Sustainable luxury may still be in its nascency in most of the apparel industry, however, Kering is being recognized for its environmental leadership and ability to reduce fashion’s carbon footprint.
Kering was named as the world’s most sustainable apparel, luxury and textile goods business by the Corporate Knights’ Global 100 index, which was published at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland today.
This is the third consecutive year that Kering has appeared on the list; this year placing first within its own industry and 47th overall in the index. Kering was one of the 7,425 companies evaluated by the index. The top 100 of which represent the top 2 percent of companies in the world for sustainability performance. Kering, which owns luxury brands including Alexander McQueen, Saint Laurent and Bottega Veneta, received some of the highest scores—with a water productivity score of 72.3%, an energy productivity score of 65.9%, a carbon productivity score of 59.9% and a waste productivity score of 57.3%.
“A criterion in all business decisions, traversing all departments and areas of our supply chain, we consider sustainability to be the Kering seal of savoir-faire,” said Marie-Claire Daveu, chief sustainability officer and head of international institutional affairs at Kering. “Inclusion in Corporate Knights’ 2018 Global 100, as the most sustainable corporation in the textile, apparel and luxury sector, is thus truly an honor for Kering, and a source of motivation to continue our pursuit of a more sustainable luxury.”
[Read more about Kering’s sustainability efforts: Hugo Boss, Adidas, Gildan Top the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index]
Kering’s brands, including Gucci and Stella McCartney, have recently stepped up their sustainability commitments and achieved circularity milestones.
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Stella McCartney and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation recently teamed up on a new circular roadmap for apparel that offers suggestions for fashion’s current take-make-dispose model and suggests new practices for brands, designers and manufacturers to make the move to a more circular economy in the next few years. Last Fall, Gucci also joined the fur-free trend along with others like Yoox Net-a-Porter Group, which pledged to protect animals as a part of its corporate social responsibility initiatives.
Additionally, Kering previously published a guide about sourcing organic cotton and incorporating the material into apparel supply chains. Introduced at the Textile Exchange conference in Washington last fall, the guide offers detailed best practices for a more responsible organic cotton trade—including boosting uptake of organic cotton, supporting organic cotton farmers and fostering a more eco-conscious product mindset for consumers.