On the way to eco-responsible luxury? Industry makes its sustainable revolution<

Towards sustainable luxury in the post-crisis world? If the idea seems utopian or even unrealizable, the innovations and initiatives of the big names in the sector fuse and take the direction of an unprecedented ecological and ethical shift. Overview of two concepts that everything seems to oppose, united under the impetus of the LVMH and Kering groups.

In 2019, the luxury market reached a global turnover of 1,300 billion euros. The environmental and societal cost is massive. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, by 2050, fashion will have consumed a quarter of the global carbon budget. Luxury and fashion require profound change to perpetuate production dependent on natural resources and integrate the potential of sustainable economic development. So sustainable luxury, oxymoron or evidence? On the one hand, the quality of the products claimed by luxury houses guarantees their durability. A feature that should protect them from the criticism raining down on fast fashion brands and industries that are fans of all-disposable and planned obsolescence. On the other hand, this same quality often requires the use of rare and expensive raw materials. Their extraction can contribute to the destruction of the environment and biodiversity in emerging countries.

Luxury and sustainable development: a winning team?

The concepts of “luxury” and “sustainable development” are often considered antagonistic. If luxury often rhymes with excess, individualism or excessive enjoyment, sustainable development is synonymous with ethics, altruism and moderation. If we take the trouble to go beyond appearances and return to the very definition of luxury, it appears that sustainability and respect for the environment should be an integral part of its DNA. Firstly, because luxury attaches great importance to the longevity and durability of its products. Luxury being by nature vector of a timeless elegance which escapes the seasons, the ephemeral, it designs and manufactures quality products which accompany throughout a life and thus carry in them an implicit durability: to consume better and less. In addition, luxury is based on respect for the nobility of the material and exceptional know-how, conditions necessary for the creation of an exceptional object loaded with meaning, heritage and history. The luxury industry, if only through its profitability, but also as a trendsetter, has a special obligation to assume a pioneering role and to create the most environmentally friendly of all products. The frenetic pace of collections has gradually lengthened fashion weeks into fashion year. For fast fashion as for luxury, countless collections follow one another. In dispute, Gucci, Saint Laurent and Valentino renounced the official calendar. It is necessary to establish new production rules in the face of accumulated stocks at an undeniable economic and environmental cost. Reducing clothing consumption, buying less but better reinforces the legitimacy of luxury. A responsible choice preferring products whose relevance and quality will last. Timeless fashion thus seems compatible with sustainable development. Innovative textiles offer a solution to ensure global demand while preserving the environment. Biotechnological innovations make it possible, for example, to develop new sustainable fibres. The Fashion Tech Lab platform has enabled startups to develop leather from mycelium and sustainable biodegradable silk, replicating spider silk proteins. An initiative that particularly appealed to designer Stella McCartney.

The ecological turn: a priority for the big Houses

Giving a second life to textile waste is a necessity. While for the National Institute of the Circular Economy (INEC), 80% of European textile waste currently escapes recycling. More than ever, the raison d'être of luxury is asserting itself for an eco-responsible world. The recent ecosystem of ultra-desirable sustainable luxury brands proves that redefining fashion and luxury can be rooted in ethical humanistic values. But if luxury has long been linked to sustainable development, because in 1992, following the Earth Summit in Rio, LVMH created an Environment department, a new boost was recently put in place after the Paris agreements. A shift really took place in 2015, when during COP21, major industrialists were faced with an emergency. The IPCC report is categorical: by 2030, we must limit the rise in temperatures to 1.5 degrees because this already suggests the disappearance of ice caps and other disasters. The race is thus launched for the actors of the luxury sector. Chanel inaugurates its "Mission 1 degree 5" program to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions in Chanel operations by 50% by 2030. The Kering group, meanwhile, promises to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 In September 2019, Bernard Arnault announced an ambition to reduce its CO2 emissions by 25% by 2020. The same year, Hermès declared that 10% of the variable compensation of its manager Axel Dumas will be subject from 2019 to criteria CSR. But beyond raising awareness, luxury seeks to preserve its resources. The raw materials he uses, such as leather, are becoming scarce. Regulations are becoming increasingly strict regarding the exploitation of natural resources and animal husbandry. “Many raw materials come from nature and ecosystems. If we want to continue to be able to make quality products, there is a virtuous circle of ethical business to put in place,” says Marie-Claire Daveu, Director of Sustainable Development and International Institutional Relations at Kering.

Ethics

It’s a fact, morals change. According to a BCG (Boston Consulting Group) study, 64% of future luxury consumers from “Generation Z” want committed companies. The sector must therefore adapt. As for luxury and fashion brands, buyers are more sensitive because, alerted by practices that go against their values, they seek out more in-depth information and buy more responsible and committed brands. Aware that they need to question their way of doing business, brands are taking up these issues and creating CSR departments comprising experts with more specialized skills on certain subjects such as the climate or diversity and inclusion. . Today, a new problem is emerging and adding new constraints for brands. Indeed, they have to deal with a new strict and saving regulation: the law of February 10, 2020 on the circular economy. This law stipulates, among other things, that the destruction of unsold items will be prohibited by 2022. Quite a challenge when you know that this destruction costs several million euros for certain brands in the luxury sector.

Green initiatives ahead of a change of vision

Little by little, the ethical aspect is gaining importance in the eyes of customers and luxury brands alike. LVMH has drawn up a charter of good conduct relating to animal well-being concerning its supply chains. “70% of our sectors are certified by the most rigorous standards. We are opting for greater product traceability, at all levels of the production chain, confirms Hélène Valade, Environment Development Director at LVMH. Luxury is thus adorned with comprehensive and ambitious programs, which testify to a desire for structural transformation. More recently, designer Alessandro Michele launched "Gucci Off The Grid", a line using second-hand materials. Designers John Galliano at Maison Margiela, and Virgil Abloh at Louis Vuitton have designed “upcycled” collections. Finally Burberry, which caused a scandal by burning more than 30 million euros of unsold items in 2017, has undertaken to eliminate this practice definitively and has joined the “Make Fashion circular” program developed by the Ellen McArthur Foundation. The world of luxury is making an unprecedented ethical and ecological shift, the question of green fashion is now on everyone's lips. Initiated by the "Anti-fur movement", little by little, luxury brands are abandoning animal fur one by one for fake ones such as Prada, Gucci, Dries Van Notten, Burberry or Giorgio Armani. The big names in luxury have joined forces in large numbers with Fur Free Alliance, the association campaigning for the end of the exploitation of animals for their coat since autumn 2016. Stella McCartney, instigator of luxury activist, is probably the most committed designer. Since the launch of her eponymous house in 2001, the pioneer of eco-friendly fashion has been offering ecological and sustainable wardrobes. She does not use leather, fur, feathers or any other animal fabric. She recently announced her union with the Bolt Threads association, which is committed to the sustainable development of materials and which produces silk designed from yeast or an alternative to leather from mushrooms. Innovation in materials affects all luxury sectors. Groups such as Kering or LVMH are part of the movement and have set up “Sustainable Development” departments. This is only the beginning of a long list of eco-responsible designers responding to the constantly growing demand of consumers who are increasingly demanding and concerned by the notion of ethics in this environment.

Biodiversity at the heart of the challenges

According to a study by the IFOP (French Institute of Public Opinion), since the health crisis, consumers have been expecting brands to be committed to environment. Among the purchasing motivations, 24% want reasoned consumption and 25% are for committed consumption that respects the environment. This paradigm shift is mainly taking place under the impetus of “millenials”, these new consumers who are very attentive to the values ​​of sustainable development. Faced with environmental expectations, luxury, rightly considered like other sectors as a major emitter of CO2 emissions, is reinventing itself and adopting eco-responsible actions. Starting with LVMH which, through its Life 360 ​​plan, has just announced that by 2026, its Maisons will no longer use virgin plastic in their packaging. This goes through the innovation box for the world leader with 75 brands. Regarding biodiversity, Bernard Arnault's group is committed to ensuring that in 5 years, 100% of strategic raw materials will be certified by means that preserve ecosystems and water resources. On the climate, the group is committed to reducing its carbon emissions related to energy consumption by 50% by 2026, compared to 2019, and to supplying its stores and sites with 100% renewable energy. Its great rival Kering is not left out, however, since the number two in luxury has undertaken to fully offset the greenhouse gas emissions generated by all of its activities, including its supply chain, notably through forest protection programs. The group claims that it now offsets all the residual annual emissions accounted for, those related to the extraction of materials purchased by the company, or the transport of employees, which often constitutes the largest part of a group's emissions. Boosted by the Paris Accords in 2015, Kering introduces the EP & L: a tool that measures, throughout the supply chain, CO2 emissions, water consumption, air and water pollution, land use and waste production . If 2020 will have been the year of the acceleration of the green of the luxury giants, the latter are still today among the main polluters in the world. A problem that the sector is trying to tackle head on through the "Fashion Pact", a global coalition that brings together 56 companies and 250 brands to date, created at the G7 Summit in Biarritz at the request of Emmanuel Macron and led by Francois-Henri Pinault. Objectives: to stop global warming, restore biodiversity and protect the oceans. Chanel, for example, has given up using animal fur and exotic skins. Multinationals and independent creators also unite through the environmental philanthropy collective 1% for the planet. Initiated by Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, the association has, since 2002, raised more than 200 million euros for the protection of wild species, the fight against global warming and pollution. Kering has committed to achieving a “net positive impact” on biodiversity by 2025 by regenerating and protecting an area six times greater than the total ecological footprint of the group's entire supply chain. The latest example to date, last March, LVMH unveiled its “biodiversity” commitments and strengthened its partnership with Unesco by wanting to achieve “biodiversity neutrality” by 2030.

Even if there is still a long way to go for the fashion industry, one of the most polluting in the world, green initiatives will have been the red thread of the years 2020 and 2021 for many luxury players. The sector still has a long way to go before being awarded the title of sustainable luxury, but more and more players are committed to creating the luxury of tomorrow. One thing is certain: luxury will be lasting or it will not be.

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