Levi Strauss to partner with gun control group

President & Chief Executive Officer of Levi Strauss & Co CHP Bergh poses for a portrait. President & Chief Executive Officer of Levi Strauss & Co CHP Bergh poses for a portrait. Photo: Mint/Hindustan Times Via Getty Images Photo: Mint/Hindustan Times Via Getty Images Image 1 of / 44 Caption Close Levi Strauss to partner with gun control group 1 / 44 Back to Gallery

Denim brand Levi Strauss & Co. will join forces with a gun control group, the CEO and president of the San Francisco-based company said Tuesday.

"You may wonder why a company that doesn't manufacture or sell guns is wading into this issue," wrote Levi's CEO Chip Bergh in a Fortune op-ed, "but for us, it's simple. Americans shouldn't have to live in fear of gun violence. It's an issue that affects all of us—all generations and all walks of life."

Bergh said his company, founded in San Francisco 165 years ago, is partnering with Everytown for Gun Safety, alongside a coalition of business leaders, including Michael Bloomberg.

The organization was founded upon the ideal that "business has a critical role to play in and a moral obligation to do something about the gun violence epidemic in this country," he wrote.

Levi's also established the Safer Tomorrow Fund, which Bergh said will fund more than $1 million in philanthropic grants over the next four years to nonprofits and youth activists committed to ending gun violence in America.

Bergh said Levi's would double its usual employee donation match to organizations aligned with the Safer Tomorrow Fund. The company also expanded its paid volunteer time program for employees to include political activism.

"We're encouraging our employees to use their time to make an impact," Bergh wrote.

Acknowledging that Levi's consumers and employees "hold a wide spectrum of views related to guns," Bergh stressed that he is not calling for a repeal of the Second Amendment, nor questioning the responsibility of gun owners. Instead, the former U.S. Army officer advocated for "common-sense, measurable steps" that will save lives, such as criminal background checks on gun sales.

"We simply cannot stand by silently when it comes to the issues that threaten the very fabric of the communities where we live and work," he wrote. "While taking a stand can be unpopular with some, doing nothing is no longer an option."

Bergh has long been a proponent of gun control. In 2016, after a customer accidentally shot himself while trying on a pair of pants in a Levi Strauss store, Bergh wrote an open letter requesting that gun owners refrain from carrying firearms into the company's stores, offices and facilities.

After penning the letter, Bergh said he received death threats.

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"But these personal attacks pale in comparison to the threats that activists and survivors from Parkland, Sandy Hook, and daily incidents of gun violence face every time they speak up on this issue," he said.

Read Michelle Robertson's latest stories and send her news tips at mrobertson@sfchronicle.com.

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