Influential, innovative and progressive, Gucci is reinventing a modern approach to fashion. Under the new vision of creative director Alessandro Michele, the House of Gucci has redefined luxury for the 21st century, further reinforcing its position as one of the world’s most desirable fashion houses. Eclectic, contemporary, romantic — Gucci products represent the pinnacle of Italian craftsmanship and are unsurpassed in quality and attention to detail.
Gucci is part of global luxury group, Kering, that manages the development of renowned houses of fashion, leather goods, jewelry and watches.
“Gucci is committed to a culture of purpose, putting environmental and social impact at the heart of the brand,” says Gucci President and CEO, Marco Bizzarri.
Gucci Equilibrium
Gucci Equilibrium is the company’s commitment to generate positive change for people and our planet.
According to Gucci, “We are powered by creativity and collaboration and are reducing our environmental impact and protecting nature, while also prioritizing inclusivity and respect, so that everyone in our global #GucciCommunity is free to express their authentic, diverse selves. As we celebrate our 100th anniversary, we are moving forward into the coming decades with an ongoing commitment to reinforce our culture of purpose, demonstrating our values through innovative
pathways towards social and environmental sustainability. Gucci Equilibrium unifies the principles we uphold and the actions we pursue to treat
our world and each other better, for our collective future.”
“Everyone talks about sustainability these days. We read about it every day in the papers and on the web and hear about it on TV. However, not many players are fully transparent nor turn these good intentions into facts,” Bizzarri stated. “This is the main reason why the eco-conscious, social impact Gucci Equilibrium platform came to fruition — to give consumers a choice and know more about sustainability practices at Gucci.”
Gucci-Up
In 2018, the company’s commitment to reduce their impact on nature led them to launch “Gucci-Up,” a project dedicated to the recovery and creative reuse of leftover materials to help safeguard natural resources. Their contribution to the circular economy has strengthened in recent years and, with Gucci-Up, it is being incorporated more and more through new collaborations.
“Up” stands for “upcycling”, which technically means “giving value” to items that are traditionally considered as waste and turning them into resources — raw materials that can be used again and again in new production cycles. In upcycling, waste is transformed through repurposing, repairing and remanufacturing in a way that increases their value, giving it a second life or a virtuous recovery because it makes the most of natural resources and avoids waste going to landfill.
With Gucci-Up, obsolete or out-of-collection materials, scraps and waste generated by their production processes become a precious resource that triggers a new process of regeneration — a process that contributes to the reduction of environmental impacts but also in the creation of positive impacts for the community through the involvement of social enterprises.
Color Vivi
Through Gucci-Up, the company supports “Color Vivi,” a creative lab where migrant women from different countries around the world are employed, creating an impactful sharing between different cultural universes.
The women are trained by professional seamstresses and volunteers based on an experiential hands-on approach to learning. Through their work, a message of diversity, cultural coexistence and eco-consciousness is conveyed.
In 2019, Gucci committed to a plan of action to further increase diversity and inclusion across the company with a focus on management roles, while continuing to build on their strong foundation of gender diversity and female leadership.
“I really believe that creativity and diversity are inextricably linked in our industry. And, the more you are exposed to different views and experiences, the more you fuel the company’s creativity, culture and growth,” Bizzarri explained.
Positive Climate Strategy
Gucci has been carbon neutral in their operations and entire supply chain since 2018.
In 2021, they went beyond carbon neutrality towards a nature-positive approach that protects and restores critical forests and mangroves, while also investing in regenerative agriculture within their supply chains.
Gucci is committed to:
- Conserving critical forests and biodiversity
- Restoring and protecting mangroves
- Improving land management through regenerative agriculture
Gucci has been exploring the ways to reduce its environmental impacts to the very end of the supply chain. Through a careful selection of their cotton, silk and wool, they support production systems that do not deteriorate natural ecosystems and local biodiversity; rather they promote soil health restoration and increase water and biodiversity conservation overall.
No pesticides, insecticides or hazardous chemicals are used in the farming and production of the fibers and they uphold the highest standards for working conditions and animal welfare.
As an example, cotton is an important raw material for Gucci and they have been busy replacing conventional cotton with organic alternatives. “We are committed to continue increasing the quantity of certified organic fibers across our collections, ensuring that we are sourcing from supply chains where environmentally and socially responsible criteria have been adhered to every step of the way.”
Gucci says that they look at the world in a holistic way and believe that it is their duty to be sustainable, responsible and accountable in everything they do.
“We are dedicated to seriously reduce our footprint along our entire supply chain and embrace climate-smart strategies to help protect and restore nature for the future. What we can’t reduce ourselves, we translate into conserving biodiversity and forests that lessen the impacts of climate change. To share the progress we are making with our community, we are transparent about all the metrics that underpin our ambitious targets that we are striving to achieve by 2025. These goals drive us forward every day to develop eco-friendly sourcing solutions, low-impact materials, manufacturing efficiencies and circular innovations so that we can act for a better tomorrow.”
For more information on Gucci Equilibrium, visit, www.equilibrium.gucci.com.
