Fashion designer Stella McCartney has been a leader of the environmental trend from the beginning, using neither fur nor leather in her products, as well as powering her boutiques worldwide with wind energy. Large luxury conglomerates such as PPR, the main rival to LVMH, are becoming more self-conscious – analysing their packaging waste and the carbon footprint incurred by the distribution of their goods internationally. Luxury hotel group Dorchester Collection opens a new property in 2010, Coworth Park, near Ascot, in which each room will feature furniture sourced from local artisans and undyed, organic linens.
But how and why are environmental and social initiatives motivating corporate investments? This question returns to a basic principle of ownership: good stewardship. Luxury retailer Hermès’ success is due in no small part to their 100 per cent ownership of the suppliers and tanneries of their leathers and exotic skins. This is environmental, if not economic, sustainability on a micro scale – instituting reproducible practices and reliable infrastructures that avoid future reliance on resources that will eventually elevate in price because of scarcity.
Early May 2009 saw the first edition of the Sustainable Luxury Fair, entitled “1.618” (as in the ‘Golden Ratio’) and held in Paris, which featured products across sectors that conveyed luxury with a smart attitude. Sleekly designed motors took centre stage, from the California-based Tesla Motors (http://www.teslamotors.com) Roadster with battery recycling and zero emissions, to the Dutch luxury speedboat company Czeers Solarboats (http://www.czeers.com) that rely on solar energy. Luxury is redefining itself not as indulgence but as enrichment, well-being and responsibility founded on long-term relationships with brands and “’he global village’.
As we’ve indeed seen how self-interest can take economic structures to their limits, now everyone – and particularly the luxury industry that depends on the excesses of self-interest – is looking towards contracting in order to reaffirm and reassess core values. Having strong values means good judgement, good management, and therefore a reliable source for profit returns. For, within the word ‘sustainable’ is implied the sustainability of a good investment.
