Luxury brands mocking sustainable fashion

The rise in our day-to-day consumption of fashion products has been threatening our sustainability goals. The luxury market is no exception to the trend of sustainability across all industries. Luxury brands' sustainability claims remain in question as this industry still remains a top contributor to global pollution. The exclusivity of highly engineered products of luxury brands is socially appealing but do they do any good to our environment? Fast fashion, as well as luxury brands, use animal skin, employ water-inten- sive processes, and emit high levels of greenhouse gases. According to THE GUARDIAN, in order to supply us with handbags, wallets, and shoes, the fash ion industry needs to slaughter 430m cows annually by 2025. The claims of Sustainable Luxury Brands have caused more damage than we are current- ly aware of. In this article, we will analyze a few items from the Luxury cate- gory that are currently damaging the environment.

Sustainability and luxury brands: a lie

1. Balenciaga's "Destroyed" shoe collection Recently, Luxury Brand Balenciaga released its "destroyed" shoe collection called Paris Collection which costs 625 USD. Consumers were not pleased. Featuring dirt and rips all over the fabric, the shoes are made of dis- tressed cotton and rubber. This expensive collection parodies the move toward sus- tainability. Cotton remains one of the biggest pollutants in the fashion industry with its water contamination and co2 emission. The destruction of cotton to create a shoe col- lection is a nightmare, given how important it is to minimize cotton's use. When luxury brands produce a product using energy and other ecological resources, they are obligat- ed to provide their consumers with a useful and wearable product. Nevertheless, Balen- ciaga has created an outrage in the public by provoking them into wondering how the rich can be enticed to buy destroyed items.

2. Animal cruelty in luxury bags Surely you've heard of the famous and expensive Birkin bags. Birkin Bags are rare and can only be acquired by celebrities or wealthy clients, thus making them more desirable. They cost more than 40,000$ and can go beyond 500,000$. The bags are made of premium materials like calfskin, alligator skin, and ostrich skin. Luxurious brands like this are making it a big problem how the affluent society still considers products made from animal skin to be valuable. Other Luxury brands like Hermes and Prada produce some of the most expensive handbags and luxury items that have been tainted by animal cruelty and environmental damage. Despite being misled about the efforts of luxury brands to promote sustainability, consumers are in the dark about the atrocities that occur in animal slaughterhouses used to provide material to these brands.
3. 
   

The burden on the environment by the rich

According to a report by Oxfam, the eight richest people in the world control as much as half of the wealth of the world's population. With their shopping habits, the rich can have a huge impact on the environment. Embracing Luxury brands with a lack of sustainability by the very few wealthy people is putting the whole planet at risk. It is only by establishing policies that target the rich who are damaging the planet that we can stop the competition among the rich to acquire the rarest and most expensive items. Possession of houses, cars, boats, clothes, and jewelry by the affluent has no limits. Plan- etary Resources, however, are limited to support our basic needs. For exam- ple, to make 1 kg of aluminum, 85 kg of material is required. This measure- ment is done through a concept called the ecological rucksack factor.

Capitalizing on unsustainable and rare products has become a signature of Luxury Brands. With the use of rare animal skin, cotton destruction, and re- leasing unsustainable collections to please affluent consumers, luxury brands' sustainability claims are nothing short of deceptive. A 2018 Accen- ture survey found that 62% of 30000 consumers are attracted to brands with high ethical values. Consumers will therefore be less likely to rely on luxury brands due to their lack of awareness of sustainability. An expensive item may make you look affluent and unique, but we are running out of time to save our planet and this is the right time to choose brands that are less ex- pensive and more eco-conscious. It is only through speaking out against the cruelty done by luxury brands to the planet that we can bring to light the dark reality they are hiding