Although many people regard the fashion industry as one the culprits for increasing greenhouse gas emissions —and rightfully so; it accounts for around 10% of all carbon emissions according to the World Bank— not everything is lost. Even as fast fashion companies scramble through PR crisis and try to market themselves as “sustainable”, there’s a company we all know of that has actually been carbon neutral since 2018: Gucci.
Yes, Gucci, the Italian luxury high fashion brand, has been carbon neutral for almost three years, balancing their low greenhouse gas emissions through investing in climate change solutions every year. And they’re not stopping there. Gucci has announced that they will now also take on a “nature-positive approach”, meaning they will not only mitigate their effects on the planet, but they will also commit to protecting and restoring forests as well as investing in regenerative agriculture.
Gucci has already invested in protecting endangered forests and mangroves in three countries: they partnered with Conversation International and the Chyulu Hills REDD+ project in Kenya, the Kariba REDD+ project in Zimbabwe and the Muskitia Blue Carbon REDD+ project in Honduras. The reason why they are keen on protecting these areas —particularly mangroves— is because the shrubs are known to serve as natural barriers that protect coastal communities from harsh weather events (such as hurricanes or storms) and they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere faster than most trees. Furthermore, these ecosystems are being lost at an increasingly fast rate, with 50% of all mangroves already disappeared.
Gucci is certainly a fashion company to keep an eye on. They’re not applying just one solution to achieve their goal of being carbon neutral, they are actively going out of their way to achieve this and produce sustainable fashion while helping to restore balance.
