WHICH LUXURY BRANDS ARE SUSTAINABLE
Milan Fashion Week of the post-covid era taught us that fashion is made by people and companies that put the human being and the ecosystem at the center of business have a better chance of beating the crisis. The trend of sustainable fashion is getting stronger: this is the direction in which even the great luxury brands are turning. Especially after the lockdown, the importance of defending our planet with ethical choices has been increasingly perceived. And while Nature reclaims the world, so too luxury fashion brands are increasingly adapting to the demands of the public, and of our planet. Some production methods are changing, more ethical collections are presented and with the use of almost zero animal furs and there is a strong commitment to disposing of waste in a sustainable way. Let's see some more sustainable luxury brands.
The sustainable brand par excellence: Stella McCartney
"Personally, sustainability is a state of mind ... For me, the most important thing is to use natural resources in a conscious way," said Stella McCartney. Since 2011, the year in which her brand was founded, the designer has become the forerunner of sustainable luxury brands: her collections are all made up of 100% eco-friendly materials. Moreover, he is also an activist in the green field: just think of his latest spring summer 2020 show, entitled We Are the Weather.
Gucci and Alessandro Michele's green revolution The Maison led by Alessandro is one of those that has recently made one of the greenest turning points. The data from Corporate Knights at the World Economic Forum in Davos speak for themselves: Gucci, which is part of the global luxury group Kering, is the first most sustainable corporation in the world in the fashion sector. This is due not only to the production, which for some time has no longer used fur, but also to the offsetting of all greenhouse gas emissions generated by its production activities and by those of the entire supply chain. In 2019, the brand also launched Gucci Equilibrium, a portal dedicated to explaining and providing updates on the social and environmental practices of the fashion house.
Burberry with zero emissions
Even the brand led by Riccardo Tisci, Burberry, is making a real revolution in the green field. The British brand made its spring summer 2020 show zero emissions and invested in projects supported by REDD +, the program approved by VSC and created by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to stop deforestation. Since Tisci took over the leadership of the brand in 2018, Burberry has also abandoned the use of animal furs and has broken the chain of destruction of unsold items.
Max Mara creates garments in a circular economy
The company has developed CameLuxe, a new in house- technology: the surpluses deriving from the process of cutting the camel, fabrics of the iconic coats, are recovered and reused to create a thermal insulation, a padding able to maintain the same properties of the virgin materials, without the need for further consumption of raw materials. Thanks to the mix with recycled polyester and an ad hoc insulating treatment, it can even become more performing than before, as guaranteed by Maramotti, new brand director. «What's more, it has a low impact, due to the reduced consumption of energy and water».
The North Face: exploration and conservation
The brand's communication is characterized by love for nature, discovery of unexplored places, adventure and sustainability, themes that strongly characterize the company's identity as well as witnessed by their environmental activist founders. The brand's slogan is "Never Stop Exploring" and its identity is linked above all to the concept of explorer not only in a physical sense, but in recent years also as a "state of mind". One example is the initiative for the production of fleece from plastic recycling. Furthermore, 100% of the electricity used in the brand's European headquarters, located in Switzerland, comes from renewable sources.
Dior says no to deforestation
Maria Grazia Chiuri, the Dior stylist, is also the main responsible for her green turn. The spring summer 2020 fashion show was set up in a real forest, created ad hoc thanks to 164 trees as part of the #PlantingForTheFuture initiative. The shrubs were then replanted in specific areas of Paris, symbolizing the need to be ever more united in the fight against climate change..