Stealing The Thunder
When I decided on my thesis topic, I knew it was going to be unbelievably current. I mean, overall, it’s about how the Covid-19 pandemic impacted the luxury industry’s supply and production practices in favor of sustainability. So, obviously it’s very current. Well, I have got to tell you all… I’ve got some beef with the Business of Fashion. If you don’t know about the Business of Fashion, it’s the leading digital authority on the global fashion industry. It has got news, analyses and intelligence information on everything from sustainability to designers’ new collections.
On Monday, March 22nd, the Business of Fashion (2021) published “The Sustainability Gap: How Fashion Measures Up;” and, admittedly, it is pretty interesting. It analyzes “…the performance of 15 of fashion’s largest companies based on public information available on or prior to December 31, 2020” (2021, p. 5). It was done to take stock “…of how the largest public fashion companies measure up against goals to establish more environmentally and socially responsible business practices over the next decade” (2021, p. 5). The Business of Fashion stated that the global economy has 10 years to avoid “catastrophic” climate change and an urgent humanitarian duty to improve the welfare of its workers (2021, p. 4). Due to its global scale and cultural influence, the fashion industry has a prominent role in combatting these challenges. Overall, The BoF Sustainability Index found that the average score of the companies assessed was 36 out of a possible 100. According to the Business of Fashion (2021), “the findings show signs of positive engagement, but the fashion industry’s rhetoric on sustainability is often far ahead of companies’ action” (p. 4). In other words, many companies are talking the talk, but failing to really walk the walk.
One of the main findings from my thesis research is that education and transparency are key when it comes to not only the luxury industry becoming more sustainable, but also the luxury industry’s consumers factoring sustainability into their purchasing decisions. In order to truly become more sustainable, we must first know where the product’s supply and production is taking place and its impact. According to The BoF Sustainability Index, the 15 companies averaged a score of 48 out of 100 as it pertains to transparency: tracing supply chains and disclosing its impact. Within the luxury sector, Kering (including brands Gucci, Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen and Bottega Veneta) and Hermès are leading the way with scores of 68 and 63, respectively; but, Richemont, which owns brands including Cartier, Piaget and Azzedine Alaïa, scored a low 20 out of 100. While the Business of Fashion noted that the 15 companies showed relatively strong performance as it pertains to transparency – as compared to other areas including water & chemicals, materials, workers’ rights and waste – analyzable data is limited, hard to find and often of questionable quality. Overall, it seems as if efforts to establish transparent supply chains are lagging. Once again, these brands seem to be talking the talk, but not necessarily walking the walk.
The BoF Sustainability Index.
So, this all seems like pretty great and necessary information, right? The Business of Fashion clearly did its work to analyze the state of fashion’s sustainability efforts, right? WRONG! The Business of Fashion is stealing my thunder. Listen, everyone, I am trying to get my thesis wrapped up and published to you all as quickly as possible; but, if the Business of Fashion keeps beating me to the punch, you all aren’t even going to read my research!
To all of you smart people at the Business of Fashion, if you could please slow your roll and give me until May 5th to wrap up all my moving parts and publish my industry report, I would really appreciate it!
And just because I’m feeling generous, I’ll give you all a sneak peek into my overall thesis argument. You ready?
Where matters.
Bye for now,
McGee