Gucci Plants Enough Trees To Make Operations & Supply Chain Carbon Neutral

Gucci has just announced that their entire supply chain and operations have become completely carbon-neutral. The luxury fashion brand has achieved this by offsetting all remaining greenhouse gas emissions through supporting forest conservation and tree planting projects around the world. This comes amid the growing awareness among businesses that they must price in climate change if they are to remain competitive in a market where ethics, authenticity and sustainability is increasingly important to consumers.

Gucci has taken the bold step to go carbon-neutral as a part of its recognition that there is an “urgent need for climate action.” In addition to offsetting its carbon impact through supporting tree planting projects, the luxury fashion brand has taken strides to introduce lower-footprint alternatives across its operations. Some of these measures include sustainable sourcing, upcycling some materials, using organic fibres and more efficient manufacturing. The company is also in the process of switching to renewable energy, and is aiming to reach 100% clean energy across its stores, operations and warehouses by next year. 

Commenting on Gucci’s sustainable plans, president and CEO Marco Bizzarri said that “a new era of corporate accountability is upon us and we need to be diligent in taking all steps to mitigate our impacts, including being transparent and responsible for our greenhouse gas emissions across our supply chains.”

Indeed, we are at a new age where fashion brands must engage in sustainability if they are to continue their appeal to consumers who will vote with their wallets. Customers are becoming more aware about the detrimental environmental cost of the fashion industry, which is responsible for generating 92 million tonnes of waste, 20% of water usage and 10% of greenhouse gas emissions annually, according to the Copenhagen Fashion Summit. Businesses are attempting to retain customers through green campaigns, such as NET-A-PORTER’s foray into conscious fashion and fast fashion behemoth ZARA pledging to green its supply chain.

Proving that luxury retailers are also not exempt from the trend, upmarket department stores like Harvey Nichols and Selfridges have introduced more sustainable options such as an aftercare programme where customers can bring in older items for reconditioning in return for shopping credit. 

As our climate emergency continues to escalate, we as individuals can also join in to offset our carbon footprint as much as possible. Switching to using Ecosia as your search engine is an easy way to support tree-planting initiatives, or you can opt to fund comprehensive climate-friendly projects with Chooose.today. 

READ: 5 Ways To Combat The Climate Crisis Right Now

Lead image courtesy of Andreas Rentz / Getty Images.