Greenpeace ranks and challenges haute couture brands
Greenpeace yesterday published a ranking http://fr.thefashionduel.com/ of major haute couture and luxury brands according to their environmental policies, and in particular their impact on chemical pollution and tropical deforestation.
Greenpeace is calling on all its supporters worldwide to step up the pressure on these major luxury brands to make a public commitment and take concrete action to exclude hazardous chemical substances, and raw materials from deforestation, from their production chains.
Valentino tops the list, Chanel and Hermès bottom out
Italian brand Valentino tops the list for best policies and commitments, while six brands, including Chanel and Hermès, come bottom of the list for not taking environmental issues seriously enough.
The “Fashion Duel” ranking identifies and evaluates Italian and French luxury brands in a study of three aspects of their supply chains: leather, packaging paper and water pollution. The brands were approached last November, and ranked according to the transparency of their supply chain and their willingness to make credible commitments to toxic-free, deforestation-free fashion.
Luxury brand Valentino has just pledged to exclude the use of any toxic chemicals and to adopt a “zero deforestation” sourcing policy for its products. Conversely, Chanel, Hermès, Prada and Dolce&Gabbana, for example, have refused to provide the information requested by Greenpeace or to make any commitment to improve their practices.
Deforestation, toxic products: the environmental impact of the luxury sector
The textile industry is one of the main sources of water pollution in countries such as China and Mexico; Greenpeace investigations have revealed that factories release hazardous products, including endocrine disruptors, into the environment. At the same time, tropical forests are being clear-cut to make packaging, while the Amazon rainforest is being destroyed to make pasture for cattle breeding, which provides the leather for shoes, bags and belts.
“Since the launch of the “Detox” campaign in 2011, 16 major brands have already committed to a “detox” cure, i.e. to exclude the use of hazardous chemicals throughout their production chain,” explains Jérôme Frignet. If high-volume brands have taken the plunge, it’s hard to understand why the luxury sector, with its very high margins on every item sold, couldn’t do the same. Valentino has just set an example.
Cette publication est également disponible en : Français (French)
