Thomas began her career writing for the style section of The Washington Post, and for fifteen years she served as a cultural and fashion correspondent for Newsweek in Paris. Today, she is aleading voice in the climate movement, contributing to multiple outlets across the world on the subject – most notably in her role as European Sustainability Editor for British Vogue. She is also a New York Times bestselling author (Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster) as well as host of her own climate change-focused podcast The Green Dream.
Can you share a couple of the key insights that you would like to share at the event?
As I wrote in my New York Times bestseller Deluxe: How Luxury Lost its Lustre (Penguin, 2007), when luxury brands shifted in the 1990s — the age of globalization — from small family-run brands to global publicly-traded conglomerates, their raison d’être, and greatest selling point, shifted from what the item is to what it represents. They also shifted from focusing primarily on an elite customer to democratising luxury, meaning bringing it to the middle market consumer and tapping into the burgeoning Chinese market. It is clear that this transition has reaped enormous financial benefits for those companies. However, the impact on planet and humanity has been enormous as well, as I spell out in my most recent book, Fashionopolis: The Price of Fast Fashion and the Future of Clothes (Penguin, 2019).
As David Attenborough has said, you can’t have infinite growth on a finite planet. Luxury is going to have to pivot (and fast) in many different areas — sustainable sourcing, traceability and transparency, de-growth — to meet the Paris Climate Agreement goals. Greenwashing may be a temporary solution to boost a brand’s image, but there are systemic changes that need to be made, and brands that don’t take those changes seriously will not survive.
What do you see as some of the most important opportunities for the luxury sector?
There are a host of cool start-ups in sustainability — be it sourcing, production, or product afterlife — that the sector should embrace, and support financially. Invest in these burgeoning companies with your money, experience, insights, and time. Partner with them. Get them up to scalable levels and make their tech available to anyone, so the entire industry — and even other industries — can benefit from the innovation. Dealing with climate change must be a group effort. Competition (and greed) must be set aside for the betterment of all. Help the kids. Help yourselves. Help your competitors. Help your customers. Help the planet. We’ll never arrive at net-zero emissions without working in harmony.
What are some of the greatest challenges for the luxury sector?
First, what I’ve already said above: setting aside jealousy, competition, and greed for the common good. Plus: replacing short-term growth goals with long-term ones – and when I say long, I don’t mean 12 months. Putting people and planet ahead of profits. Incorporating the post-life of a product into its initial design — there’s no more "throwing away." Replacing the volume model and economies of scale with zero waste. Don’t consider carbon credits as a solution — talk about greenwashing! The days of Milton Friedman’s philosophy of returning value to shareholders as your primary responsibility are over. Unless your shareholder is Mother Earth. And you know what? She is.
What are you looking forward to about taking part in the Summit?
I’m looking forward to hearing what leaders in the luxury industry have to say about climate change and social and environmental responsibility, and seeing if what they are saying is sincere and doable, or greenwashing. I’m also looking forward to learning more about luxury brands' CSR policies, innovations, projects and plans for the future, and meeting the brand executives in charge of sustainability and environment. Wouldn’t it be great if CEO stood for Chief Environment Officer?
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