RE-FASHIONING FASHION
Named the most sustainable textile, apparel and luxury goods company during the World Economic Forum in Davos 2018, Kering’s chief sustainability officer and head of international institutional affairs, Marie-Claire Daveu, shares a [sustainable] view as a luxury insider.
When we look at fashion we see glamour, beauty, creativity and craftsmanship reflected back at us, especially when it comes to luxury. But there is a shadow on the other side of this gilded mirror that is all too often invisible. Behind the scenes, the industry is a huge consumer of water, energy, chemicals and natural resources. And fashion is responsible for its share in the issues facing us today, like climate change. In fact, fashion, with its complex supply chain, is currently considered the second-most polluting industry in the world. This, combined with the social injustices that are still rampant in many of these global supply chains, is nothing less than unacceptable and, subsequently, our industry must be fashioned very differently from the one we have been familiar with.
This ‘re-fashioning’ of fashion in order to change its out-ofdate ‘make-waste’ philosophy to a greener and more ethical proposition is a daunting mission indeed! However, we have to embrace this mission with no other option but to succeed. We need vocal leaders, brands and also consumers to call the entire industry to task. Our future depends on it. For Kering, this is, of course, about social concerns and the long-term health of our environment, but also for the success of our brands [which include Gucci, Saint Laurent, Balenciaga and Stella McCartney, among many others]. To put it simply, reinventing products through the lens of sustainability makes good business sense. And we all have a role to play.
When I entered Kering I was entering a world of luxury fashion I had yet to explore. I come from a background of engineering and politics – worlds apart! But I quickly came to realise that luxury fashion influences and shapes the trends many of us adopt and incorporate into our lifestyles. This incentive, alongside the daily commitment to sustainability from Kering’s CEO, François-Henri Pinault, allowed me to really dig into the issues that our industry is beset with, to try to also influence fashion in a positive way. At Kering, we take this pursuit very seriously and we are embedding sustainability throughout our brands, from the raw materials we source to the manufacturing of our products and their further life cycles. We are focused on changing the unsustainable traditional approaches both within our own business and across our entire industry.
We view sustainability as a series of opportunities where there is tremendous potential to improve and innovate our industry. I personally believe that we are at a watershed moment where we all have the ability to set the way we want the world to be for us and for our future generations, whether it is in the work we do or in the choices we make every day. Let’s ensure that we make the right choices to change this future and ensure it is one that is firmly set in sustainability.