Levi Strauss to Resume Production in China

Levi Strauss & Co. plans to resume production in China and bring back its famous denim clothes after a five-year absence, a company official said. Peter Jacobi, chief operating officer, said that San Francisco-based Levi, the largest brand-name apparel maker in the world, was looking for manufacturing partners in China. Jacobi said the company felt that violations of human rights in the country, the issue that caused the privately held company to leave China, had lessened. Jacobi said Levi Strauss is confident it can find contracting partners in China who meet the company’s ethical and business standards. He expects Levi Strauss products to start coming off Chinese production lines in 1999.