Blog Entry by Vikas Vij in Corporate Social Responsibility

(3BL Media/Justmeans) – Luxury product consumers have increasingly become vocal about social and environmental causes, and more importantly, are willing to make a difference through their buying choices. Luxury companies also face increased attention from investors who want to know about a company’s sustainability practices before they invest.

Positive Luxury has a released a new report titled “2016 Predictions for the Luxury Industry: Sustainability and Innovation,” which examines impactful events from 2015 to forecast how the increasing recognition of climate change concerns will impact luxury in 2016.

Diana Verde Nieto, co-founder of Positive Luxury, London, said that sustainability will help luxury brands to de-risk their business and remain competitive. Together with the Luxury Institute, Positive Luxury conducted interviews with opinion leaders in the luxury lifestyle space, which included LVMH, Kering, Forevermark, IWC and the British Fashion Council, among others.

During the Paris climate summit, French luxury conglomerate LVMH took the opportunity to showcase its sustainability practices. LVMH, which owns brands such as Louis Vuitton and Bulgari, shared insights about its sustainability programs and strategies on its corporate Facebook account.

Kering, which owns brands such as Gucci, Saint Laurent, and Puma, is helping the world visualize its environmental impact with an interactive environmental profit and loss statement. To ensure transparency, Kering has presented this interactive statement on its website, depicting the various steps in production and environmental categories where it is making an impact.

Brands such as Saint Laurent and Christian Dior have implemented tactics that are environmentally sound. For instance, three Saint Laurent storefronts have been given the highest LEED certification, while Dior has incorporated responsible lighting in a number of its international boutiques.

Additionally, brands are becoming more conscious about protecting the resource supply chain. Prada has purchased the French tannery Tannerie Mégisserie Hervy to ensure the skills held by its workers are preserved. In a similar move, Chanel purchased French lamb hide tannery Bodin-Joyeux in 2013.

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