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Published in:
Introduction: Sustainability in Luxury Branding Read chapter Read first chapter

2017 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

3. Luxury, Sustainability, and “Made In”

Authors : Cesare Amatulli, Michele Costabile, Matteo De Angelis, Gianluigi Guido

Published in: Sustainable Luxury Brands

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan UK

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Abstract

The relationship between the luxury industry and the sustainability movement is quite complex. On the surface, the values associated with luxury and those promoted as sustainable are widely seen as antithetical (e.g., Beckham and Voyer 2014; Strong 1997; Torelli et al. 2012). Luxury is associated with excess, hedonism, superficiality, and ostentation, while sustainability evokes altruism, sobriety, restraint, and morality (Carrier and Luetchford 2012; Widloecher 2010). Economically, the luxury industry seeks maximum gross margins and, as a result, luxury providers do not emphasize cost reduction, but rather they focus on value creation, with the aim of making the buyer feel like a celebrity. This focus on quality over costs is maintained along the entire value chain, beginning with the selection of high-end production materials and continuing through the phases of production, selling, servicing, and branding. In contrast, sustainable development focuses on values such as parsimony, moderate consumption, and equality, which privilege economy over high quality.

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previous chapter Inside Luxury: Main Features, Evolving Trends, and Marketing Paradoxes
next chapter Luxury Consumption and Sustainability
Footnotes
2
In 1983, Brundtland was invited by then UN Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar to establish and chair the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), widely referred to as the Brundtland Commission.
 
4
Source: Interview with Marie-Claire Daveu, Chief Sustainability Officer and Head of International Institutional Affairs of Kering, 2016.
 
5
Azimut|Benetti is the world’s largest private group in the yachting sector. The majority shareholder is the founder, Paolo Vitelli, who has been firmly in command for more than 40 years (source: http://​www.​azimutbenetti.​it/​the-group-in-brief.​html).
 
6
Source: Interview with Giovanna Vitelli, member of the Board of Azimut|Benetti Group, 2016.
 
11
Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) is a not-for-profit organization focused on promoting sustainable forest management.
 
15
The RobecoSAM Indices is a business unit of RobecoSAM, an investment company specialized on sustainability investments.
 
18
“Toxic Threads.” Greenpeace, November 2012
 
20
Eco-Age is a brand consultancy that helps businesses grow by creating, implementing, and communicating bespoke sustainability solutions (www.​eco-age.​com).
 
24
Source: Interview with Brunello Cucinelli, Chairman and CEO of the Brunello Cucinelli S.p.A., 2016.
 
28
Source: Interview with Brunello Cucinelli, Chairman and CEO of the Brunello Cucinelli S.p.A., 2016
 
29
Source: Interview with Giovanna Vitelli, member of the Board of Azimut|Benetti Group, 2016.
 
30
Source: Interview with Marie-Claire Daveu, Chief Sustainability Officer and Head of International Institutional Affairs of Kering, 2016.
 
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Metadata
Title
Luxury, Sustainability, and “Made In”
Authors
Cesare Amatulli
Michele Costabile
Matteo De Angelis
Gianluigi Guido
Copyright Year
2017
Book
Sustainable Luxury Brands

Print ISBN: 978-1-137-60158-2

Electronic ISBN: 978-1-137-60159-9

Copyright Year: 2017

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-60159-9_3