“Finding garments that are 100 per cent sustainable is still an unexpected challenge.”

How To Spend It . . . WISELY is the cover message of the magazine’s October 23, 2021 The Green Issue. Adding the #HTSIW sounds like the Green issue may not be the only time How to Spend it Magazine intends to add a ‘w’ for wisely. AOC loves that degree of fashion media commitment from one of the top luxury magazines.

Model Lena Hardt models fall’s finest conscious fashion from Bethany Williams, Chloé, Hermes, Ulla Johnson and more. Photographer Sasha Marro [IG] captures the green luxury fashion investments, styled by Isabelle Kountoure, which you can read in its entirety in AOC Fashion.

Chloe Is First Luxury Fashion Brand to Achieve B-Corporation Certification

One important piece of news on the sustainability front is that Richemont-owned Chloé was just awarded a B Corporation status, making it the first “luxury brand to be noted for its efforts to meet stringent sustainability goals from products to social impact to the supply chain, operations and beyond.”

An important distinction of B Corporations is that they are not run exclusively for the profit of shareholders. The stakeholders — whether they are employees or producers involved in the supply chain — or the planet herself — are equally important to the investors.

B Corp assesses a company’s impact in five key areas – governance, workers, community, environment and customers – with brands required to meet a minimum standard based on their answers to 300 questions in order to get the certification.

Shareholders in B Corporations are advised that these brands are being built on solid consumer values and for the long-term. Patagonia was the first California company to sign up for B certification in January, 2012.

“It makes me very proud to work for the first luxury maison to achieve B Corp certification,” Hearst told Vogue. “Why is this important? It’s because in fashion, there is no real governing body or regulating body as you would have in the food industry. One of the most rigorous certifications that there is is B Corp, because you basically have to prove what you say and what you do.”

Hearst calls out a notable reality about the fashion industry — that it’s essentially self-regulating with few real standards or shared business practices.

“It is our strong belief that we need to take full accountability for the impact we have on people and planet, injecting purpose across everything we do, transforming how we do business and actively participating to build a better world,” Chloé CEO Riccardo Bellini said in a statement. “By becoming B Corp, we reinforce our commitment to continuously challenging ourselves to use our brand and our business as a force for good.”

It’s important to note that Chloé certification process was well underway before Gabriela Hearst was hired. In June 2020 Chloé launched its collective journey towards a purpose-driven model with its ‘Women Forward. For a Fairer Future’ mission.

Have Hearst’s vision and execution strategy greatly enhanced the significance of the B Corp certification? No doubt about it. The Uruguayan designer received the sustainability award from Fashion Group International's 37th Annual Night of Stars Gala.

This Harvard Business Review article explains the ins and outs of B corporations.

Gabriela Hearst Takes Chloé to Bugatti Speed in Redefining Purpose for Luxury Brands AOC Fashion