Always trendy, always on point, Gucci has been a staple since its creation in 1921. Now, with the release of the movie House of Gucci, the world is talking about the Italian Luxury brand more than ever. And when I say “the world” I include myself, of course, albeit for a very particular reason: Ethics.
We can see the magnificent Lady Gaga say in the movie’s trailer “I don’t consider myself to be a particularly ethical person, but I am fair.” Well, I’m not sure if she is either one, but that left me wondering: How ethical is Gucci?
Gucci Equilibrium
Sustainability and transparency are concepts that go hand in hand. Without the latter, sustainability becomes a bit flimsy, and we risk falling into the greenwashing trap. Gucci is aware of this and has pledged its commitment to both by launching Gucci Equilibrium, an online platform designed “to give consumers a choice and know more about sustainability practices at Gucci.”[1] The goal is to connect people, planet and purpose.
CEO Carbon Neutral Challenge, regenerative agricultural initiatives, promotion of circularity, innovative materials, etc., etc., etc. Gucci’s commitment to the environment is stronger than ever! In the words of the brand’s CEO, Marco Bizzarri, “Gucci is committed to a culture of purpose putting environmental and social impact at the heart of the brand…Together, by committing to a culture of purpose, taking responsibility and encouraging respect, inclusivity, and empowerment, we want to create the necessary conditions for a progressive approach to sustainability.”[2]
Culture of purpose: Gucci’s ethical strategy
Gucci is trying hard to reduce its environmental impact, protect nature, and support people’s rights through creativity and collaboration.[3] In 2015 the brand announced its 10-year “Culture of Purpose” sustainability strategy, which focuses not just on reducing its impact but creating sustainable supply chains. The result? The expansion of its long-term efforts to design a more sustainable business.[4] These targets include, namely:
- People
- Planet
- Reducing the company’s total environmental footprint by 40%.
- Decreasing its greenhouse gas emissions by 50%.
- Attaining 100% traceability for its raw materials and 100% alignment with Kering’s Standards for Raw Materials and Manufacturing Processes.
- Using 100% renewable energy by the end of 2022.
- Developing new eco-friendly sourcing solutions, raw materials and processes by applying disruptive innovation.[6]
Keeping track of the progress
One of the keys to success on the road to sustainability is to monitor and chart the progress. This serves as a year-over-year benchmark while allowing us to fully understand a company’s impact at every part of its supply chain. Also, remember about transparency and sustainability going hand-in-hand? Well, keeping track of the process also allows companies to transparently share that information with their stakeholders.
As a part of the Kering Group –also parent to Alexander McQueen, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, and many more luxury brands– Gucci is encouraged and obliged to comply with sustainability standards. To ensure this, Kering monitors the brand through an annual Environmental Profit and Loss (EP&L) accounting, an innovative tool for quantifying the company’s climate impact in financial and non-financial terms.[7]
The EP&L makes the environmental impacts of the Group’s activities visible, quantifiable, and comparable by measuring carbon emissions, water consumption, air and water pollution, land use, and waste production along the entire supply chain. [8] What makes this document so valuable is the fact that these impacts are then “converted into monetary values to quantify the use of natural resources. Kering can thus use the EP&L to guide its sustainability strategy, improve its processes and supply sources, and choose the best-adapted technologies.”[9]
The Fashion Pact and a carbon-neutral approach
Launched by French President, Emmanuel Macron, and presented to Heads of State at the G7 Summit in Biarritz in August of 2019, the Fashion Pact is a CEO-led global coalition that brings together over 60 members, among which are global players, niche brands, and experts from sectors along the entire value chain. Gucci is a proud member of the Fashion Pact under its parent company, Kering.
The coalition aims to improve the sustainable performance of the fashion business by setting a common agenda that prioritizes actions and tangible targets. The pact is led by two main principles: collective collaborative action and promotion of improvements. The Pact has three primary pillars:(i) climate change mitigation; (ii) restoration of biodiversity; and (iii) protection of the oceans [learn more about the Fashion Pact here].
Additionally, Gucci’s climate strategy is driven by its carbon-neutral approach while translating all its remaining impacts every year into protecting critical forests and biodiversity around the world. As of 2018, Gucci has been entirely carbon neutral in its direct operations and across the entire supply chain.[10]
Circular economy
There is often a misconception about circularity in fashion. Circularity in no way means “boring,” why would it? It forces artists to be even more creative because they must work from something that already exists but make it different and better. Gucci wants to leave behind the fashion’s linear model to get into a circular one. The goal is to make circularity a part of the process without sacrificing design or creativity. “The beauty of old materials [should be] celebrated in an everlasting cycle, and new natural resources [should not be] a requisite for appeal and quality.”[11]
So, how does Gucci do it? It constantly increases the amount of recycled and regenerated materials in its collections across the entire supply chain. An example is an increase in the use of materials that are originally derived from post-industrial textile waste, like Econyl® regenerated nylon yarn, 100% obtained from pre and post-consumer waste, such as abandoned fishing nets and carpets.[12] Econyl® is the main material used in Gucci Off the Grid, the first collection in Gucci’s Circular Lines.
Gucci also has the ‘Gucci-Up’ program which focuses on upcycling leather and textile offcuts created during manufacturing.[13] Also, since 2015 Gucci has been working with Green Line, a company specializing in collecting and recycling textile scraps so that textile waste can be recovered.[14] These initiatives led to around 27 tons of reusable leather scraps and the collection of 290 tons of scraps from Gucci’s suppliers between 2018 and 2020.[15] There’s no doubt about one thing: combining circularity and social enterprise has certainly proved to be a success!
Gucci and the second-hand market
“Exclusivity” is a synonym for luxury, and counterfeiting is something that luxury brands take very seriously. So naturally, they tend to have second thoughts about entering the second-hand market, fearing it will cheapen their brand. Remember when it was found that Burberry (as many others) incinerated excess stock rather than sell it at a discounted rate?[16] Not the best role model…
Luxury products have a longer shelf life than other types of products which in some way supports a circular economy. The collision of the luxury and second-hand worlds makes products that are already inherently longevous even more so, taking them away from landfills for years, even decades. So, fortunately, Gucci opted for a better solution than Burberry did by teaming up with The RealReal. The purpose was to promote circularity for luxury fashion in an online shop featuring a selection of pre-loved Gucci to reduce the impact on the environment.
Final thoughts: Is Gucci the future?
What we have seen so far is just a part of all the progress Gucci is making to continue its path to being a more sustainable, transparent, and ethical company. The red and green brand knows what it wants and is focused on achieving it by acknowledging that sustainability and transparency are a prerequisite for any product it offers. Results so far have been real and quantifiable.
Keep in mind that there are no 100% sustainable brands, but Gucci is on the right track and is an example for other luxury (and even non-luxury) brands to follow. As I said before, creativity and sustainability are not enemies. A rigorous strategy together with determination are key to success. Luckily Gucci knows it and is certainly nailing it!
What do you think about Gucci? Do you think it is on the right track? Should other luxury brands follow its steps?
