ECO-Everything

We all know that sustainability, ethical conduct, and CSR within any brand are indispensible nowadays. Brands employ these strategies differently especially in luxury brands as their special obligations to do so since they have more potential margin and capitals to utilize. Consumers are now demanding for products made in environmental-friendly way and they are willing to pay more for Green products, knowing that they are doing good deeds back to the earth. On the contrary, brands are using this as a rational for customers to pay for high-price goods. Many world-renowned brand names are increasingly focusing on this area but one of the brands that perform it well is Stella McCartney.

Stella McCartney, famous British designer, launched her own fashion house under her own name in 2001 and it now becomes widely-known all over the world. She is also known for her environmental-concerned and considered a pioneer in fashion industry with her commitment to help protecting the nature as much as possible; strongly supporting PETA and her personal philosophy as a strict vegetarian. She doesn't use fur or leather in any of her design and states her point of view clearly to the world. No animal policy is always elaborated in her products.

Stella McCartney demonstrates her core value of going Green in various ways. In 2007, she unveiled her unique product line, CARE by Stella McCartney, a luxury certified organic skincare, formulated with 100% organic active ingredients and 0% petrochemicals or silicones (Sephora, 2011). The products are ranging from cleansing milk made with lemon balm and apricot to green tea and linden blossom floral water. Stella McCartney expresses her personal principles through the products. Sustainability and ethical conduct are embedded in the design of her products.

She is also concerned about many other environmental issues. The impact from the use of meat and its by-product causes environmental problems. According to many studies by UN's Food and Agriculture Organization and NGOs, meat production process is responsible for 18% of all manmade greenhouse gases, which is 5% more than global greenhouse gas emissions from transportation. The animal leather making for clothing causes many pollutions and solid waste as well. These surprising facts raise environmental concerns regarding human reliance on meat. Therefore, Meat Free Monday campaign was founded by Paul, Stella, and Mary McCartney to raise awareness of climate-changing impacts from meat production and consumption. It promotes human to consume less meat and consider tasty vegetarian alternative instead.

For Stella McCartney's bags and shoes, they are manufactured from organic, synthetic fibres, woven, non-leather materials in which require hand-made execution by skilled artisans. With this attempt to use only non-leather materials, Stella McCartney faces more difficulities in manufacturing processes & production techniques, sourcing textiles and higher costs than other brands, for example, since the work is 70% by hand, it costs the brand up to 70% more to produce a pair of shoes than any other brand. However, the prices are never marked up for this. Stella McCartney embraces the slow fashion concept where goods are made by hand and meant to last for decades. These are the core values that the brand consistently adopts. 

Moreover, the company approaches sustainability in its use of Ecotricity, electricity from clean forms of power like wind, in all Stella McCartney's stores, offices, studios and even Stella's own house. In 2009, Stella McCartney Ltd recycled 2,563 kilograms of paper and 1,408 of plastic. More than that, Stella McCartney shipping bags are made from corn, exclusively invented for the brand, and 100% biodegradable without polluting the nature within one year.

If you are one of the environmentalists, you might probably be one of Stella McCartney's fans, but if not, would any of these make you interested in this brand? There is a high chance it would work that way since it starts to get my attention already!



“Green and fashion runs the risk of becoming a trend, and trends pass,”

No one knows if sustainable luxury will last or it's just another come-and-go fad. What everyone knows is that the world needs to be healed and pampered, just like human as well.

Bibliography

1. StellaMcCartney (2011). Available at: http://www.stellamccartney.co.uk/ (Accessed 30 March 2011)

2. Sephora (2011). Care by Stella McCartney. Available at: http://www.sephora.com/browse/brand_hierarchy.jhtml?brandId=5856 (Accessed 30 March 2011)

3. Wikipedia (2011) Stella McCartney. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stella_McCartney (Accessed 30 March 2011)

4. Kahn, J. (2009). Luxury-Goods Makers Embrace Sustainability. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/27/business/worldbusiness/27iht-sustain.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1302268940-K4jRzrPpddpvlo6q7ZlAbQ (Accessed 30 March 2011)