You would like the thought of jeans having a worn-in finish, but that look frequently comes at a high price. It not only needs a long time to complete jeans (2 to 3 pairs hourly), it frequently requires thousands of chemical formulations. Levi's thinks there's a quicker and much more environmentally responsible way. It recently introduced Project FLX, a system which utilizes lasers to finish denim. The technique involves taking pictures of the jeans and illustrating them-- the laser beam after that gently marks the jeans depending on that illustration to create the simulated wear. This particular cuts the finishing time from several minutes or more to just 90 seconds, and whittles the number of required chemicals right down to a few dozen
As you might imagine, this also opens the door to greater creativity. Levi's could make an authentic-looking wear if it wants, however it can also create ornate artwork. This also significantly decreases the lead time for decisions on jeans from several months to weeks or even days, opening the door to more on-demand production and local creation. You might not get to custom-design your own pants, but you might possibly not have to worry about supplies of your favorite pair, either.
This isn't a theoretical exercise. Levi's is testing Project FLX right now, and desires to phase it into its supply chain during the period of 2 years. This does not totally eliminate concerns around the leftover chemicals in jeans production, however it could make you feel much better about your next outfit -- not to mention save Levi's some time and money in the process.