Gucci plans to go carbon neutral

Florence, Sep 14 (IANS) Italian luxury brand Gucci has announced that the company is going carbon neutral.

The company's strategy is to reduce and offset what they call 'unavoidable emissions'. The notable thing about Gucci's plan is that it will incorporate their entire supply chain - including parts of the production process that use external businesses.

Gucci owners say that 90 per cent of its greenhouse gas emissions happen in the early stages of the supply chain, so this tactic could significantly reduce the amount of environmental damage the company is inflicting.

To find out exactly where the worst gasses are being produced, Gucci will use its environmental profit and loss report to help it identify which areas of the supply chain need to be changed and improved.

"A new era of corporate accountability is upon us and we need to be diligent in taking all steps to mitigate our impacts, including being transparent and responsible for our GHG emissions across our supply chains," Marco Bizzarri, President and Chief Executive Officer of Gucci, said in a statement.

"Gucci will continue to work in a smart and strategic way to avoid and reduce our impacts, while simultaneously investing in innovation as a driver for sustainability. However, in my view, this is just not enough, nor will it happen fast enough given the sustainability challenges we are up against in our industry and the reality of our global climate and biodiversity crises," he said.

In order to offset the emissions that can't be avoided, Gucci will partner with Redd+ - a UN project to reduce emissions from deforestation in Peru, Kenya, Indonesia and Cambodia.

Fashion production is one of the biggest causes of pollution across the globe. Last month, Oxfam found that more than two tonnes of clothing are being bought in the UK each minute. They also estimate that 11 million garments end up in landfills each week.