Luxury conglomerate Kering is taking ethical fashion to the next level. The company is partnering with Supima and Albini Group to provide organic cotton to its brands, including Gucci, Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Bottega Veneta, and Brioni. Furthermore, Kering is also partnering with Oritain, a scientific traceability company, to ensure that the cotton is 100% traceable along the supply chain line.
“Traceability has been a buzz word in fashion for some time, but there are still challenges in the industry,” said Rupert Hodges, Oritain’s UK executive director. “Through this partnership we can support Kering, Supima and Albini Group to further enable sustainable, responsible practices in their cotton supply chains.”
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Supima will grow the organic cotton, while Albini will weave and dye it. Using forensic science (so cool), Oritain will be able to trace the fibers all the way back to the specific field they were grown in. For consumers, this ensures that the fabrics used by Kering labels are indeed organic as well as being and both ethically and sustainably grown and harvested. It is a bold move in sustainable fashion, as global supply chains are notoriously murky.
“Authenticity underlies every fiber of Supima cotton from the very beginning,” said Marc Lwekowitz, Supima’s president and CEO. “This new milestone in our organization’s history along with our partners enables the group to implement complete supply chain verification that can match the identity of the cotton to the inherent natural identifiers that the cotton picks up while it is growing.” What an exciting venture!
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