As you might guess, this also opens the door to greater creativity. Levi's can make an authentic-looking wear if it wants, but it can also make ornate artwork. This also dramatically reduces the lead time for decisions on jeans from several months to weeks or even days, opening the door to more on-demand manufacturing and local production. You might not get to custom-design your pants, but you might not have to worry about supplies of your favorite pair, either.

This isn't a theoretical exercise. Levi's is testing Project FLX now, and expects to phase it into its supply chain over the course of 2 years. This doesn't completely eliminate concerns around the remaining chemicals in jeans production, but it could make you feel better about your next outfit -- not to mention save Levi's some time and money in the process.