Sustainability Issues in
Luxury
Sustainability Issues in Luxury
• I love luxury brands
• I feel a bit guilty when I buy a luxury good
• I prefer packs without the big logo of the store
• I appreciate the extreme quality of luxury goods
• Liking luxury is liking a superficial way of life
• Luxury and sustainability are contradictory
• Luxury should be exemplary in terms of sustainability
• Given their price, it would be shocking to hear that
luxury brands are not compliant
• Long-lasting luxury products match sustainability ideals
• …
Sustainability Issues in Luxury
• …
• Luxury makes people buy products far too expensive for
their means
• Symbol of human inequalities, luxury contradicts
sustainability
• Luxury brands are late in terms of sustainability
• Sustainable Development must look after other priority
sectors than luxury
• Luxury encourages excess spoilage; sustainability
encourages self-control
• Luxury is not ethical
• When I buy luxury products, I don’t care about
sustainability
• Luxury has no future in a world driven by sustainability
• Sustainability will kill the creativity and dream of luxury
Gucci Zumi alligator bag
Louis Vuitton Ostrich backpack
Sustainability Issues in Luxury
• Some luxury brand exploit cheap workforce
• Killing animals for their fur
• Having to kill crocodiles to make a luxury handbag
• Destroying unsold products rather than selling them at a discount
• Private yachts that require 150,000 litres of fuel
• Creating golf courses and luxury hotels in countries where people
are Starving
• Luxury cars with high carbon emissions
• Spending holidays in five star hotels in underdeveloped countries
where inhabitants lack for everything
• The tradition of wrapping luxury products in multiple wrappings that
all end in a trash bin
• Stuffing geese and ducks (exotic animals) for the pleasure of eating
• Young consumers buying luxury goods at hefty prices
• Transporting heavy Champagne bottles and exotic fruits across the
globe (carbon footprints)
• Luxury billboards in the street when there is an economic crisis and
precariousness in our country
Sustainability Issues in Luxury
Social impact
• Migrant workers, undocumented (‘illegal’) workers, invisible
workers and forced and indentured labor
• Women and gender inequality: 80% of garment workers are
women aged 18 to 35, the average gender pay gap is about
18% and women are the most affected by climate change
• Textile production affects workers’ health through hazardous
substances and contributes 1.2 billion tons of greenhouse
gases annually
• When a company decides not to buy cotton anymore, it has
an impact on growers and weavers
• Replacing leather with artificial materials ticks the
sustainability box, but how does it affect the livelihoods of
Asian livestock farmers?
Sustainability Issues in Luxury
Environmental footprint
• The time-sensitive nature of fashion and the fashion calendar
are two of the main factors responsible for the impact of the
fast fashion industry
• Overproduction
• Creating a timeless product that is “long-lasting” is better for
the environment than using lower-impact materials with a
shorter lifecycle
Natural resources
• Electricity: High energy consumption
• Water consumption and pollution.
Sustainability Issues in Luxury
Materials
• Single-use plastic
• Microfiber pollution
• Fur and exotic skins
• Luxury fashion impacts the pace of both raw material
extraction and global shipping
• Fragrance and cosmetics have an additional impact of
packaging
• Pesticides use
• Cotton is water-intensive and with a heavy footprint
• Luxury fashion is dependent on carbon/Greenhouse gas
emissions
• Transportation footprint – CO2 emissions
Sustainability in Luxury
• Recognize the industry's impact: understanding the impact on
the environment, and encouraging sustainable practices is
essential for alleviating the industry's carbon footprint
• Incorporate sustainability into your company values and
mission: communicate to stakeholders—including customers,
employees and investors
• Set and share sustainability goals and targets: Explore and
evaluate sustainable alternatives for your current practices, such as
eco-friendly materials, renewable energy sources, sustainable
supply chain partners and circular business models
• Engage with customers and employees on the topic of
sustainability: Raise awareness and give stakeholders a sense of
ownership and participation in your sustainability efforts
• Partner with other eco-conscious brands: Form partnerships
with other eco-conscious brands to share knowledge, resources
and best practices
