Gucci President & CEO Marco Bizzarri Unveils Culture Of Purpose Sustainability Plan

On the occasion of both the International Day of the Girl and the 2017 Kering Talk at the London College of Fashion, Gucci President and CEO Marco Bizzarri unveiled details of the company’s new 10-year ‘Culture of Purpose’ sustainability plan with two significant commitments. The first, that Gucci will join the Fur Free Alliance eliminating animal fur from its Spring Summer 2018 collection onwards; and, the second, that Gucci is contributing €1 million as a founding partner of UNICEF’s Girls’ Empowerment Initiative.

During the Kering Talk, Bizzarri spoke to Eco-Age’s Founder and Creative Director Livia Firth about Gucci’s ambitious 10-year ‘Culture of Purpose’ sustainability plan, which underpins the company’s approach to creating a more responsible business.

Following Kering’s sustainability framework, the plan is focused on three pillars:

Environment

Gucci is committed to reducing its environmental impacts and is setting ambitious targets to create a new standard in luxury retail, e.g. guaranteeing the traceability of 95% of our raw materials.

Humanity

Gucci recognises the value of its employees and is dedicated to enhancing the lives of the people who make its products as well as supporting communities, e.g. responsible and innovative management of the supply chain (Gucci was recently awarded with the Green Carpet Fashion award for Sustainable Innovation), gender equality (59% women senior manager, campaigns to support girls and women empowerment), diversity and inclusion (membership with Parks).

New Models

Gucci is developing new solutions by applying technical innovation to improve efficiency in its production and logistics. e.g. setting up an incubator and start-up environment to foster innovation within the company.

Commenting on the plan, Bizzarri said, “Our new ten-year ‘Culture of Purpose’ sustainability plan has three principal focuses: the Environment, Humanity and New Models. The announcements that Gucci has joined the Fur Free Alliance and has become a founding partner of UNICEF’s Girls’ Empowerment Initiative, demonstrate our absolute commitment to making sustainability an intrinsic part of our business.”

Explaining the origins of Gucci’s progressive approach, Bizzarri attributed dynamic change to the unified vision he shares with Gucci’s creative director, Alessandro Michele: “In selecting a new creative director I wanted to find someone who shared a belief in the importance of the same values. I sensed that immediately on meeting Alessandro for the first time. Together, by committing to a culture of purpose, taking responsibility and encouraging respect, inclusivity and empowerment, we want to create the necessary conditions for a progressive approach to sustainability.”

Fur Free Alliance Commitment

Gucci announced that it will no longer use, promote or publicise animal fur beginning with its Spring Summer 2018 collection. As a commitment and thanks to a long term partnership with LAV and The Humane Society, Gucci joins the Fur Free Alliance (FFA), which focuses on the deprivation and cruelty suffered by fur bearing animals both in wild trapping and industrial fur farming. Gucci will be organising a charity auction of remaining animal fur items with proceeds to benefit LAV and the Humane Society.

Girls’ Empowerment Initiative

Building on its long term CHIME FOR CHANGE campaign for gender equality Gucci is donating Euros 1 million as a Founding Partner of UNICEF’s Girls’ Empowerment Initiative. This will help UNICEF reach more than 50,000 girls directly with programs aimed at empowering them, and indirectly reach 150,000 more. The fund and programme underpins a joint commitment by Gucci and UNICEF to support the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically Goal 5, which sets out a robust agenda on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.

During the Kering Talk event, the Centre for Sustainable Fashion (CSF) also revealed the winners of the 2017 Kering Award for Sustainable Fashion presented by Gucci and Stella McCartney.