A report released by environmental group WWF at the end of last year showed that luxury brands still have a long way to go to improve their green record.
The 52-page report, Deeper Luxury, said consumers of luxury goods are waking up to the fact that their favourite brands do not have the best green record and are pushing them to become more environmentally friendly.
The report graded companies from A to F, taking into account their sustainability reports, as well as evaluating them on how they were reported on in the media and how NGOs viewed them.
“We are seeing the birth of a movement for authentic luxury that could remind us all that sustainability is truly our highest aspiration and greatest success,” said authors Jem Bendell and Anthony Kleanthous. “Luxury companies must do more to justify their value in an increasingly resource-constrained and unequal world.
“Let’s face it, who wants to pay extra for a dirty brand?” they said.
Some Hollywood stars such as Sienna Miller have strong convictions about the environment and have taken personal action to combat damaging environmental impacts, the authors said. Miller campaigns against climate change through her association with Global Cool.
The report challenges celebrities to consider the green record of the products they endorse commercially. “WWF is launching a new ‘Star Charter’ for celebrities to adopt, committing them to consider the environmental and social performance of the brands they endorse,” Kleanthous said.
The environmental group identified a 10-point action plan to help celebrities get started, which includes “embedding social responsibility and innovation into corporate and brand DNA”.
The report declared that “the direct environmental impacts of luxury brands are significant” and suggested ways in which luxury companies could green themselves. It recommended focusing on the social and environmental qualities of products, creating goods that would last and offering return and repair facilities.
Besides the environmental issues, the report also touched on wildlife trade, human rights, blood diamonds and fair practices.
Ten of the world’s biggest luxury brands were investigated in the survey. L’Oreal, the world’s biggest cosmetics company, took top honours, with Hermès and LVMH, which owns more than 50 brands, including Louis Vuitton, Fendi and Marc Jacobs.
United States firms Coach and Tiffany scored worst on environmental practices, while Italian accessories label Tod’s fared worst overall, mostly because of its unwillingness to respond to the research questionnaires. Tod’s is endorsed by Miller.
But even the top performers could manage only a C+. Louis Vuitton scored well in its environment grading for not using plastic wrapping for customer deliveries and for the lower amounts of carbon emitted by its retail sector.
How the companies fared:
L’Oréal: C+
Hermès: C+
LVMH: C+
Coach (leather goods): C
Tiffany & Co (diamonds/jewellery): D+
Swatch (watches): D
PPR (which owns Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and Stella McCartney): D
Richemont: D
Bulgari: F
Tod’s: F