LUXURY VENEER

If you were asked to name a luxury brand who would you say? Louis Vuitton, Prada, Gucci, Ralph Loren etc

What constitutes a luxury brand fit the 21 st Century? Visual elegance, attention to detail, use of expensive materials?

Could these brands be re-categorised as ‘luxury veneer’? Where if you look below the superficial surface you’ll find a similarity with ‘common brands’ who manufacture with a blind-eye to ethical standards and pollution.

Will future ‘real luxury’ brands offer new ethical values and products designed with a ‘cradle to grave philosophy’ and where materials are sourced upon their sustainability?

"Fashion is a logical place to start to raise awareness for sustainable causes" said Jochen Zeitz, who was formerly head of Puma and is now director of PPR, the French luxury group, and chairman of the boards sustainable development committee. "We should bring an environmental attitude, and I think luxury should automatically be about sustainability and quality."

Richard Branson takes the line that "business needs to move away from a focus on immediate profit to one where it invests and operates for the long-term good of people and the planet."

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