I was surfing through the internet doing my homework, searching for a luxury brand who performs low in the area of sustainability, when I stumbled across this interesting website http://www.wegreen.de/en/.
WeGreen is a searchengine providing information about sustainability. Based on Sustainability Footprint, WeGreen provides information regarding how ecological, social, and transparent companies, products or brands are. WeGreen collects all substantial, factual and credible ratings about the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of companies, then analyze that information objectively in the Sustainability Footprint and present it in the website (WeGreen, 2011). It helps consumers choosing a brand or product that is ethical and sustainable, beneficial to themselves and society as a whole. Through the main page of WeGreen, users can just type in the name of the company/brand they want to know and get the information regarding how sustainable those brands are.
The score is ranked mainly as Red (not sustainable), Yellow (average sustainable), and Green (very sustainable) light. The score is done by 'Rank a Brand', the non-profit organization aiming to educate consumers with information that enables them to consume in more responsible and sustainable way. Basically, Rank a Brand conducts a research on webpage of each brand manufacturer, collecting information available on corporate website regarding; climate policy, protection of the environment, and working conditions and human rights. The evaluation is based upon a shortlist of 16 criteria of how a company is performing in relation to these sustainable topics.
Yves Saint Laurent is one of the luxury fashion houses that doesn't perform well in sustainability and CSR, and is badged as red-light company. Yves Saint Laurent is currently owned by PPR Group. It offers fashion clothing, shoes, bags, accessories, cosmetics, perfumes, for example. Yves Saint Laurent is world-renowned and popular among fashionistas and consumers. However, the brand neglects to put importance on the area of sustainability, ethical conduct, and CSR within its brand as it is one of the most crucial aspects every brand needs to pay attention to. Yves Saint Laurent complies with only 4 out of 16 criteria as followed;
PPR corporate website, owner of Yves Saint Laurent, has partially mentioned about a policy for the company to minimize, reduce, or compensate carbon emissions. It is stated as one of the 7 CSR priorities, a common framework for each brand within the company to utilize in their own way. However, these matters are not mentioned in Yves Saint Laurent's website and there is no clear explanation of how Yves Saint Laurent does in this area. Also, Yves Saint Laurent performs none of the criteria based on environmental policy. However, it performs 3 out of 8 criteria regarding Labour conditions/ Fair Trade.
As it is obvious that Yves Saint Laurent currently focusing on fashion aspect only, I strongly suggest that Yves Saint Laurent should do more in sustainability. It should launch Green product line, featuring various of its signatured products such as Muse bag, pump shoes, suits, dresses that are manufactured based on organic products, no leather used, in ethical and sustainable way only. Percentage of sales will be donated to charitable environmental organizations (Fairtrade Foundation, FETA etc.) and conduct research on more sustainable technologies as a way to give back to the society as a whole. Consumers will also feel that they are consuming sustainable products, saving the world and supporting the Green concept at the same time, providing them with more incentives to consume luxury products and not feeling guilty.
In order for any company to become successful in doing business, it has to pay attention to various aspects ranging from producing quality products that meet with consumers needs to offering the best service in store. However, nowaday brand needs to focus on environment and sustainability as well in order to win the heart of consumers as loyal ones. Wouldn't you think that if Yves Saint Laurent does Green products, you wouldn't definitely want one? I personally believe so.
Bibliography
1. WeGreen (2011). Available at: http://www.wegreen.de/en/ (Accessed 3 April 2011)
2. Rank a Brand (2011). Available at: http://www.rankabrand.org (Accessed 3 April 2011)
3. PPR (2011). The 7 CSR Priorities. Available at http://www.ppr.com/en/commitments/7-csr-priorities# (Accessed 3 April 2011)
4. GucciGroup (2011). Code of Business Practices: Ethic Guide. Available at http://www.guccigroup.com/documents/2009/Business_Practices_English.pdf (Accessed 3 April 2011)
5. PPR (2011). Corporate Social Responsibility. Available at http://www.ppr.com/sites/default/files/download/PPR-Engagement-Publi-RSE_Point_d_etape_ndeg2-2009-EN.pdf (Accessed 3 April 2011)
