Not just business. For Bally, Gucci, Prada and other brands there is something else too. Being a luxury brand also means being committed. It will not be a coincidence, therefore, that brands in this period are engaged in campaigns in favour of environmental protection. Not only that, there are also those who put their efforts into fighting the spread of Coronavirus.
High altitude project
Bally, for example, has launched the “Peak Outlook” project. The Swiss company started the program in spring 2019 with a cleaning expedition to the Everest, from base camp to the summit. Bally announced the strengthening of the mountain conservation initiative. The new missions will include Everest again, but will be extended to new heights. Which ones? The Kanchenjunga (8,586 meters above sea level, between Nepal and India), the Lhotse (8,516 meters, in Nepal), the Makalu (8,485 meters, between Nepal and Tibet) and the Cho Oyu (8,201 meters, between China and Nepal). “Brands must operate responsibly and the Alpine lifestyle is intrinsic in the essence of Bally – comments CEO Nicolas Girotto -. We want to raise awareness regarding the impact of outdoor tourism and the effects of global warming on the most extreme environments”.
Bally, Gucci, Prada and the others
In these days, Prada has launched the “Sea Beyond” project with UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (COI). The initiative includes the involvement of high school teachers in 10 cities around the world: Berlin, Mexico City, Johannesburg, Lisbon, London, Milan, New York, Paris, Shanghai and Venice. The teachers will be guided through webinars to develop an educational module dedicated to the theme of sustainability. The project will explore the theme of knowledge of the ocean and its values. In addition, the program will focus on the problem of pollution of the marine environment linked to plastic, and on the contribution of the fashion sector towards sustainable production. The last lesson will aim to involve the classes in creating an awareness campaign for the conservation of the oceans. In May, an international jury made up of members representing Prada and UNESCO and other personalities identified jointly, will select the winning campaign. This will be presented in the context of the program of activities carried out by UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission at the second United Nations conference on the ocean (Lisbon, June 2-6, 2020). Subsequently, the campaign will be broadcasted on Prada and UNESCO’s channels as well as on pradagroup.com website.
Gucci for fauna
Gucci too sided with nature. The brand has joined the Lion’s Share Fund, an initiative that raises the funds necessary to face biodiversity and climate crisis worldwide. The Fund has set a target of raising 100 million dollars a year for the next 5 years; funds will be donated to the conservation of animals and biodiversity. The starting point is that animals appear in about 20% of advertisements in the fashion world. For this reason, brands that adhere to the initiative undertake to donate 0.5% of their marketing investments to the Fund every time an animal appears in a promotional initiative.
Fighting against the virus
Maison Bulgari made a donation to the Research department of Lazzaro Spallanzani hospital in Rome, one of the two reference points in Italy together with Sacco hospital in Milan. In recent days, a team from Rome’s hospital has isolated the virus first. With the fund made available by Bulgari, researchers will be able to purchase an innovative machine that allows to acquire microscopic images. A fundamental tool to continue their work. Donations to various facilities also came from LVMH, Kering and Alibaba. In recent days, Giovanna Furlanetto, president of Furla, has announced that the fashion house has sent “1,000 masks, which have now become unavailable” to China, but also to have responded “with a donation to a request for collaboration from the Red Cross”.
