Top models Edie Campbell, Mona Tougaard and Leon Dame pose against rocky but fecund terrain of Brittany, France. LVMH brand Loro Piana unveils its Fall-Winter 2022 campaign, lensed by Mario Sorrenti [IG], with art direction by Heiko Keinath.

Nature inspires the totally-modern silhouettes that are the epitome of luxury, styled by Aleksandra Woroniecka. / Hair by Recine; makeup by Lisa Butler

The Quest for Sustainability

As always — and especially on the subject of a mostly cashmere-driven collection— AOC turned our attention to Loro Piana’s sustainability efforts. We believe we have a better than average understanding of Loro Piana, but our usual sustainability pit-stop at Good on You was operating just now.

We are shaken by the recent lawsuit filed in New York, accusing H&M of deliberately misreporting their environmental record. AOC has been loud on our support of H&M’s commitment to the environment and we still are.

I come out of a large retail organization — Victoria’s Secret — and am almost certain that at one time in my life, my quest for extraordinary colors as fashion director and head of product development resulted in my being the biggest fashion industry polluter in South Korea. [Head bowed in shame, but I really didn’t know.]

In this moment, understanding the suit, the claims against H&M and counterclaims against the activists is very important to Anne of Carversville.

Good on You’s very negative assessment of Loro Piana didn’t surprise AOC. [Note, we do not link to Good on You, because it improves their Google search results if we do.]

The question we all should have about Good on You, concerns the accuracy — first and foremost — of their grading system and also the fairness of it. Personally, AOC has grave reservations about what their system actually is.

Writing about Loro Piana, they said: “Loro Piana is owned by LVMH. . . . Its environment rating is 'not good enough'. It uses few eco-friendly materials. . . Its animal rating is 'very poor'. It has a basic formal policy to protect animal welfare. It uses fur, down, exotic animal skin, leather, wool and exotic animal hair. It traces some animal products to the first stage of production.”

Reeling from the H&M lawsuit, AOC will lay low here. Previously, we would have written a terse defense of Loro Piana. For now, we share these resources for your reading, ones that describe the luxury brand in far different words from Good on You. They represent the knowledge that we have about Loro Piana.

Good on You asserts about Loro Piana: “It uses few eco-friendly materials. . . Its animal rating is 'very poor'. It has a basic formal policy to protect animal welfare.” In November 2021, they gave the luxury brand a rating of 1 in animal welfare.

First and foremost, the Italian luxury brand is known for its cashmere. The majority of styles featured in this Fall 2022 campaign are made of cashmere. You can verify at the brand’s IG.

AOC shares facts and articles about the truth of Good on You’s claims about Loro Piana and its commitment to animal welfare, from non-AOC media:

Financial Times by Josh Sims, April 16, 2010

The Italian company Loro Piana, known for some of the world’s finest luxury cashmere, has opened a subsidiary in Ulan Bator, Mongolia’s capital, both to establish long-term relationships with nomadic herdsmen and to monitor quality control. Pier Luigi Loro Piana, joint chief executive, says: “We believe it is vital to maintain optimal conditions for the animals to preserve the cashmere’s quality. The flocks must live naturally.” via

We have known this fact for years and have referenced it more than once on AOC. How is it that Good on You states that Loro Piana has no policy on animal welfare, without mentioning a 12-year-old subsidiary devoted to monitoring its primary fiber, which is cashmere?

Good on You comes off as being as fact-adverse as Trumpers in AOC’s opinion. But they are wielding significant authority in the world of sustainability.

In fact, Loro Piana has made a documentary about their cashmere operation.

Loro Piana’s New Film Reveals The Secret Behind The World’s Most Sustainable Fabric GQ MiddleEast Oct. 24, 2019

Sustainable fashion brands: Loro Piana, Prada and Ermenegildo Zegna are here to improve your wardrobe and the world Robb Report Singapore Oct. 20, 2019

Do You Know Where Your Sweater Came From? Vanessa Friedman for the New York Times Dec, 12, 2021

Loro Piana, the luxury brand known for its plush, understated knits that look as if they have been woven from liquidized bank notes, has embarked on a program that will allow customers to trace every step of production of one of its baby cashmere sweaters from goat to store.

Good on You may have lots of inside information about Loro Piana that AOC does not. But for them to trash a brand that owns in established media major sustainability and ethical credentials is not acceptable. One of these days, Good on You is going to get sued for the way they operate. I’ve said this before, and I say this again.

Perhaps AOC is short-tempered because of dealing with Trumpers in the United States. We are sick of these slick soundbites — mostly lies — about people, politicians and brands when they are trying to improve and do the right thing.

We have lots of garbage to clean up in the fashion industry. But in AOC’s opinion Loro Piana is not one of them. AOC invites Good on You to contradict this opinion with informed research on this brand and a detailed defense of their rating and we will publish it unedited, word for word, with an apology.

With this caveat — We want a top rated brand and not some little boutique on with two stores, a website, and an affiliate biz for Good on You to earn income — for contrast. What is it that the 4-5 ranked major luxury brand does that helps us understand why they are so much better than Loro Piana? ~ Anne