Stella McCartney Leads The Ranking | Top Sustainable Luxury Fashion Brands 2022
Stella McCartney leads the ranking “Top Sustainable Luxury Fashion Brands 2022”. In order to determine which are the most sustainable luxury fashion brands on the market, Luxiders Magazine analyses the degree of sustainability of the main luxury brands through an extensive study of the impact of their business, products, social actions and cultural actions. The study (*) shows that Stella McCartney leads the luxury fashion brands in terms of sustainable impact.
Yesterday we attended Stella McCartney’s AW 2022/23 fashion show in Paris. This season, 67% of the ready-to-wear collection was made from conscious materials. As always, the collection was free from animal leather, feathers and fur, and features forest-friendly viscose, organic cotton, recycled nylon, recycled polyester, regenerative NATIVA wool and RWS wool from traceable sources. Stella McCartney is the brand that leads our ranking of the best luxury fashion brands in the market. We explain here why.
Business impact *****
Products impact *****
Society Impact *****
Culture Impact *****
STELLA MCCARTNEY BUSINESS IMPACT
Since 2001, Stella McCartney promotes a cruelty-free and ethical philosophy and stand against the use of leather, fur, skins and feathers in all collections. The company also support technological labs working on new materials. Since 2012, Stella McCartney is measuring its business impact, from raw materials, the making process and selling in the stores. The tool measures greenhouse gas emissions, water use, water pollution, land use, air pollution and waste across the entire global supply chain and then translated into a monetary value, mapping the hidden costs and benefits from each operation. These insights drive the company’s innovation and help make better, more sustainable decisions.
STELLA MCCARTNEY PRODUCTS IMPACT
Since 2013, the brand is using alter-nappa (vegetarian leather). Instead of virgin cashmere, the brand uses Re.VersoTM, recycled cashmere made from post-factory cashmere waste. All of the viscose comes from sustainably managed and certified forests fully traceable and transparent. Also last year, Stella McCartney launched the first ever garments made out of mushroom “leather”.Each year the brand uses between 10-15% metals out of all the materials used. Today 61% of the cotton used is certified organic. The brand is working on gaining farm-level traceability for the cotton since 94% of the cotton the brand use is traced back to the country of origin. Also, Stella McCartney was the first in fashion to achieve, Gold-Level Cradle to Cradle Certification for one of their most-used wool yarns. On the other hand, the brand’s goal is to stop using virgin nylon by switching to Econyl® regenerated nylon.
STELLA MCCARTNEY SOCIETY IMPACT
Stella McCartney is member of the Ethical Trading Initiative since 2012, annually reporting them on all activities and progress in the code of labor of the company. They took control of its supply chain in 2016, mapping its manufacturers and product suppliers worldwide. The brand holds regular and unannounced audits to identify potential risks. If some obstacles occur the suppliers are invited to participate in improvement projects. The improvement projects include understanding and addressing the causes of particular challenges and developing a mechanism that prevents such issues from occurring again. Some of these projects are done in collaboration with other brands and local stakeholders to maximize the impact. All of these actions highlight the importance Stella McCartney puts also in the human capital that are part of her brand’s story.
STELLA MCCARTNEY CULTURE IMPACT
Since 2016 Stella McCartney reports annually a modern slavery statement according to a British law passed in 2015. In 2018, the brand co-sponsored an exciting prize with PETA- the Biodesign Challenge- the first-ever Animal-Free Wool, encouraging participants worldwide to develop biofabricated vegan wool. Last 2021, Stella McCartney launched the future of fashion attending COP 26.
EXPLORING FRANK STELLA
Animal-free leather and velvet textures are pulled from interiors of that era, with a grounded palette pairing masculine earthiness with feminine makeup tones – energised by unexpected bursts of colour and print. The human body’s sculptural shapes were also highlighted through lingerie and exposed skin. Strong shoulders were a key silhouette on striped Fur Free Fur coats, oversized tuxedo tailoring and boxy overcoats. This masculine energy was contrasted with feminine fluid stretch viscose dresses drawing from Frank Stella’s Ahab print. Cerulean high-necked fluid silk viscose jersey dresses were form-fitted around the midriff before bursting from architected vee shapes into ruching, while sculptural balloon skirts were suspended from underwire bras.
Embroidered gunmetal chain fringe referenced Frank Stella’s metallic sculptures on silk dresses. Sexy was brought back through encrusted lace on bias silk slips, form-fitting forest-friendly viscose lilac ribbed all-in-ones and ruching and twisting on soft pink velvet tops and dresses. Sensuality continued on fluid chintz dresses with ruched sleeve details, red double satin dresses with asymmetric bust lines and long skirts revealing the knee with each step, while romanticism came from exaggerated sweetheart necklines.
An artist’s workwear uniform was elevated with functional details and rich fabrics – including jackets and cargo trousers in velvety soft flocked denim, alongside skirts and polished cotton utilitarian pants with contrast stitching and recycled polyester clip belts. Outerwear highlights included fluffy wool Fur Free Fur on shearling coats, long peacoats and shrunken men’s jackets.
A new Monogram shoulder bag was made from an animal leather alternative created using grape waste sourced from Italian wineries located where the accessories are handcrafted. Riffing on 90s styles, a zamac plaque reflected the “S” in the Stella McCartney monogram. Chenille Logo totes and puffy recycled nylon Frayme bags with tonal chains were inspired by modernist 70s furniture, while a limited-edition shoulder bag made from Mylo mycelium unleather elaborated on material innovation.
New this season were Stella McCartney’s most conscious sneakers to date, crafted from a mix of repurposed, recycled and bio-based materials including a grape leather alternative. Air Slides on puffy soles with iconic tonal chains were shaped from factory waste, while vegan cowboy boots were revisited as a stretch boot style in smooth Alter Mat and velvet.
This show was dedicated to the people affected by the war in Ukraine. Stella McCartney has made a donation to CARE, an organisation providing emergency crisis support to 4 million Ukrainians – especially women, children, the elderly and families.
(*) All the data used for this ranking has been extracted from an exhaustive study of all the corporate information shared by the brand.
