a cartoon, clothes on and all.

There are a lot of different opinions on how often one should wash and dry their jeans and many of them boil down to personal preference. But the debate on the topic has brought up one very big point we should all consider: when choosing how often we wash our jeans, a big part of the decision should be considering the amount of water we use.


This article originally appeared 1 year ago.

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Joy

‘I feel good, so why stop?’ 91-year-old opens up a new barber shop.

Staying active is the key to a long life.

via Google

Bob Rohloff gives a haircut at his new barber shop.

The old saying goes, "Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life," and it’s true. When you love what you do, a job isn’t work at all. It can be as enjoyable as your favorite hobby while making money at the same time.

Loving what you do is also great for your health. Studies show that people who love their work live longer, and those who are constantly stressed at their jobs have a significantly higher risk of heart disease.

Bob Rohloff is a beautiful example of the benefits of having a job you love. At 91, he opened a new business, Bob’s Old Fashioned Barbershop, in Hortonville, Wisconsin.

Rohloff started cutting hair in 1948, and 60 years later, he retired with his wife, Marian, in Arizona, but it didn’t last long. After a few months, he “unretired” and went back to cutting hair. In 2010, the couple moved back to Wisconsin, and Rohloff cut hair at the Hortonville Family Barbershop.

“Retirement isn’t that easy,” Rohloff told CNBC. “You need to stay active in something, whether it’s a hobby or a job, and I happened to enjoy my job very much … it’s fun coming into the shop; I like to do it, and I feel good, so why stop?”

Rohloff estimates he’s given over 100,000 haircuts in his life.

Fate intervened when 55-year-old Mark Karweick, who had recently returned to Wisconsin from Michigan, was introduced to Rohloff. After talking to each other for 90 minutes, they decided to open up a shop together.

The team’s new shop is a throwback to an old-school barbershop, complete with a 100-year-old chair that Rohloff jokes is the only thing in the palace older than him. “There aren’t that many old-fashioned shops left in the country, and we’re gonna try and keep it that way,” Rohloff told Spectrum News. The shop also boasts furniture relocated from an old barber shop in Michigan.

The prices are old-fashioned, too. A standard cut is just $14 and $12 for seniors.

Rohloff is a true believer in the idea that the key to good health and longevity is to keep doing what you love. “Sitting in a La-Z-Boy, that’s no way to live. Most people got their health issues, and they either give up, or they think they can’t do anything after a certain age, but they can,” Karweick said.

There’s a lot of truth to Rohloff’s philosophy. Colin Milner, founder and CEO of the International Council on Active Aging, tells Fortune that following the principles of Active Aging can extend longevity and quality of life.

“Physical activity is just one of the many elements that makes up a person,” Milner says. “It’s just as important that we are socially connected and that we are intellectually active.” The keys to being an “active ager” are to stay positive, socially connected, involved with community groups, curious and calm. It’s also important to eat right and stay away from tobacco.

When asked about his advice for living a long, happy life, Rohloff believes in the importance of being active as well. “Don’t quit. I don’t think you will enjoy yourselves. Stay active in something, whether it’s a hobby or a job, but you got to stay active,” Rohloff said.

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Business

Walmart giving $550 million 'mini-stimulus' to its employees who are carrying on during the virus

via Today's Headlines / Twitter

The coronavirus pandemic is drastically changing the economy minute by minute. Businesses such as restaurants, bars, and brick-and-mortar retail stores have been hit hard and, in some states, are totally shut down.

However, other businesses such as grocery stores, online retailers, and food delivery services are thriving in the new normal.

The good news is that displaced workers from one part of the economy have opportunities for jobs in another sector. Papa John's and Dominoes are looking to hire thousands of delivery drivers due to the high demand for pizza.

Amazon is announced it'll hire an additional 100,000 employees to help keep up with the surge in online shopping.

Walmart has seen a huge surge in business as people stock up during the pandemic.

"It is quite frankly, unprecedented, the type of sustained pressure that we're seeing," Dan Bartlett, Walmart's executive VP of corporate affairs, told CNBC. "It is like Black Friday day after day after day in some respects."

The surge in business has inspired the notoriously thrifty employer to hand out bonus checks to its hourly employees for their hard work during a dangerous time. On Thursday, it announced it will provide more than $550 million in cash bonuses to its hourly employees.

Full-time hourly associates will receive $300 and part-time will receive $150. The bonuses will be paid out starting April 2.

"It's almost like a mini stimulus package for Walmart associates," Bartlett said.

Walmart is the largest employer in the United States with 1.3 million employees, so the bonuses will have a positive economic effect on the country as a whole.

"Walmart associates have gone above and beyond the call of duty in serving our customers during these unprecedented times," President and Chief Executive Officer Doug McMillon said.

Walmart is looking to hire 150,000 new associates to work in stores, clubs, distribution centers and fulfillment centers through the end of May to meet the demand caused by the pandemic.

The retailer has also announced that it will raise the entry wage at its e-commerce warehouses by $2, which adds up to between $15 to $19 an hour.

The company has fast-tracked its hiring process to "dramatically expedite" hiring for key roles, such as cashiers and stockers, shortening the application process from two weeks to just 24 hours.

Walmart's decision to raise wages and provide bonuses for employees is a great gesture during these uncertain times. However, it should be mentioned that while Walmart is providing a "stimulus" right now, it's also been historically guilty of putting a drag on the economy by paying low wages.

"When Walmart comes to town, it is going to reallocate sales [from existing grocers], and its impact is going to be a function of the difference between what is currently being paid in wages at the existing stores and what Walmart pays," Christopher Fowler, a researcher for Puget Sound Sage, told Business News Daily.

"These impacts stem from the low wages Walmart pays to its hourly associates compared to the wages earned by comparable employees of existing retail grocery stores," the researchers said.

"The difference in wages, which we estimate to be at least $3 per hour, has the capacity to impact not only the workers themselves but also the people from whom they purchase goods and services," the researchers continued.

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With her past haunting her, this small-business owner was struggling. Until Marcus came along.

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CNBC's The Profit

Small businesses keep this country afloat; over 50% of U. S. workers are employed by them.

And this is where Marcus Lemonis, aka "The Profit," comes in. He identifies small businesses that are in trouble and then helps them get their act together by investing in and owning part of the companies and — most importantly — by taking control and turning them into viable, profitable entities.

One such business named The Blue Jean Bar had up to 13 stores around the country at one point, but many of them floundered. So the owner, Lady Fuller, trimmed them down to three.

You'll discover, as she relates to Marcus in the clip below, her mother died at age 43 — when Lady was 9 years old — of suicide.

Lady, now age 40, is concerned she's going to be a failure by that same age, and it's coloring all of her actions as she runs the business.

“My mother passed away when I was 9, and she took her own life. She left me money, and I wanted to do something with her money that paid homage to her. …. She killed herself when she was 43. … I always felt like, that this business would be so successful by the time I reached her age."

Marcus sees her potential and that of the business itself, but he also sees her looking through the rear-view mirror at haunting failures and sadness, and he needs to help her look at the road ahead.

It's the kind of thing he does regularly on "The Profit," and he handles it deftly as he helps pull her out of the tailspin — but only after some growing pains, tears, and pushback from Lady.

The final transformation of their flagship store is remarkable, as is that of Lady herself.

Starting a small business takes guts, determination, and every bit of resilience that human beings have.

And the numbers show how they pay off. Here are some interesting statistics on small businesses to consider (for more, check out this post):

Let's all try to appreciate that and support them in our communities — shall we?

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