EVOLV E SUSTAINABLE FASHION
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SP/14 LEADERS IN SUSTAINABILITY
EFFORTS IN THE INDUSTRY
4 GUCCI Gucci takes steps towards becoming a more sustainable brand by evaluating environmental impact and creating eco–friendly products.
8 ECO FASHION TIMELINE Timeline of Eco Fashion form they years 1988-2011.
10 VIVIENNE WESTWOOD Vivienne Westwood is using her fashion as a voice when it comes to climate control and saving the planet. 20 KERING Kering has set the standard high for how their brands should operate in regards to sustainability. 21 STELLA MCCARTNEY Stella McCartney is a leader in fashion sustainability. She not only chooses to use sustainable materials whenever possible, but also advocates her beliefs on why it is important to protect our planet. 30 NIKE Nike has taken the word innovation to a new level by creating materials that help athletes to perform at their best, and that also are cost neutral to the environment. 38 VALENTINO After Greenpeace evaluated all of the French and Italian fashion brands, they awarded Valentino the highest marks for improving sustainability in its global supply chain.
WATER AND OIL BY STEVEN MEISEL 9
18 PRODUCTION Considering the whole product life cycle. 17 36 DESIGN STRATEGIES Textile Environmental Design Project. 42 SUSTAINABILITY 8 easy ways to make fashion more sustainable.
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WATER AND OIL PHOTOGRAPHS BY STEVEN MEISEL The shoot, titled ‘Water and Oil’, was exhibited in Italian Vogue in august 2010. Shot by Steven Meisel, model Kristen McMenamy lays in a rock pool, an oil-drenched fishing net trailing from her dress. In another shot, she coughs up water as if she’s drowning. This shoot uses fashion as a medium to discuss the issue of pollution around the time of the BP oil spill crisis. ‘The message is to be careful about nature,’ said Editor-inChief Franca Sozzani, ‘Just to take care more about nature. I understand that it could be shocking to see and to look in this way these images.’ Sozzani said the shoot reflects the magazine’s effort to ‘find an idea that comes from real life. There is nothing political. There is nothing social. It’s only visually. We gave a message but in a visual way.’ A collection of images from this shoot can be found throughout this book.
46 GAP Gap is a large corporation that has taken many steps to assure that they are cleaning up their supply chain.
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The Gucci Fiat 500. Arrive Fashionably in the iconic Gucci stripe once again steps off the runway and onto the road. Fiat Automobiles was confirmed as the most “environmentally friendly� brand in Europe. Fiat remains lowest volumeweighted CO2 brand; Fiat 500 is lowest CO2 volume car.
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EVALUATING IMPACT STEPS TOWARDS A MORE SUSTAINABLE GUCCI
Gucci and the Italian ministry of the environment are engaging in a joint effort to evaluate their environmental impact. Gucci is the first company in the luxury goods business to sign this type of agreement pledging to measure CO2 emissions produced by its manufacturing supply chain. The Ministry of the Environment and the Florentine fashion house signed a voluntary agreement on the occasion of the launch of Milan Womens-wear Fashion Week and the spring/summer 2013 Gucci show. An agreement to calculate “eco-costs” Patrizio di Marco, President and CEO of the Florentine fashion house and Corrado Clini, Minister of the Environment and Protection of Land and Sea, signed the agreement which will set off a process of analyzing and then reducing environmental impact in the fashion and luxury goods business. This project is geared to evaluating environmental impact and calculating what are known as the “eco-costs” of some of Gucci’s signature products in order to implement processes and products that
are certified under the law and international standards. Gucci—the first company in the luxury goods business to sign this type of agreement—is therefore pledging to measure CO2 emissions produced by its manufacturing supply chain with an eye to reducing them. This agreement with the ministry also calls for evaluating ethicalsocial impact through a close study of the quality of work and quality of life for the people and communities involved. Product labeling to inform consumers: As part of this joint effort, all potential measures for reducing and offsetting the company’s carbon footprint in order to offer carbon-neutral products (with emissions offset) will be explored. More specifically, low-carbon technologies and best practices will be used to improve manufacturing processes, identifying the most economically sustainable and effective measures for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Each of these products will bear a label that provides a history of its use of resources and the labor involved in making it. The labels will serve to inform consumers of the impact on the environment, the local area and the individuals generated during manufacturing. The first results will be available by the end of 2013.
RESPONDING TO COSTUMER’S REQUEST FOR TRANSPARENCY
Patrizio di Marco, president and CEO of Gucci, noted, “I’m very proud to sign such an important agreement with the Ministry of the Environment, and I believe it represents another step forward in our ongoing efforts to work toward sustainable value. Fashion, craftsmanship and social responsibility are embedded in Gucci’s DNA, a unique makeup that renders us different from all other luxury brands. Today’s consumers are looking for a responsible approach and open communication that makes products traceable. Our customers have different motivation than they did in the past and they want their purchases to have meaning and value that goes beyond the tangible value of the items themselves. Today, leading brands in every field are judged not only on the intrinsic quality of the goods and services they provide, but also on their sense of responsibility and their relationships with their communities, their areas and the environment. The pledge we are making today shows that we are moving in the right direction.”
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ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND INITIATIVES PART OF A WIDER AND LONGSTANDING ENGAGEMENT
FORMER DIRECTOR OF CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY BURAK CAMAK
Such an initiative forms part of the company’s system of values, as does its attention towards the environment. In 2010 a program of eco-friendly measures was set up with the aim of gradually reducing the impact of the company’s activities on the environment. Central to these initiatives was the creation of new packaging designed to limit the use of material, produced exclusively with FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified paper and 100% recyclable. At the same time, Gucci also introduced an ambitious program of sustainable activities, including activities to gradually replace paper, optimization of cargo transport to reduce transport by road and the ensuing CO2 emissions, optimization of the vehicle fleet and a program aimed at limiting the energy consumption in shops. In 2010, environmental certification 14001 was also achieved.
Today the luxury industry is under increasing pressure to evolve in order to adapt to the new concerns of our times. Traditionally the ways which luxury items have been produced (using natural, high quality and often locally sourced materials that are then transformed by the precise craftsmanship of skilled artisans) have had a relatively low impact on the environment in comparison to that of the mass market. As high fashion expands into new territories the importance of using innovation to create new and dynamic ways of consuming is becoming clearer for an industry that is bigger than ever before.
In 2004 Gucci distinguished itself as one of the first businesses in its sector to voluntarily start a process of certification in Corporate Social Responsibility (SA 8000) across its whole production chain. Gucci intends to consolidate its efforts towards Social Responsibility by striving to disseminate practices, integrating them with active participation in economic, cultural, social and environmental development from a sustainability standpoint and promoting the search for a “Sustainable Value” which is at the basis of its management policies and its corporate conduct.
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A result of the economic downturn has been a marked change in consumer habit, and non-essential items have been hit the hardest. In order to compensate, The demands of the would-be customers who increasingly expect their luxury purchases to be manufactured in an environmentally responsible manner. The future of design has to move beyond the traditional characteristics of luxury: beaut, desire and exclusivity. A first step that has been taken by many environmentally aware luxury brands is to use recycled materials. A good example is Hermes, who introduced a new line of decorative accessories called ‘Petit h”, created from up-cycled scraps, including defective inventory and factory-floor leftovers. Biomimicry (an ancient design and engineering principle that takes its inspiration from the forms of nature) is also a relevant area of exploration.
New breakthroughs of relevance for luxury fashion designers include fibers manufactured in the same manner as spiderwebs, self-cleaning surfaces inspired by the lotus plant and a fabric that emulates shark skin. The results will be designs that both transcend the sustainability conundrum and inspire wonder in the consumer. Luxury houses are increasingly supporting the development of these technologies through the new partnerships. For example, acknowledging the value of investing in the future of luxury, the Gucci Group sponsored a new PhD scholarship at Central Saint Martin’s College in London. Aimed at promoting creativity and innovation in sustainable textiles. As consumers increasingly push for sustainably sourced products, the luxury fashion industry finds itself pulled towards supporting innovation. This is creating the conditions for a widespread paradigm shift in which sustainability is regarded as central to good design rather than merely an afterthought, and thus a core element of what the luxury industry has to offer. We are moving towards a scenario in which luxury brands can only be desirable to the consumer if their creations are supported by positive values. These values include not only beauty, creativity and exclusivity but also a love of innovation and a sense of respect for the environment throughout every stage of luxury product creation.
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1 GUCCI BIKE Bike riding has always been a more cost-effective mode of transportation when compared to personal motor vehicles and public transportation. Bianchi by Gucci has brought together the talents of the legendary bike manufacturer and worldrenowned fashion house to produce two bikes; a touring bike and a single-speed city model. The Bianchi by Gucci Carbon Urban Bicycle is an 11-speed dynamo. Featuring a black carbon fiber frame with green/red/green web detail as well as handlebars recalling the iconic diamante pattern, the bike is finished off with Bianchi by Gucci logo. 2 ‘ZERO-DEFORESTATION’ HANDBAGS Each handbag comes with a “passport” that provides the history of the product’s supply chain going back to the ranch that produced the leather.
3 SUSTAINABLE EYE-WEAR In 2011 a Gucci, one of the world’s leading luxury brands, and Safilo, worldwide leader in the premium eye-wear sector, announce the launch of a collection of sustainable models. The models were made using an innovative acetate which, compared to traditional acetate used for optical frames, contains a much higher percentage of material from natural origins. The Gucci Eyeweb collection includes two bio-based sunglasses, in a natural material made from castor-oil seeds. These models feature the same comfort and quality of the best plastic currently employed in the eyewear industry, but contain a large component from natural origins, which in turn helps reduce CO2 emissions from the production process of the material itself.
4 SUSTAINABLE SOLES A special edition of eco-friendly women’s and men’s shoes designed by Creative Director Frida Giannini and part of the Prefall 2012 Collection. This new project conveys the House’s mission to interpret in a responsible way the modern consumer’s desire for sustainable fashion products, all the while maintaining the balance between the timeless values of style and utmost quality with an ever-growing green vision. The Sustainable Soles include the Marola Green ballerinas for her and the California Green sneakers for him, both realized in bioplastic, a biodegradable material in compost used as an alternative to petrochemical plastic.
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ECO FASHION TIMELINE 1988
2001
2007
2008
Antwerp designer Martin Margiela’s first collection, for spring 1989, features a leather butcher’s apron re-purposed into an evening gown. He will soon become known as the leader of the deconstructionist movement, and for his use of recycled materials in his collections.
February: Natalie Chanin launches Project Alabama, employing sewing-circle artisans in her native Florence, Alabama. Her collection of 200 hand-sewn T-shirts wows at New York Fashion Week. October: Former Chloe designer Stella McCartney launches her own line, which becomes known for animalfriendly (no leather, no fur) policies.
February: WWD makes note of designers with fur-free policies, including McCartney, Comme des Garçons, and Calvin Klein. April: All 20,000 of designer Anya Hindmarch’s creamand-brown shopping totes, emblazoned with the slogan “I’m Not a Plastic Bag,” sell out within an hour in London. May: Vanity Fair puts out its first green issue. November: Sustainable-fashion guru Rogan Gregory takes the top prize at the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards. December: Models Shalom Harlow and Elettra Wiedemann and designers Diane von Furstenberg and John Patrick, of Organic, contribute to FutureFashion White Papers, a CFDA-backed book of essays on sustainability in the industry. Model Lauren Bush’s organic, fair-trade FEED bag, sold to benefit the UN World Food Programme, becomes the new green It bag. Vogue’s William Norwich explores this season’s conscientious-giving trend in “Season’s Greenings.” Following the success of its Barneys Green initiative, Barneys New York mounts an homage to recycling in its holiday windows.
January: The nonprofit organization Earth Pledge and Barneys New York team up for FutureFashion, a runway show featuring haute-green looks from top-tier names like Versace, Calvin Klein, and Yves Saint Laurent. July: The Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation announces the creation of the new Sustainable Design Award. December: “Green is the new luxury”[8] is the maxim on the table at the annual New York WWD Fashion Conference.
1989 Franco Moschino sends models down the runway in T-shirts pleading that consumers “Stop Using Our Oceans as a W.C.”
1990 March: In “Natural Selection,” Vogue spotlights the new environmental trend in fashion. Models at Norma Kamali wear T-shirts bearing slogans like “Acid Rain Squad” and “Earth Children.” New York celebrates the twentieth anniversary of Earth Day with eco-themed events citywide. June: Members of the Fashion Group, including designer Katharine Hamnett, speak to the United Nations about the environmental impacts of the industry.
2004 Rogan Gregory and Scott Hahn launch Loomstate, the first designer organic-denim line. The first Ethical Fashion Show (a showcase of sustainable, artisanal design) is held in Paris.
2005
Xuly-Bet’s re-purposed designs are the hot ticket in Paris, New York, and Milan.
February: Nonprofit environmental organization Earth Pledge holds its first eco-friendly fashion show. U2’s Bono and his wife, Ali Hewson, collaborate with Rogan Gregory on Edun, an environmentally and socially conscious label. October: “Ethical Fabrics Gaining Popularity,”[6] WWD reports. November: Project Alabama and eco-minded knitwear line Lutz & Patmos named CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalists.
1995
2006
1993
Giorgio Armani begins using hemp in his Emporio Armani collection.
2000 Tara Subkoff and Matthew Damhave bring resurrection chic to New York Fashion Week with their line of reworked thrift-shop castoffs, Imitation of Christ.
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January: Former vice president Al Gore’s documentary An Inconvenient Truth premieres at Sundance. April: On the eve of the 35th anniversary of Earth Day, Suzy Menkes pens a piece for the International Herald Tribune entitled “Eco-friendly: Why Green Is the New Black.”[7] September: The British Fashion Council launches Estethica, an ethical-fashion showcase. The marquee designer is Katharine Hamnett, who launches a sustainable sportswear line.
2009 March: Vogue introduces Style Ethics, a special section spotlighting the best in sustainable chic, edited by fashion director Tonne Goodman. Longtime eco-activist and model Angela Lindvall inaugurates the page in an Oeko-Tex-certified cupro slip and organic Japanese cotton seersucker suit, both by CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalist John Patrick of Organic. June: Green is the theme for this month’s Vogue. September: Princess Charlotte Casiraghi confounds EVER Manifesto, a print and Web magazine devoted to moving the sustainability movement.
2010 February: New York Fashion Week goes green, with a new carbon-neutral policy involving the purchase of carbon credits to offset all CO2 emissions. Sustainable fabrics are widely seen, and water fountains installed in an effort to banish plastic bottles. April: Christian Cota’s Agua Cota line benefits eco-cause Wine to Water. May: The Museum at F.I.T. mounts “Eco-Fashion: Going Green,” an exhibit focused on the industry’s relationship with the environment. September: First official sustainable fashion show staged at London Fashion Week. November: Model Sasha Pivovarova shines in “Naturally Refined,” an ecofashion portfolio. The CFDA and Lexus announce the honorees of the new Eco Fashion Challenge award: Monique Péan, Costello Tagliapietra, and Maria Cornejo.
2011 March: Vogue and Christie’s team with sustainable-fashionawareness group Runway to Green for a show and live auction. Major brands and nonprofits come together to form the Sustainable Apparel Coalition. May: Eco-active model and United Nations Environment Programme Goodwill Ambassador Gisele Bündchen named Harvard’s 2011 Global Environmental Citizen in recognition of her eco-efforts. Lancome ambassadress Elettra Wiedemann wears a recycled minidress by Prabal Gurung to the Met ball. July: Ethically conscious label Suno is named a CFDA/ Vogue Fashion Fund finalist.
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PHOTOGRAPH BY STEVEN MEISEL
VIVI ENNE WEST WOOD 10 EVOLUTION SP/14
REVOLUTIONIZING FASHION FREEDOM FIGHTER
VIVIENNE’S PLAN OF OPERATION
Don’t call Dame Vivienne Westwood an environmental activist. The legendary British designer prefers the term “freedom fighter.”
1 Affirm the connection between climate change and the financial crisis.
“I’ve got a voice because I’ve got a lot of credibility as a fashion designer,” she says. “So I have been using my fashion for the last five or so years as a medium.” Westwood doesn’t shy away from doling advice, but it’s not a matter of “do as I say, not as I do.” “I ride a bicycle for convenience and I’m a person who doesn’t like to waste things,” she says. “I never waste food, for example. I also don’t eat meat. I’m a very privileged person living in this part of the world so I can make choices, and my preferred food really is just fruit and vegetables. You don’t need other food. Once you get into it, nothing else tastes so good.”
2 Implement two measures without which we cannot stop climate change: i. Establish the Arctic Commons ii. Save the Rainforest’s Both of these are possible now. 3 Tackle the need for clean energy. The quickest safe option is nuclear. The problem is that the public is against it. We think this is because of false propaganda from the press who have massively misrepresented the facts to satisfy the thrill of a good scare story. 4) Curb the Corporations, especially the extractive industries and agribusiness. We shall now form a cabinet of operations so that we can rally the troops who are already forming.
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THE RUNWAY AS A MEDIUM CHAOS POINT
Dame Vivienne Westwood, always the iconoclastic, three times named British Designer of the Year, has in recent years turned her passionate attention to the urgent issues of climate change and rainforest depletion, inspired by the James Lovelock’s Gaia theories. Without irony, Westwood encourages people to buy and consume less, but when they do buy fashion, to choose well (and perhaps buy hers). These ideas inform Westwood’s designs in unexpected and intriguing ways. Her Autumn/ Winter 2008 collection, called ‘Chaos Point’, reflected a fusion of references including awareness of climate change and concerns about the future of the population. The Collection was quite child-like in its proportions, featuring, for instance, a ball gown that was shown on the catwalk by a model on stilts to emphasize its long asymmetric swaths of trailing fabric. The prints for this collection were based on drawings done by Nottingham school children who were first briefed by Westwood about global warming and then asked to imagine that they were eco-warriors or freedom fighters in the forest. (Images of the collection are shown on the left)
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VIVIENNE’S CURRENT EFFORTS CLIMATE REVOLUTION
The Climate Revolution is based on this simple fact: “CO2 emission increases have put us on the path to a 6 degree rise in global temperatures by 2100. This could bring about the extinction of 95% of species on the planet” Vivienne Westwood is using her runways and her “celebrity” to bring a voice and action to this global crisis. She is challenging each of us to live a life of active resistance, what that means is simple: “If people would buy only beautiful things, that is Climate Economy. That would be a revolution to change the world.” (Climate Revolution charter on opposite page)
GREENPEACE: SAVE THE ARTIC
Launching a photo-campaign to promote Greenpeace’s efforts to Save the Arctic, backed by George Clooney and singers Chris Martin and Paloma Faith, Vivienne Westwood said she wanted to concentrate on preserving and improving what her company already does, despite recent success in China and the US. “I have decided not to expand any more. In fact I want to do the opposite,” she told the Observer. “I am now more interested in quality rather than quantity.” Westwood, 72, said she did not want to defend the fashion industry, although she regards “true fashion” as an important part of culture. “Do I feel guilty about all the consumption that the fashion world promotes? Well, I can answer that by saying that I am now trying to make my own business more efficient and self-sustaining. This also means trying to make everybody who works in it happy, if I can.” Westwood’s company made a £5m profit in 2012. The results were significantly up on the previous year, largely due to new shops, but the firm was criticised for unpaid work-experience schemes. Westwood said that communicating the threat of climate change had become her priority and so she is keen to promote Greenpeace’s work to protect the Arctic. “The status quo will kill us. People don’t realise how quickly we are marching towards a possible mass extinction. Once the global temperature goes up beyond two degrees, you can’t stop it.
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Current predictions are that we will see a rise of more like 4C or 6C, which would mean that everything below Paris would become uninhabitable.” In recent years Westwood’s campaigning has focused on reforming business policy, the ecology of climate change, anti-fracking events, and supporting the charity Cool Earth’s efforts to preserve the rainforests. The designer aims, she said, to work on areas with achievable goals and she chronicles her activities on the website Climate Revolution. She sees the western economy as “intertwined” with ecological danger, “like two snakes”. “I can’t speak for the views of other fashion designers. Some of them don’t seem to be interested in anything but fashion and they even go on holiday with designers and magazine editors, but they have all been very supportive of me.”
Vivienne Westwood
Safron Burrows
Fashion shows for Westwood have also become an opportunity to talk about her beliefs. “Nobody has got cross with me, as far as I know, and said: ‘Here she comes again!’” The portraits for Greenpeace feature Clooney, Martin, Monty Python’s Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam, as well as the modelling mother and daughter Jerry Hall and Georgia May Jagger and the actress Saffron Burrows, and they were taken by award-winning celebrity photographer Andy Gotts MBE. “People want to support Vivienne Westwood,” said Gotts. “She’s so passionate. They see Vivienne as someone really special and people feel the urge to fight in her corner.” Westwood met Gotts at a charity photo shoot for Elton John and he offered to help with her campaign portraits. “Andy is popular with celebrities because he makes it all a pleasant experience. I also really relied on the help of Jerry Hall and Georgia May to do this,” said Westwood. The T-shirt design, a heart-shaped globe, was picked for its clarity.
Georgia May Jagger
George Clooney
Paloma Faith
Celebrities are often the key to getting a message across, said Westwood, adding that she hopes to do more work with famous names. “Public opinion is very responsive to celebrity. The first thing I tend to do is ask them for a small amount of money, something that means nothing to them. Then they feel involved, rather than as if they are just doing me a favour.” (Images of the campaign are shown on the left)
Chris Martin
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WE’VE ALL GOT THE POTENTIAL TO MAKE THE WORLD AMAZING
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GETTING PERSONAL EXCERPTS FROM AN INTERVIEW WITH TIM BANKS
Climate change is, Westwood says, her mantra. And she insists it’s the only reason she does interviews. Sh.e won’t brook any interruptions; she simply wants me to sit and listen while she chants. In a world somewhat more ideal than this one, she would like to see the streets crowded with people compelling their governments to urgent action on the subject of climate change, which she attributes to the failures of the global financial system. And this has to happen now, before it’s too late. Now she perches almost shaman-like on a swivel chair in her surprisingly ordered Battersea studio, delivering her mantra in her quietly determined little voice, weaving in education, imagination, activism, anarchy, and art. It’s easy to imagine Westwood doing the same thing in the tiny store at the end of King’s Road all those years ago—a store which, in its various incarnations (Let it Rock; Too Fast to Live, Too Young to Die; Sex; Seditionaries; and Worlds End), galvanized generations and fomented fashion revolutions. And when the mantra finishes, the story begins. Vivienne Westwood I think if you
understand things, you can do very good things. I need to know things and it’s what I care about. That’s who I am. Cogito ergo sum—I think, therefore I am. My continuity through all the different lives I’ve led—because everybody does change, your outlook is so different all the time. I mean, who would have thought about climate change in the ’50s? My continuity in all these outlooks is my progress in understanding things. Tim Banks Would you also agree
that the thread that ties together all your lives is that you’re a contrarian? VW Andreas calls me the queen
of awkwardness. It’s probably true that I have a sort of reaction against doing the same thing over again. TB Do you think it’s true that
wisdom comes with age?
VW Yes, it does. It’s what you—I
keep using this word—invest. The way you think about and understand your experiences. You can change your mind quite radically, of course but I expect the older you get, the less you change your mind, because your way of seeing things is more solid. Solid in a good sense, meaning that everything keeps connecting, and when you make a point, it’s got the basis of all that experience.
its life forces, to return it to health. I think we’ve still got such potential to make the world amazing. TB That’s why I asked you about melancholy—because you won’t know how the world turns out. I mean, that’s how I feel. VW I do too. I would like to be
the last person on Earth. I’d like to know how it works out. TB Something that goes with
TB Do you think you get freer
as you get older? Women especially. A woman of a certain age once suggested to me that the passage of time liberates women from the worldly concerns that dog them through their youth and middle age.
melancholy is the romance in your work. The romantic ideal is one of those unrealizable human ideals. It exists to be thwarted. At Seditionaries, the label read “Clothes for Heroes.” I always thought that suggested a solitary soul, romantic, doomed . . .
VW I think you’re probably right.
VW Are you talking about
I probably fulfilled the idea of a woman’s role more when I was younger than I do now. People talk about having mid-life crises. Mine was at the age of 30. After that, I didn’t care that I was no longer this nubile sex-object person . . .
TB Are you melancholic at all?
romantic with a capital R, like the Romantic movement of the 1830s—the suffering, consumptive beauty? I don’t know, maybe it’s that sort of nostalgia somehow; some sort of longing for the past or longing for a world that doesn’t exist. I always design for a parallel universe; a world that doesn’t exist. You know, one that’s like this but better. To me, a hero is somebody who’s prepared to stick their neck out, to step out and walk tall, and to live life. That’s how I see a hero. And I think clothes kind of enhance your experience of life.
VW No. I’m so much happier
TB What would you like your
TB Were you before? VW I was. I used to get a lot of
attention. [laughs] Of course I did. I looked brilliant. But I remember seeing Brigitte Bardot in a film and thinking, Oh, I’ll never look as good as that!
now than I was a few years ago because my job has given me the opportunity to speak about things I think are really important. I feel that everything is coming together and fused so that my fashion helps what I want to say, and what I say actually helps the fashion. If I’ve got a worry, it’s that I’m not communicating well enough with people because I’m so cognizant of the urgent need to try to get them to do something about climate change. But I feel I’m doing my best, and I think that’s always been my worry. There are thousands of NGOs, charities, and individuals doing amazing things, and lately I’ve been talking to people who give me such hope and encouragement. I do believe in the Gaia principle, that the Earth combines with its biosphere, with
legacy to be? VW I would hope to live long
enough to see that people are confronting the problem of climate change, because if they do, then I think they’ll manage to stop it. TB So that would be more
significant to you than all your years of changing the way people think about clothing? VW Yeah, I don’t care about any
of that. I have no expectations. I don’t expect anything from anybody. I think that we know so little. The world has forgotten far more than it knows. Up until now, I’m quite convinced that no such thing happens, and I’m perfectly content to rot.
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PRODUCTION CONSIDERING THE WHOLE PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE The fashion business is often completely unpredictable: months ahead of the release dates, trends have to be anticipated and interpreted for the retail customer by designers and buyers. The traditional textile and fashion supply chain comprises many levels: fiber to yarn to fabric (including dyeing and finishing processes), design, sourcing fabric and garment manufacturing, through to the range planning, buying, production, wholesaling, marketing and retail consumption stages. Fashion buyers perform a hidden but pivotal role in selecting and ordering the styles and ranges which actually appear in the shops. Ordering from manufacturers must of course be done in advance and is, by the nature of fashion, speculative. Actual sales are uncertain, fluctuating massively; due to the operation of the fashion cycles, the influence of trends and also the volatile
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factor of the weather. Therefore buyers are under business pressures, and try to finalize their orders as close to their seasonal needs as possible, responding to the emerging trends up to the last minute, making changes in colors or specifications, sometimes canceling orders or re-ordering at short notice. Decisions made remotely at the head office can therefore have major impact on what happens at the factory level, an issue now recognized by global companies such as Gap. In addition to this volatility, fashion cycles are inherently wasteful-much stock is unsold even after being put ‘on-sale’. Waste comes from both preconsumption and post-consumption phases and surplus stock is sold on to discounters, burnt, dumped or traded to the developing world through the charity shops networks. Over a million tonnes
of textiles and clothing are discarded annually in the UK, 70 percent of which is dumped into landfill, although up to half of this is still reusable. More sustainable approaches to fashion design need to consider the whole life cycle-that is, all stages from production to consumption and disposal. Many strategies can be adopted to minimize environmental impact with within the making there are trade-offs to be made, reconciling fashion and style with available materials, costs and time constraints. Throughout the examples shown, many different approaches are evident, often several are enlisted at the same time, greatly enhancing the reduction of environmental impact.
RE-THINKING DESIGN FOR THE ENTIRE FASHION LIFE CYCLE
Design concern for the use and end-of-life and possible re-use or disassembly RECLAIM AND RE-USE WASTE MATERIALS
Design with materials that would otherwise be discarded RECYCLE
Design using already reprocessed waste materials UPCYCLE
Design with materials that would otherwise be discarded REPAIR AND REMODEL
Make good an existing item fit for re-purpose RECREATE
Creatively re-think, customize of re-design and existing design concept
PRODUCT DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT
Fiber and materials selection and combination Reduction in wastage including materials and energy Environmental impact dye pollution, water and energy usage Re-usability or recycle ability Design for the entire life cycle Good design solutions and aesthetics New technologies and processes
REDUCE
Design for minimal use of energy, water and materials: minimize or eliminate waste materials PHOTOGRAPH BY STEVEN MEISEL
USE ECOLOGICAL MATERIALS
Design choices for environmentally design fibers, fabrics and other materials, seeking to minimize impact USE MONO MATERIALS
Use of only one material to facilitate recyclability MULTIFUNCTIONAL CLOTHES
Design with more than one use or configuration DESIGN FOR DELIGHT
Creating new and sustained feel-good relationships with clothes to be valued
HARNESS NEW TECHNOLOGY
Apply technology to achieve reductions in energy, materials or develop more efficient new process LONGER LASTING FASHION
Design with high quality materials and making, with aesthetic durability creating emotional bonds in addition to function PRODUCTION AND MANUFACTURE
Global sourcing locations and international trade agreement Ethical sourcing of production, audits and compliance Codes of conducts and supply chain management Value of money and efficiency PROFITABILITY AND RESEARCH
Retail and consumer facing Education on environmental and ethical issues Communication and transparency Traceability of production chain Social responsibility and justice End of product life-new responsibility and take-back.
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Sustainable PUMA store located in India.
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SETTING THE INDUSTRY STANDARD LUXURY BRANDS
Gucci Bottega Veneta Saint Laurent Alexander McQueen Balenciaga Brioni Christopher Kane McQ Stella McCartney Sergio Rossi Boucheron Dodo Girard-Perregaux Jeanrichard Pomallato Qeelin SPORTS & LIFESTYLE
Puma Volcom Cobra Electric Tetron
KERING’S INITIATIVES
BRAND IMPACTS
Sustainability for Kering is both a business and a leadership opportunity. Inherent in the quality of their products, sustainability gives them the opportunity to create value and competitive advantage. They propel their brands to lead with new business models that contribute to a better world economically, socially and ecologically. In line with their engagement with solidarity initiatives, they continue to support the Kering Foundation. They are propelling their brands to lead with new business models that contribute to a better world economically, socially and environmentally.
PUMA builds a sustainable store. The building is a true design marvel and incorporates a host of innovative sustainability features to make the Store a one-of-akind retail experience. Features that meet the highest criteria for sustainability include recycled steel from old DVD players, bicycles and tiffin boxes which have been used to construct the building of the PUMA Store.
‘It is my conviction that sustainable business is smart business. It gives us an opportunity to create value while helping to make a better world’ François-Henri Pinault. Kering’s brands embed sustainability through processes and products that have positive social and environmental impact, while staying true to their identity and inherent values. Kering has defined a number of quantifiable targets for 2016 relating to: raw materials sourcing; paper and packaging; water use, waste and carbon emissions; hazardous chemicals; and evaluating our key suppliers to adhere to our code of conduct.
The surface layout of the building has been designed in a way that more than 90% of the interior spaces in this store have direct access to natural daylight so that less artificial light is needed. The artificial lighting used in this store is energy efficient with fewer watts being consumed for the same lumen output. The recessed first and second floor volume generates a stack-effect for natural cooling. The highly insulated building shell allows for cooling with minimal need of regular air conditioning. The furniture and fixtures in this store were re-engineered. The majority of the boards are fiber boards made of bagasse, a former waste product from sugar production. Low volatile organic compound paint has been used to paint the Store’s walls.
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TODAY’S ACCOMPLISHMENTS GREENPEACE
CARBON DISCLOSURE PROJECT
ETHIBEL EXCELLENCE INDEX
Kering was named a climate leader by Greenpeace’s “climate leaders and climate laggards” campaign, and listed among companies that have expressed their support to the 30% EU climate target.
Kering joined the Carbon Disclosure Project annual survey on the integration of climate change initiatives into companies’ overall business strategies. As a Group our results positioned us among the leaders in the Textile, Apparel & Luxury Goods industry in terms of reporting (transparency and accuracy) and performance (strategies and measures taken). The scope of this survey focused on our carbon and water footprint.
Kering is in the Ethibel Excellence (Europe) Index. Forum ETHIBEL reviews companies worldwide on their economic, social and environmental performance and includes companies that show a better than average performance in terms of corporate sustainability and responsibility in their sector.
NEWSWEEK GREEN RANKING
In 2011 and 2012, Kering achieved a high level of ranking among its peers in the annual Newsweek Green Ranking. In 2011, we were among the world’s top 100 companies with regard to sustainability and topped the list of Textile, Apparel and Luxury Goods companies. Last year, Kering was included in the top 500 Global companies and was first in the luxury and sport sectors and the Group ranked 44 across all industries. FAST COMPANY
Kering was included in Fast Company’s annual guide to the businesses whose innovations are having an impact across their industries and our culture in 2012 and 2013. In ‘The World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2012’ we were also in the top 10 in the fashion industry and recognized for “making luxury sustainable” for the launch of our new sustainability department (then PPR Home). In 2013 we were also ranked as second in the Style category for “turning sustainability into science”.
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ASPI INDEX
Kering is in the ASPI (Advanced Sustainable Performance Indices) market index, which selects the top 120 performers in the Eurozone with the highest Vigeo ratings in terms of their corporate social responsibility. Vigeo assesses and rates the performances of companies in six areas of corporate environmental, social and governance responsibility, namely: environment, human rights, human resources, community involvement, business behavior, and corporate governance. FTSE4Good
Kering is listed in the FSTE4GOOD Index, an index which was designed to objectively measure the performance of companies that meet globally recognised corporate responsibility standards.
ALL OF THEIR COLLECTIONS WILL BE PVC-FREE BY LATEST 2016 // ENSURING ALL HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS HAVE BEEN PHASED OUT AND ELIMINATED FROM OUR PRODUCTION BY 2020 // 100% OF GOLD AND DIAMONDS IN KERING’S PRODUCTS WILL BE SOURCED FROM VERIFIED OPERATIONS THAT DO NOT HAVE HARMFUL IMPACT ON LOCAL COMMUNITIES, WILDLIFE OR THE ECOSYSTEMS WHICH SUPPORT THEM // 100% OF LEATHER FROM DOMESTIC LIVESTOCK WITHIN KERING’S PRODUCTS WILL BE FROM RESPONSIBLE AND VERIFIED SOURCES THAT DO NOT RESULT IN CONVERTING SENSITIVE ECOSYSTEMS INTO GRAZING LANDS OR AGRICULTURAL LANDS FOR FOOD PRODUCTION // 100% OF PRECIOUS SKINS AND FURS IN KERING’S PRODUCTS WILL COME FROM VERIFIED CAPTIVE BREEDING OPERATIONS OR FROM WILD SUSTAINABLE MANAGED POPULATIONS // ADDITIONALLY SUPPLIERS WILL EMPLOY ACCEPTED ANIMAL WELFARE PRACTICES AND HUMANE TREATMENT IN SOURCING // 100% OF PAPER AND PACKAGING FOR KERING WILL BE SOURCED FROM CERTIFIED SUSTAINABLY MANGED FORESTS WITH A MINIMUM OF 50% RECYCLED CONTENT
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STELLA SPEAKS OUT AN EXCERPT FROM AN INTERVIEW WITH TIM BANKS Tim Banks One thing I love about fashion is
that there is still this capacity for amazing surprises. Do you feel like that about what you do? Stella McCartney My biggest surprises
in my everyday job have to do with the challenges of trying to be slightly more responsible as a brand. My big surprises are when I say, “That fair-trade knitwear we did last season in Peru, I want to do it again,” and someone else says, “Okay, it rained for two months and that factory sat on a mountaintop and it doesn’t exist anymore.” TB What’s your response to something like that? You find another way to do it? SM It’s normally out of your hands. To use that exact example, we did organic fairtrade sweaters one year with that factory, and the sweaters were a big success and everyone loved them. So then we were like, “Okay, we’ll do a new style next year with you guys,” and something happened where they just couldn’t deliver. They couldn’t handle our production needs. You just have to be very agile. When you’re trying to have moments of responsibility in the fashion industry, it’s not as easy as just doing the same old handbag every season with the same old factory in the same old materials. TB So it’s a battle between good
intentions and realistic expectations. SM Yeah, exactly. For me, that’s modern. It’s how life should be. I’m reacting to realities. You just don’t try to pretend that life doesn’t have its ups and downs. I think that the fashion industry, like a lot of industries, has a way of falling into patterns. Our company has to react in a more proactive way because of what we believe in, and I find that really interesting. The interesting thing for me is that you
learn. And for me that’s what fashion should be about. You should be changing every season and learning, and to me that’s what becomes modern and exciting about it. It’s not just about the shape of a sleeve or the silhouette of a skirt. TB Is it easier now than when you started? SM You would think it’s always easier than it really is. Rule number one: We’re not perfect. That’s the most important thing to get across. Each season I naively think, Oh, it’s gonna get easier and easier. But, you know, it’s very much driven by the economy. So one season I can say, “Where’s that organic yarn that I used last season?” And next season I’ll hear, “Oh, that place went out of business because nobody ordered that organic yarn apart from you.” TB Can you see long-term solutions? SM Yeah. You have to be hopeful that people will be more educated in how they buy things, and hopefully more luxury brands will start to think that way on a longer-term basis. But it’s not all about that for me, you know? For me it’s about just doing the best that we can. My job at the end of the day is to design timeless, desirable, beautiful products. It’s not about just designing a bunch of organic jumpers. I have a balance within the brand. If you try to create something people enjoy, and it happens to be made in a responsible way, then that’s when you can really strike an incredible balance.
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COMMITTED TO SUSTAINABILITY COMPANY STATEMENT
LEADER IN SUSTAINABILITY
BIO SYNTHETIC INNOVATION
We are committed to being a responsible, honest, and modern company.
In our consistent effort to be more a more sustainable and ethical company, these are a few of the things that we are doing today:
The teams at Stella McCartney worked very hard to find innovative and exclusive synthetics to replace leather and in many cases this means that they look at materials that are based on biological components. Their Autumn 2010, Winter 2010, Winter 2012 and Spring 2013 collection featured many shoes with biodegradable soles made from a bioplastic called APINAT. This means they will degrade when placed in mature compost. Stella McCartney is excited to be able to incorporate these cutting edge sustainable materials into their collections in a way that pushes the boundaries of what a sustainable product can look like.
What this means to us: RESPONSIBLE
We understand that it is our responsibility to do what we can to become a more sustainable company. We are responsible for the resources that we use and the impact that we have. We are always exploring new and innovative ways to become more sustainable. HONEST
Honesty goes hand in hand with responsibility. We know that we aren’t perfect. We also know that sustainability isn’t just one thing, it isn’t just organic cotton – it’s organic cotton, plus wind energy, plus not using PVC, plus thousands of other little steps that eventually make a more sustainable company. In many ways we are just beginning our journey towards becoming more sustainable, but we are dedicated to continuing our work towards being able to replace what we have taken from the environment. We will continue to consider the impact we have on the planet as we design clothing, open stores and manufacture our products. We will probably never be perfect, but you can rest assured that we are always trying. MODERN
We think that being modern means considering the future, not just the future of design, but also the future of the planet. We are dedicated to helping change people’s perception of eco fashion. We think that sustainability can take the form of beautiful and modern clothing and accessories.
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All Stella McCartney stores, offices and studios in the UK are powered by wind energy that is provided by Ecotricity, a company that invests the money its customers spend on electricity into clean forms of power like wind. Outside the UK we use renewable energy to power our stores and offices whenever possible. 45% of our operations are run on 100% renewable, green energy and 65% are run on partially green energy*. Dallas Store Becomes LEED Certified Our store at Highland Park Village, Dallas is now officially LEED certified. LEED or Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design is one of the most recognized international standards for measuring building sustainability. It addresses the whole lifecycle of a building by analyzing five key areas: sustainable site development, water saving, energy efficiency, material selection and indoor environmental quality. To achieve LEED certification, the Dallas store was created with features such as solar panels, FSC wood and energy efficient lighting. We continue to use as much organic cotton as possible in our collections and we are always exploring new eco materials and processes. In 2012, 34% of our denim and 36% of our jersey for ready-to-wear was made from organic cotton and 50% of all knitwear for Stella McCartney Kids was organic.
Additionally Stella McCartney has been using bio plastics to create beautiful eyewear. The sustainable eyewear collection is the result of extensive research into the use of raw materials from natural origins such as castor-oil seeds and citric acid. The collection is made from over 50% natural and renewable resources. Stella McCartney is excited to be expanding their use of bio-synthetics in their Autumn 2013 collection – a variety of both bags and shoes will be incorporating the use of biosynthetics. Stella McCartney is dedicated to being a responsible company and will continue to work with innovative synthetics in order to give their customers luxurious non-leather goods.
MY JOB AT THE END OF THE DAY IS TO DESIGN TIMELESS, DESIRABLE, BEAUTIFUL PRODUCTS. IF YOU CREATE SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE ENJOY, AND IT HAPPENS TO BE MADE IN A RESPONSIBLE WAY, THEN THAT’S WHEN YOU CAN REALLY STRIKE AN INCREDIBLE BALANCE.
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1 STELLA LINGERIE Who says sustainable fashion can’t be beautiful, innovative and sexy? Our Stella lingerie line uses recycled metal for hardware and organic cotton for the gussets. It’s a wearable everyday range, incorporating cutting-edge technology to create one of the thinnest, lightest and most invisible collections in the world. 2 THE NOEMI TOTE Our range of beautiful Noemi totes made in Nairobi, Kenya are produced with the International Trade Center’s Ethical Fashion Program (ITC). The Program goes beyond charity by providing work to support sustainable livelihoods in disadvantaged communities in Africa. This a project that Stella McCartney passionately supports, “ To have the work in Kenya is important— not only to support women and give them a much—needed income, but also to encourage this line of industry for small communities.” 28 EVOLUTION SP/14
3 ECO FRIENDLY EYEWEAR Our sustainable eyewear collection is the result of extensive research into the use of raw materials from natural origins such as castor-oil seeds and citric acid. The collection is made from over 50% natural and renewable resources. 4 BIODEGRADABLE SOLES Used in our collections since Autumn 2010, our biodegradable soles are made from a bioplastic called APINAT. This means they will degrade when placed in mature compost. 5 ECO ALTER NAPPA We have launched a new faux leather for Autumn 2013. This innovative material has a coating created with over 50% vegetable oil which is a renewable natural resource. This enables us to use less petroleum in our products.
6 ADIDAS BY STELLA McCARTNEY The adidas by Stella McCartney collection is part of the adidas Better Place program. To make the grade, the materials must come from a sustainable source, be produced without dangerous chemicals, and be manufactured under the highest workplace standards with waste and energy management systems. All adidas by Stella McCartney products are PVC free. Adidas by Stella McCartney launched a revolutionary DryDye t-shirt as part of the Fall 2012 collection. The first of its kind, this innovative DryDye technology uses no water to dye clothing and it only requires 50% of chemicals and energy that traditional dye uses.’
FOR EVERY PIECE IN EVERY COLLECTION I AM ALWAYS ASKING WHAT HAVE WE DONE TO MAKE SURE THIS GARMENT MORE SUSTAINABLE AND
WHAT ELSE WE CAN DO IT IS A CONSTANT EFFORT TO IMPROVE
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INSPIRATION & INNOVATION CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY
REUSE–A–SHOE
Nike is now one of the world’s leading designers, marketers and distributors of footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide range of fitness activities. Their mission is to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world. Innovation has always been key to the evolution of Nike apparel, through research into fabrication and construction for technical performance, and products that engage consumers via personalization.
Reuse–a–Shoe grinds down worn out athletic shoes and turns them into new places to play. So far, 28 million pairs of shoes have been tossed in the shredder box. Some shoes are cut into three pieces to make Nike Grind. The outsole is used for track surfaces, interlocking gym floor tiles and playground surfacing. the midsole creates a cushion for outdoor basketball courts, tennis courts and fields. The upper fabric becomes athletic-surface padding and equestrian surfacing. Surfaces made with Nike Grind cover about 632,000,000 square feet - nearly enough to cover Manhattan. The project makes it very easy to get a quote and find locations to recycle your old shoes.
A recent Nike corporate responsibility report outlines some important initiatives for the company, demonstrating that it is actively pursuing a sustainable agenda and social justice. The first important point is Considered Design. This combines sustainability principles and innovative performance products for athletes by reducing or eliminating toxics and waste and increasing the use of environmentally preferred materials. Nike has begun to incorporate considered design in all of its key categories. The company’s long-term vision is to produce products using the fewest possible materials, designed for easy disassembly allowing them to recycled into new products or safely returned to nature at the end of their life.
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CONSIDERED DESIGN INTERVIEW WITH CONSIDERED DESIGN GENERAL MANAGER
“‘Considered” is about creating performance products for our athletes, but with a smaller environmental footprint” Lorrie Vogel (Considered Design general manger for Nike, spoke to sharn sandor about the company’s sustainability initiatives.) Nike has been working towards sustainability since the early 1990s when we introduced our shoe recycling programme – reuse a shoe – and when we started measuring our environmental footprint in 1998, We wanted to focus on our largest environmental impacts – waste, water, toxics and energy – and target reductions for each of these areas.
Nike opened up over 400 patents on the GreenXchange and a good example is our environmentally preferred rubber. We put it into the GreenXchange and we’re starting to see that companies are interested in using the material. When our chemistry team came up with the environmentally preferred rubber, it removed 96% of the toxins by weight, so it was a significant improvement... Withing the GreenXchange we have interest from companies outside our industry, such as bicycle and car-type companies: they are learning about the work we are doing and we are learning some of the work they have done.
ENVIRONMENTAL PARTNERSHIPS
As a founding member of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition — a group of leading apparel brands — we’re quantifying the sustainability impacts of garment design and production. RECYCLING AND COMPOSTING
By Recycling and composting at our San Francisco headquarters, we diverted 75% of our building waste from going to landfill. ENERGY CONVERSATION
Our U.S. stores and distribution centers meet energy reduction targets through conservation measures, more efficient lighting and solar energy. EMISSION REDUCTIONS
We wanted to make sure that our Considered Design index was a balanced index, so that when you reduce wast, you save money. When you use environmentally friendly mateials the tend to be more expensive, so what we try to do is balance out our waste reduction with the cost of the environmentally preferred materials so that it becomes cost neutral. Our long-term stragegy is focused on innovation, collaboration, transparency and advocacy. We develop targets against our largest environmental impacts and we drive these goals throughout our company and supply chain in order to prepare for future sustainable economy. Challenges still remain, and transparency and collaboration are the keys to moving forward.
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From 2003 to 2008, we exceeded our goal and cut greenhouse gas emissions in our U.S. operations by 20% per square foot. By 2015, we’ve pledged to lower our absolute GHG emissions by another 20%, below our 2008 level.
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Advertisement for Brazil National Team Kit that shows the recycled materials used for the product.
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1 BRAZIL NATIONAL TEAM KIT The 2014 Brazil National Soccer Team kit is made with recycled polyester for superior performance innovation. Each National Team Kit is made with an average of 18 recycled plastic bottles. Since 2010, almost 2 billion bottles have been diverted from landfills to recycled polyester products. Enough to cover 2800 full-sized soccer pitches. 2 RECYCLED POLYESTER Dual-knit fabrication combines cotton and recycled polyester for superior moisture wicking properties, aiding performance by regulating body temperature. Recycled polyester is used to create superior performance apparel for all athletes.
3 FLYKNIT Flyknit isn’t a shoe. It’s a way to make shoes. A revolution in shoe design that continues to benefit all athletes and the planet. The result is an impossibly light, incredibly strong, formfitting upper with significantly less waste. Maximizing performance. Minimizing materials. The onepiece upper doesn’t require the cutting, stitching, and gluing of a similar shoe with an average of 37 pieces. This drastically reduces the waste and environmental impact.
4 NIKE N7 Nike N7 is inspired and guided by the Native American elder wisdom of the Seven Generations; “In every deliberation we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.” Your footprint is inevitable. Your responsibility lies in how it affects future generations. The goal of Nike N7 is to consider this footprint and to help Native American and Aboriginal youth recognize their proud history and build on it for a triumphant future.
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DESIGN STRATEGIES
TEXTILE ENVIRONMENT DESIGN (TED) PROJECT DESIGN FOR ETHICAL PRODUCTION
This strategy is about design that utilizes and invests in the traditional craft silks, both locally and globally. It promotes ethical production that supports and values workers’ rights, and the sourcing of fair-trade materials. It questions what ethical production means at home, and how it differs according to the scale of production and manufacture. It also includes designers acting as facilitators for sustainable and social enterprises in traditional craft communities. DESIGN TO REPLACE THE NEED TO CONSUMER
This strategy is about making stuff that lasts: things that we want to keep and look after. It is about Emotionally Durable Design; Slow Design; the design and production of textiles and products that adapt and improve with age. This strategy encourages the value of experience, the customization of clothing and textiles, and the culture of DIY. It includes recycling and reuse. It is also about consumer participation in co-design, collaborative consumption, crowd-sourcing and social networks. DESIGN THAT EXPLORES CLEAN AND BETTER TECHNOLOGIES
How can we use technology to make more sustainable textiles? Can we use new technologies to save energy and materials in the production or ‘re-surface’ of pre-consumer polyester, laser/ waterjet/sonic cutting, laser/ sonic welding, and digital printing.
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DESIGN THAT LOOKS LIKE THE MODELS FROM NATURE AND HISTORY
How can the practices of the past models from the natural world inform textile design and production in the future? This strategy shows how textile designers can find inspiration and information for future sustainable design in studying the textiles, habits and societies of the past as well as exploring biomimicry. DESIGN TO DEMATERIALIZE AND DEVELOP SYSTEMS AND SERVICES
This strategy introduces the concepts for designing services such as lease, share, repair (that support existing products, and of employing user)centered methods to design public services. It promotes multi-functional products and conservation of materials via temporary or noninvasive installations. It is about the development of on-line and local communities of producers and consumers. DESIGN ACTIVISM
In this final strategy we encourage designers to leave behind their focus on ‘the product’ and work creatively with consumers and society at large. It is about communication strategies that go beyond product design to increase consumer and designer knowledge about the environmental and social impacts of textile products. In doing so, textile designers become ‘social innovators’, using their design skills to meet social needs.
DESIGN TO MINIMIZE WASTE
How can we reduce the waste that is created in the textile industry, both pre and post consumer? This strategy includes zero-waste cutting and recycling, but it also introduces the idea that we need to examine what makes stuff desirable and why people might value it. DESIGN FOR RECYCLING/ UPCYCLING
This strategy explains how when you design for future recycling/ upcycling, the thought process anticipates the practice of recycling and re-purposing textiles. It includes design for closed-loop systems and disassembly. DESIGN TO REDUCE THE CHEMICAL IMPACTS
This strategy is about using the appropriate process and material selection: we can consider using organically produced materials; employ mechanical technology to create non-chemical decorative surface pattern; seek convincing alternatives to harmful chemical processes such as devore, chemical dyes and mordants. DESIGN TO REDUCE ENERGY AND WATER USE
Here we consider in the production phase: exhaust printing and dyeing, dry pattering system, air drying, projected patterns and distributed manufacture. In the use phase: design for no/low launder, ‘short life’ textiles, technical coatings to reduce the washing, innovative and informative labeling, localization and natural energy systems.
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PHOTOGRAPH BY STEVEN MEISEL
SETTING THE BAR HIGH GREENPEACE 2013 Valentino received the highest marks for improving sustainability in its global supply chain. Greenpeace Italy has released a new ranking of high-end French and Italian fashion brands, rating them on their dedication to environmentally friendly policies, and Italy’s Valentino Fashion Group topped the chart for its eco ethics. The group includes Valentino, founded by Valentino Garavani and currently under the creative direction of Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli. Greenpeace’s Fashion Duel gives brands a score based on three key supply chain areas: leather, pulp and paper, and toxic water pollution — a major issue in the textile industry worldwide.
According to a company statement, the Valentino Fashion Group will eliminate discharges “of all hazardous chemicals from the whole life-cycle and all production procedures that are associated with the making and using of all products the Valentino Fashion Group produces and/or sells by 01 January 2020. “We recognize that to achieve this goal, mechanisms for disclosure and transparency about the hazardous chemicals used in our global supply chains are important and necessary,” the company said. The group has also agreed to a zero deforestation policy on leather and packaging procurement.
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THE VALENTINO FASHION GROUP’S LONG TERM SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAM RECOGNIZES THE URGENT NEED FOR ELIMINATING INDUSTRIAL RELEASES OF ALL HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS // COMMITMENT TO ZERO DISCHARGES OF ALL HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS FROM THE BY 01 JANUARY 2020 // MECHANISMS FOR DISCLOSURE AND TRANSPARENCY ABOUT THE HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS USED IN GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAINS ARE IMPORTANT AND NECESSARY // THE 2020 GOAL ALSO DEMANDS THE COLLECTIVE ACTION OF THE INDUSTRY AS WELL AS THE ENGAGEMENT OF REGULATORS AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS // VALENTINO HAS COMMITTED TO REGULARLY VIEW THE LIST OF CHEMICALS USED IN THE APPAREL INDUSTRY AND THE LATEST SCIENTIFIC FINDINGS ON IT AND PERIODICALLY UPDATE THEIR CHEMICAL POLICY // VALENTINO’S COMMITMENT INCLUDES SUSTAINED INVESTMENT IN MOVING INDUSTRY, GOVERNMENT, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY TO DELIVER ON SYSTEMIC CHANGE AND AFFECT SYSTEM CHANGE ACROSS THE INDUSTRY TOWARDS THIS GOAL
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Liv Firth in Red Valentino sustainable Oscar dress made from a combination of recycled PET fabric along with Valentino silk for the sheer sleeves.
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SUSTAINABILITY 8 EASY WAYS MAKE FASHION MORE SUSTAINABLE The future of fashion is sustainability and yet even though the industry has made considerable progress in adopting a more sustainable outlook, there is not yet an accepted definition covering all aspects of sustainability. Understanding this challenge, Modavanti.com — an online retailer for stylish sustainable fashion, has established an unique badge system that makes it clear to customers how the textile industry is moving fashion forward, and why sustainability in fashion is critical to saving our environment and our future prosperity. 1 The Made in USA tag signifies that the garment was constructed from start to finish here in America, ensuring better labor standards and lowering energy consumption in the supply chain. Did you know that almost 98 percent of all clothing purchased in the United States is imported from abroad? Imagine if we can bring the production of just a small fraction of these foreign-made clothes back to American factories. 2 This category promotes products created by, or sourced from, artisans and workers in factories that meet fair-labor standards in developing countries. This badge relates only to products made outside of the USA. Goods that are Fair Trade Certified receive an independent, third-partyverified guarantee that the farmer received a fair price for their crop and is empowered to compete in the global marketplace through direct, long-term contracts with international buyers. Access to these markets helps lifts farming families from poverty, keeping food on the table, children in school and families on their land. 3 This category promotes products made with previously used materials that have been discarded and re-purposed. Examples include recycled plastic, dead-stock fabric, rubber, and textiles that designers have turned into new clothing and accessories. The amount of textiles in U.S. landfills has increased more than five-fold since 1950 while rubber and leather have tripled. It takes 1.5 billion gallons of oil to manufacture 1 million ton of clothing.
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Recycling textiles can save up to 15 times the energy compared to incineration. If everyone bought just one reclaimed woolen garment each year, it would save an average of 300 million gallons of water and 400 tons of chemical dyes. Americans use 2,500,000 plastic bottles every hour, the majority of which are thrown away and end up in landfills or the ocean. Plastic bags and other plastic garbage thrown into the ocean kill as many as 1,000,000 sea creatures every year. 4 Vegan products are made from alternative materials that are not derived from any animal byproducts. This excludes traditional materials such as leather and fur. Each year more than a billion animals are slaughtered for their skins and hides. 30 million animals are raised in cages worldwide to be killed for their fur, and 10 million wild animals are trapped and killed. Many are trapped using a steeljawed, leg-trap hold, which is notorious for its cruelty. Methods of killing these animals include breaking the animal’s neck, gassing, lethal injection, genital electrocution and anal electrocution. Alternatives to other materials are also available — such as faux fur (often made from acrylic fibers) and faux leather (often made from rubbers and other synthetic materials) — enable vegans to find stylish alternatives to items traditionally made with animal products. 5 These toxins are harmful for workers, consumers and the environment. Workers have to breathe in their fumes during the manufacturing process. Millions of gallons of toxic dye are also discharged into lakes, rivers and oceans. Natural dyes, however, are made from natural materials using processes that have remained the same for thousands of years, and do not have the same harmful effect. Why use organic materials instead of conventional materials? Conventionally grown cotton uses more insecticides than any other crop. Each year it is estimated that cotton producers use nearly 25% of the world’s insecticides and more than 10% of the world’s pesticides.
Such pesticides poison farmers all over the world. Pesticides also seep into run-off water after heavy rains, poisoning lakes, rivers and waterways. Pesticide residue has been increasingly discovered in foods, farm animals and even breast milk. Buying clothing made with organic materials can dramatically reduce the use of harmful pesticides and protect the lives of cotton workers, protect wildlife, and improve our own health as well. 6 This category promotes efforts by brands to reduce their environmental impact through the use of alternative and earth friendly materials and practices. What materials are considered ecofriendly and why? Bamboo: Unlike cotton, which is a landand water-intensive crop, bamboo requires minimal water to thrive. It is also land efficient, as it grows in dense clusters. Most important, bamboo regrows after harvesting. A mature bamboo stock can grow over three feet a day and can be harvested every year for the life of the plant. Renewable materials like bamboo help reduce deforestation, a critical economic and environmental problem. Modal: A man-made and 100% natural biodegradable fiber, modal is made from high quality wood pulp (usually from beech trees), making it a renewable natural resource. Tencel: A naturally engineered from wood pulp cellulose in a waste-free production process, tencel offers a unique combination of fabric properties and is as absorbent as cotton. Hemp: Is one of the faster growing known biomasses and can grow up to 25 tons of dry matter per hectare each year. Hemp is also environmentally friendly because it has no insect predators and thus requires no pesticides or herbicides. Low-impact Vegetable Dyes: Prepared from raw-materials like acacia, Himalayan rhubarb, indigo, red sandalwood, onion skin, sappan wood, henna, pomegranate fruit rind and guava leaves, natural vegetable dyes are not only less harmful on the environment than their synthetic counterpart but they are also more suitable for coloring silk, wool and nylon.
PHOTOGRAPH BY STEVEN MEISEL
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7 This category promotes efforts by brands to reduce their consumption of raw materials, and lower energy and water usage and minimize pollution. It also includes products that are specifically constructed to reduce material waste through pattern cutting and re-purposing of scraps. In a world in which almost one billion people do not have access to clean drinking water, the fashion industry wastes 70 million gallons of water each year. To produce enough cotton for just one t-shirt takes between 700 and 2,000 gallons of water. Globally, cotton production uses 210 billion cubic meters of water — or 3.5% of the total amount of water used in crop production worldwide — and pollutes 50 billion cubic meters of water every year. On top of this, in Uzbekistan, intensive cotton farming activities have had severe repercussions on local natural resources, shrinking the Aral Sea to just 15% of its former volume. This was recorded as one of the worst environmental disasters in history. Here are a few other interesting facts about the amount of resources used to manufacture our clothes: It takes 132 metric tons of coal to produce the 60 billion kilograms of textiles made each year. Cutting back on just 2.2 pounds of material can help reduce carbon emissions by nearly 8 pounds. 8 This category promotes products that are unique, one-of-a-kind creations made by skilled artisans and craftsmen at home and abroad. Handmade products often preserve traditional crafts and processes, which uphold many of the core values of sustainability. Mass manufactured commercial clothing wastes enormous amounts of energy and produces toxic waste. In contrast, handmade clothing limits waste by producing in smaller quantities. This process also reduces the amount of excess merchandise. Handmade clothing is made out of high quality materials, with a higher level of personal attention and quality control from the designer.
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PHOTOGRAPH BY STEVEN MEISEL
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Advertisement for Recycle Your Blues campaign which turns recycled denim into insulation for housing.
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A GREENER GAP BRANDS
Gap Banana Republic Old Navy Piperline Athleta Intermix
STEPS TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY
Gap is one of the world’s largest specialty retailers and operates five of the most recognized apparel brands in the world: Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime and Athleta. Gap sells moderately priced quality casual apparel. Its products range form wardrobe basics such as denim, khakis and T-shirts to fashion items and accessories for men and women. Social responsibility is now fundamental to how the company does business. Gap has been nominated for many ethical awards, including the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index (2005-2010) and Canadian magazine Maclean’s Top 50 Socially Responsible Corporations in 2010, in recognition of the company’s commitment to ethical leadership and corporate social responsibility. Environmental responsibility is important to Gap. In April 2020 the company’s ‘Recycle Your Blues’ Campaign collected more than 270,000 pairs of jeans. The denim was then recycled into housing insulation for 500 homes in underprivileged communities. Ivy Ross, executive vice president of marketing, said that the success of the recycling program ‘demonstrated our strong commitment to doing what’s right for the environment and our communities.’
Gap has taken many steps towards improving its environmental performance, outlined in the company’s new social responsibility website, which stresses that Gap is focused on reducing the energy use, supporting sustainable design innovation and limiting output and waste. Since 2003 and 2008 the company reportedly reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 20%. Gap encourages clean-water practices at denim laundries and is working to improve product packaging, use more alternative fibers in its products and design more sustainable stores. Designers at Gap are constantly creating ‘greener’ clothing. Alessandra Brunialti, vice president for design and product development at Banana Republic launched its Heritage Collection for women last summer. The collection featured silk made from soy and also incorporated hemp and organic cotton. She and the team are currently exploring designs hat incorporate recycled paper and hemp fiber. Gap’s overarching strategy of corporate social responsibility and its ethos regarding environmental and ethical issues having strengthened the company’s brand significantly.
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MEASURING IMPACT THE LANDSCAPE HAS CHANGED
Gap’s environmental initiatives are founded on the premise that we live in a world of constrained, finite natural resources, and that the long-term viability of companies will depend on the ability to do more with less. Climate change and water scarcity have become significant risks for many industries, and they are increasingly affecting companies’ ability to operate. As they continue to expand into new and emerging markets, environmental issues are presenting both new risks and opportunities, making our focus on environmental impacts all the more critical. Today’s environmental challenges demand collaboration and smart risk-taking, two central principles of our approach. Many trends are shaping the way companies mitigate risks and address opportunities: Innovations in product development and operational efficiency. Changes in the availability of the resources needed for companies to make their products. Increased investor and consumer demand for sustainable practices and products. Measurement and awareness of environmental impacts that can help drive innovation and efficiency. Changes in the regulatory environment that require companies to mitigate their environmental impacts. At Gap Inc., their objective is to measure and reduce their impacts on the environment in order to protect natural resources, lessen risk, spur competitive advantage, and help drive innovation. They seek to do so in a way that creates value for a wide range of stakeholders. They range from communities in the developing world to customers, employees, shareholders, and others affected by our business.
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Over the last ten years, they have made company-wide advances in the following areas: Supporting public policies that address the causes and effects of climate change. Measuring our environmental footprint in our owned and operated facilities, as well as our supply chain. Reducing our energy and water use, and working with our supplier partners to reduce their own. Reducing the waste we generate in our own operations, and diverting more of it from landfill. Advancing water quality and conservation initiatives in our supply chain. Collaborating with stakeholders and experts to make progress toward our goals. Gap’s environmental strategy to date has stemmed from carefully analyzing their environmental challenges as a global apparel retailer and taking action in the areas where we have the greatest opportunity and influence to create change.
FOOTPRINT
Gap began their footprint review with their owned and operated facilities and are now expanding our analysis to their supply chain, focusing on cut and sew vendors and fabric mills. Gap firmly believes that what gets measured get managed. Their overarching goal is to minimize environmental impacts, which requires them to first understand them. Based on the more detailed footprint assessment they began in 2012, they are in the process of developing an overall waste strategy and ambitious waste goal. This new goal will seek to improve their business practices and processes to minimize our waste production in our supply chain, their owned and operated facilities, and through the end of their products’ life-cycle. They began with facilities and stores in the U.S., which account for approximately 70 percent of our company’s sales, and where they believed they could most quickly maximize their impact.
Engage and influence senior leadership to make decisions and execute on environmental priorities.
In 2011 and 2012, Gap went beyond assessing their owned and operated facilities to launch a project that establishes a baseline measure within our supply chain. This pilot phase, which involved a group of key suppliers, sought to assess several key environmental categories at the cut and sew level of their supply chain, including energy use and GHG emissions, water use and management, waste management, and environmental policies and reporting. Gap examined the geographical location, size and operations of each facility together with the type and volume of products each facility manufactures for our company.
Share best practices across their brands and functions, and inform and involve employees on priorities and activities.
They launched this pilot phase at the cut-and-sew level with two objectives: First, we sought to understand and quantify key
Gap’s environmental strategy continues to be informed by the Gap Inc. Environmental Council, which is comprised of senior executives across their company. Established in 2008, the Council acts as an internal think tank with the mission to improve how their company uses resources and to reduce our environmental impacts. The Council meets quarterly to: Identify and prioritize opportunities with their brands to support their environmental initiatives.
environmental impacts along our supply chain so that we could help drive improvements. Second, we wanted to gather information that would help our strategic vendors and factories identify operational and technological improvements they could implement to increase efficiency, achieve cost savings, and develop more environmentally responsible operations and practices. Overall, 234 factories in 21 countries participated in this assessment. We are now analyzing the results and developing reduction and efficiency targets. Through our partnership with key stakeholders such as the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and through our initial footprint assessments, we have also found cost-saving and innovation opportunities at the fabric mill level of our supply chain. For more information on how we seek to improve the overall sustainability and efficiency of strategic fabric mills, dyehouses, and garmentfinishing facilities in our supply chain, please visit the Water section of this report. We look forward to reporting on our progress in our next report. ENERGY AND CLIMATE
Climate change has the potential to negatively impact our business, and we believe that companies have an ethical responsibility to address this societal challenge. We have been working to reduce our GHG emissions since 2003. Our current goal is to cut absolute emissions 20 percent by 2015 in the U.S., based on 2008 levels. Because a significant portion of the emissions related to our business come from operations throughout our supply chain, we are committed to developing a reduction strategy that addresses this risk. In 2012, we held Green Manufacturing Workshops for some of our key vendors.
GAP BELIEVES THE LONG–TERM VIABILITY OF COMPANIES WILL DEPEND ON THEIR ABILITY TO SUCCESSFULLY OPERATE IN A WORLD OF FINITE NATURAL RESOURCES // GAP IS WORKING TO MEASURE AND REDUCE THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS TO PROTECT NATURAL RESOURCES, LESSEN RISK, SPUR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE, AND HELP DRIVE INNOVATION // GAP IS STRENGTHENING THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL STRATEGY TO FOCUS MORE COMPREHENSIVELY ON THEIR SUPPLY CHAIN TO ENSURE THAT THEIR COMPANY THRIVES IN A RAPIDLY EVOLVING BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT // GAP BEGAN THEIR FOOTPRINT ASSESSMENT WITH THEIR OWNED AND OPERATED FACILITIES AND ARE NOW EXPANDING TO OUR ANALYSIS TO THEIR SUPPLY CHAIN, FOCUSING ON CUT AND SEW VENDORS AND FABRIC MILLS // GAP’S CURRENT GOAL IS TO CUT THEIR ABSOLUTE EMISSIONS 20 PERCENT BY 2015 IN THE U.S. // IMPROVE THEIR PROCESS TO MINIMIZE WASTE PRODUCTION IN THEIR SUPPLY CHAIN, OWNED AND OPERATED FACILITIES, AND THROUGH THE END OF THEIR PRODUCTS’ LIFECYCLE
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
THANKS
ARTICLES
PHOTOGRAPHS
“8 Easy Steps to Make Fashion Smarter and More Sustainable.” PolicyMic. N.p., n.d. Web. Feb. 2014.
“Vivienne Westwood Enlists Georgia May, Jerry Hall + More for ‘Save the Arctic’ Campaign.” Fashion Gone Rogue: The Latest in Editorials and Campaigns. N.p., n.d. Web. Apr. 2014.
Campione, Chiara. “In Fashion Duel, Valentino Proves ‘Green’ Really Is the New ‘Black’” Greenpeace International. N.p., n.d. Web. Feb. 2014. Black, Sandy. The Sustainable Fashion Handbook. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2013. Print. Banks, Tim. “Vivienne Westwood - Interview Magazine.” Interview Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. Mar. 2014.
“Detox Solution Commitment.” Valentino Fashion Group. N.p., n.d. Web. Mar. 2014 “Nike Better World.” Nike Better World. Nike. com. N.p., n.d. Web. Mar. 2014. Gabardi, Chiara. “Green Gucci: Cleaner Than the Rest.” Eluxe Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. Feb. 2014. Black, Sandy. Eco-chic: The Fashion Paradox. London: Black Dog Pub., 2008. Print. Fletcher, Kate, and Lynda Grose. Fashion & Sustainability: Design for Change. London, England: Laurence King, 2012. Print. “Sustainability.” Kering. N.p., n.d. Web. Mar. 2014. Banks, Tim. “Stella McCartney Interview.” Interview Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. Feb. 2014. “Stella McCartney.” Stella McCartney. N.p., n.d. Web. Feb. 2014. “Vivienne’s Diary: February – March.” Climate Revolution. N.p., n.d. Web. Feb. 2014. “Eco Fashion.” Voguepedia. N.p., n.d. Web. Feb. 2014.
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“Tim Walker Photography.” Tim Walker Photography. N.p., n.d. Web. Mar. 2014. “Issue No.12.” Standard Issue. N.p., n.d. Web. Mar. 2014. “Oscars 2012: Livia Firth Recruited Meryl Streep and More for Her Green Carpet Challenge.” Telegraph. N.p., n.d. Web. Feb. 2014. “Gucci.” New Sustainable Eyewear Models. N.p., n.d. Web. Feb. 2014. “Gucci.” Bianchi by Gucci bicycles. N.p., n.d. Web. Feb. 2014. “Gucci.” Sustainable Soles. N.p., n.d. Web. Feb. 2014. “Gucci.” Sustainable Eye-wear. N.p., n.d. Web. Feb. 2014. “Recycle Your Blues Away and Help the Environment!” How to Reuse It Creatively. N.p., n.d. Web. Mar. 2014. “Styleite.” Styleite PHOTOS EmVogue Italiaem Takes On The Gulf Oil Spill Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. Feb. 2014.
A special thanks to Sarah Birdsall and Scott Gericke for advising me throughout my entire thesis process. It would not have been possible without you. Thanks also to my studio peers and family for always supporting me. This book was designed by Amy Novak during the spring of 2014 for her Senior Seminar in Communication Design at the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis.
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