Sustainable Development in the Luxury Industry: Beyond the Apparent Oxymoron

Everything seems to oppose the concepts of luxury and sustainable development. French consumers, for example, evaluate the degree of association between luxury and sustainable development at the same level as they do for sustainable development and oil companies or banks. This comes as no surprise if luxury is considered inessential, superfluous, exclusive and ostentatious, as these are the exact opposite of the values conveyed by sustainable development. So, is that the end of the story? Not if we add that luxury is also about craftsmanship and sense of savoir-faire, an example-setting industry associated with authenticity, high quality, durability and timelessness of models. By paraphrasing the philosopher Dominique Bourg, sustainable development is a question of rediscovering a lifestyle based on quality at the expense of quantity. This suggests that there is a clear bridge between luxury and sustainable development, especially when luxury brands have the power to influence consumer aspiration and behaviors.