Levi Strauss & Co.

Guns: The Fight That Defined Its Politics

Levi Strauss started down this road in 2016. After a customer accidentally shot and injured himself while trying on a pair of jeans, Bergh wrote an open letter asking customers not to bring firearms into the company's stores, offices, or facilities, a request the company said it stood by even though not everyone agreed.[1] In September 2018 it went much further. In an op-ed for Fortune, Bergh wrote that business leaders "simply cannot stand by silently" on issues threatening their communities, and announced three steps: a Safer Tomorrow Fund directing more than $1 million in grants over four years to nonprofits and youth activists working to end gun violence, a partnership with Everytown for Gun Safety and a coalition of business leaders that included Michael Bloomberg, and a doubling of the company's match for employee donations to aligned groups, along with encouragement for employees to use paid volunteer time to become more politically active.[1][2] The Levi Strauss Foundation also funded town halls in cities affected by gun violence.[2]

Bergh was explicit that he was not calling for repeal of the Second Amendment and did not consider gun owners irresponsible, framing the effort as support for "common-sense gun safety."[3] He also acknowledged the stance would cost the company some customers, and gun-rights groups did call for boycotts.[3] Even so, the company kept at it, with Bergh joining other chief executives in letters urging the U.S. Senate to pass gun legislation.[1]

The commitment outlasted the 2018 headlines. In 2021 Levi Strauss became a founding member of the Giffords Impact Network and directed $475,000 through its Safer Tomorrow Fund to community-violence-intervention and youth groups, and in 2026 it backed an Ad Council campaign promoting community violence intervention, calling gun-violence prevention an ongoing commitment since 2018.[15][16]

After Dobbs, a Stand on Abortion

When a draft of the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision leaked in May 2022, Levi Strauss publicly backed abortion access, calling it "a business imperative."[4] The company said its benefits plan reimburses employees for healthcare-related travel for services not available in their home state, including reproductive health care and abortion, and that it had set up a process for part-time and hourly workers outside that plan to seek the same travel reimbursement.[4] It tied the position to broader advocacy for national paid family and medical leave, protections for pregnant workers, and gender and racial equity.[4]

Advocacy on Many Fronts

Guns and abortion are the most visible examples, but the company's public advocacy runs wider. On LGBTQ rights, Levi Strauss was the first Fortune 500 company to extend benefits to same-sex domestic partners, in 1992, endorsed the federal Equality Act when it was introduced in 2015 and joined the business coalition backing it, ran Pride collections that gave all of their proceeds to OutRight Action International, and signed letters and briefs opposing state measures it viewed as anti-LGBTQ.[10][11]

On climate, after the Trump administration moved in 2017 to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement, Levi Strauss was among the first companies to sign the We Are Still In coalition, pledging to keep working toward the treaty's goals, and in 2020 it added its name to the successor We Are All In statement committing to partner with the Biden administration.[12]

On immigration, the company opposed the Trump administration's 2017 travel ban, with CEO Chip Bergh telling employees that restricting immigration by race, nationality or religion was "antithetical to what we believe as a company" and noting that Levi Strauss himself was an immigrant.[13] Later in 2017 it joined the Coalition for the American Dream, alongside companies such as Microsoft and Best Buy, to press Congress to protect DACA recipients, and its foundation pledged $1 million to legal-defense and advocacy groups for immigrants and refugees.[21]

On voting, the company traces its civic streak to its founder: in 1864 Levi Strauss closed his business on Election Day so employees could cast ballots in Lincoln's reelection, a story the company still invokes. In 2018 it launched the Time to Vote coalition with Patagonia to press employers to give workers time off to vote, later joined a Community College Commitment aiming to turn out 500,000 community-college voters by 2028, and in 2026 said it was giving more than $2.5 million to 35 nonpartisan voting and democracy groups. Since 2019 the Levi Strauss Foundation reports more than $6.6 million in grants for voting rights and civic engagement.[17][18]

A Family Foundation With a Point of View

Much of the company's values-driven giving runs through the Levi Strauss Foundation, created in 1952 by company leaders from the founding family, including Walter Haas Sr., Walter Haas Jr., Peter Haas Sr., and Daniel Koshland.[5] Its board today mixes family descendants with current company leaders, and its stated priorities include ensuring access to direct services "including abortion" and advancing the rights of apparel workers, with more than $35 million in support reported across 17 countries.[5]

Owned by a Family, Sold to the Public

Levi Strauss was founded in San Francisco in 1853, during the California Gold Rush, and patented its riveted denim work pants in 1873.[6] The company has gone public, private, and public again; its most recent return to the stock market came in a March 2019 IPO under the ticker LEVI.[6] Even so, the founding Haas family, descendants of Levi Strauss, kept control through a dual-class share structure: the family's Class B shares carry ten votes each against one vote for the publicly traded Class A shares, leaving a controlling majority of the shareholder vote in family hands.[6] The company is headquartered in San Francisco.[6]

The activist years were led by Chip Bergh, chief executive from 2011 until 2024. In December 2023 the company announced that Bergh would retire in April 2024 and that Michelle Gass, its president and a former chief executive of Kohl's, would become president and CEO on January 29, 2024; Bergh remained on the board.[7][8]

A Light Federal-Money Footprint

Levi Strauss leaves only a modest trace in federal campaign finance, and what it leaves comes from its people rather than a company checkbook. OpenSecrets notes that the organization itself has not been the donor; the tracked money comes from individual employees and their families, and OpenSecrets identified no affiliated corporate political action committee for the company in the 2024 election cycle.[9] Its federal lobbying is modest and centered on trade, not the social issues it campaigns on: through the firm Akin Gump, Levi Strauss reported $230,000 in 2024, lobbying on apparel tariffs and trade agreements including CAFTA, the Americas Act and the African Growth and Opportunity Act.[19] For a brand this size, the campaign-finance record is small next to the public advocacy that carries its politics.

What Levi's Sells

Levi Strauss sells denim and apparel worldwide, anchored by its flagship Levi's brand and its 501 jeans, alongside Levi Strauss Signature and Beyond Yoga, the activewear brand it acquired in 2021. The company sold the Dockers khakis brand to Authentic Brands Group on February 27, 2026 and wound down its value brand Denizen, sharpening its focus on Levi's and Beyond Yoga.[14] Its products reach shoppers in about 120 countries through department stores, chain retailers, online channels, and roughly 3,300 brand-dedicated stores and shop-in-shops, and it reported net revenue of about $6.3 billion in 2025.[14] It also holds the naming rights to Levi's Stadium, home of the National Football League's San Francisco 49ers.[20]

Where to Find Them

Levi Strauss sells directly to shoppers through its website, levi.com, and its own stores, as well as through department stores and other retailers worldwide. Its corporate headquarters is in San Francisco.[6]

Footnotes

[1] Levi Strauss & Co., "Ending the Gun Violence Epidemic in America," company statement, September 4, 2018. https://www.levistrauss.com/2018/09/04/ending-gun-violence/

[2] KTVU FOX 2, "Old West pioneer Levi Strauss takes a stand against gun violence," September 5, 2018. https://www.ktvu.com/news/old-west-pioneer-levi-strauss-takes-a-stand-against-gun-violence

[3] Snopes, "Did Levi Strauss Announce a Partnership with Michael Bloomberg to Advocate for Gun Control?," accessed August 2026. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/levis-gun-control/

[4] Levi Strauss & Co., "Protecting Reproductive Rights: A Business Imperative," company statement, May 4, 2022. https://www.levistrauss.com/2022/05/04/protecting-reproductive-rights-a-business-imperative/

[5] Levi Strauss Foundation, "Levi Strauss Foundation," accessed August 2026. https://www.levistrauss.com/values-in-action/levi-strauss-foundation/

[6] Levi Strauss & Co., Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2025, and related SEC filings, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (CIK 0000094845). https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0000094845&type=10-K

[7] Levi Strauss & Co., "Levi Strauss & Co. Announces Executive Leadership Changes," December 7, 2023. https://investors.levistrauss.com/news/financial-news/news-details/2023/Levi-Strauss--Co.-Announces-Executive-Leadership-Changes/default.aspx

[8] Retail Dive, "Michelle Gass to take over as Levi's CEO in January," December 8, 2023. https://www.retaildive.com/news/michelle-gass-chip-bergh-levis-ceo/701976/

[9] OpenSecrets, "Levi Strauss & Co: Summary," accessed August 2026. https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/levi-strauss-co/summary?id=D000035349

[10] Levi Strauss & Co., "In Support of Landmark LGBTQ Workplace Anti-Discrimination Decision," June 15, 2020. https://www.levistrauss.com/2020/06/15/landmark-lgbtq-workplace-anti-discrimination-decision/

[11] Levi Strauss & Co., "A Look Back at LS&Co.'s Latest LGBTQ Efforts," June 25, 2019. https://www.levistrauss.com/2019/06/25/a-look-back-at-lsco-s-latest-lgbtq-efforts/

[12] Levi Strauss & Co., "Recognition and the Path Forward on Climate Action," December 10, 2020. https://www.levistrauss.com/2020/12/10/recognition-and-the-path-forward-climate-action/

[13] Levi Strauss & Co., "Our Values in Action," statement from CEO Chip Bergh, January 31, 2017. https://www.levistrauss.com/2017/01/31/our-values-in-action/

[14] Levi Strauss & Co., "Levi Strauss & Co. Completes Sale of Dockers to Authentic Brands Group," March 3, 2026. https://investors.levistrauss.com/news/financial-news/news-details/2026/Levi-Strauss--Co--Completes-Sale-of-Dockers-to-Authentic-Brands-Group/default.aspx

[15] Levi Strauss & Co., "Using Our Platform," sustainability report, accessed August 2026. https://www.levistrauss.com/sustainability-report/community/using-our-platform/

[16] Levi Strauss & Co., "LS&Co. Supports Ad Council's Community Violence Intervention Campaign to Help Reduce Gun Violence," June 30, 2026. https://www.levistrauss.com/2026/06/30/ad-council-cvi-campaign/

[17] Levi Strauss & Co., "Our Commitment to Voting Rights and Democracy," June 9, 2026. https://www.levistrauss.com/2026/06/09/commitment-voting-rights-democracy/

[18] Levi Strauss & Co., "LSF Backs Democracy Policy Initiative," April 10, 2024. https://www.levistrauss.com/2024/04/10/lsf-backs-democracy-policy-initiative/

[19] U.S. Senate Office of Public Records, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings, Levi Strauss & Company (registrant Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld), 2024 quarterly LD-2 reports, accessed August 2026. https://lda.senate.gov/filings/public/filing/1b21106c-8517-4f95-ba9e-a622831795d2/print/

[20] Levi Strauss & Co., "LS&Co. Extends Levi's Stadium Naming Rights and 49ers Partnership," January 25, 2024. https://www.levistrauss.com/2024/01/25/lsco-extends-levis-stadium-naming-rights-and-49ers-partnership/

[21] Levi Strauss & Co., "Joining in the Fight for the Rights of Dreamers," October 26, 2017. https://www.levistrauss.com/2017/10/26/joining-fight-rights-dreamers/