SHORTLISTED brands 2020

Blanc
SALT Resorts
Argentum Apothecary

Winner: SALT Resorts

SALT Resorts has created meaningful experiences and lifted up the communities they operate in. They are a member of Slow Food International, and they concentrate on sourcing locally to decrease the need to import, and minimise their carbon footprint. They have a no single-use plastic policy, and strive to recycle and reuse wherever they can. SALT also educates children at local schools on the harmful effects of plastic waste. Through working with local communities and championing local employment, they have fostered a better standard of living in those communities. The winner was selected by our judging panel and both sponsored and presented by Rakuten.

SHORTLISTED BRANDS 2020

Costa Brazil
Dandy Buenos Aires
Stay Wild 

Winner: Stay Wild

To make a luxury brand successful, sustainability needs to be built in from the brand’s inception. That means a new brand can drive innovation through the development of products, and become a pioneer in sustainability strategies. Stay Wild maximises the latest technology to make their garments, using regenerated ocean plastic and biodegradable materials, crafting each piece with a purpose while heavily reducing their carbon footprint. The judging panel was looking for evidence of a commitment to enhancing their future performance in all five of the Positive Luxury assessment areas (innovation, social and environmental framework, community investment and governance), with particular interest in those that are playing a leading role in driving innovation through the development of new products and services and/or the pioneering of sustainable business and operating models. The award was sponsored and presented by IWC Schaffhausen and YOOX Net-a-Porter Group.

SHORTLISTED BRANDS 2020

Sani Resort
Song Saa
De Beers

Winner: De Beers

Through a partnership with Peace Parks Foundation, De Beers has invested 1.8 million dollars to move 200 elephants from South Africa to Mozambique to a reserve that that had the space for them. For every hectare of land they use for their operations, they set aside six hectares for conservation, working to have a net positive impact on biodiversity. De Beers also supports anti-poaching measures in Mozambique, providing jobs, training and education for the local communities. They have undertaken ground-breaking innovative research to study ways to capture capture and store large amounts of carbon from the atmosphere, contributing to their vision of carbon neutrality by using kimberlite. Selected by our judging panel, this award was sponsored and presented by Delta Global.

SHORTLISTED BRANDS 2020

Linde Werdelin
Rebecca Taylor
Louis Vuitton

Winner: Linde Werdelin

Linde Werdelin was one of the first in their industry to launch an in-house, pre-owned platform in 2016. They customise new and existing watches, encouraging customers to keep wearing what they already own and avoid new purchases. When they do manufacture from scratch, they do so with recyclable and reusable materials. The judging panel was looking for truly innovative projects that have demonstrated the viability of circular economy models and services and that have delivered broader financial and competitive benefits to an organisation or community while engaging a range of stakeholders with circular economy issues in the process. This award was presented to Linde Werdelin and sponsored by My Wardrobe HQ.

SHORTLISTED BRANDS 2020

Victor
Bav Tailor

Winner: Victor

Victor educates businesses and consumers to take responsibility for their impact. They have a fully dedicated carbon offset team which closely monitors the CO2 tonnage offset on a monthly basis. In the first six months of their campaign, they offset more than 25,000 tonnes of carbon. This is the equivalent of protecting trees that cover more than nine times the size of Central Park. Victor invests in high quality projects accredited by third parties like Gold Standard and VCS. This award was sponsored and presented by The Bicester Village Shopping Collection.

SHORTLISTED brands 2020

Ammique
Candiani Denim
Freisicht Eyewear

Winner: Candiani Denim

Candiani Denim has taken one the world’s most-worn and most-flawed items and made a sustainable alternative. A standard pair of jeans uses a huge amount of water and non-renewable resources, like petroleum, but this brand has created a world first: a plant-based alternative that is biodegradable. Sponsored and presented by Marcolin Eyewear, this award recognised Candiani’s sustainability in the luxury market through innovation.

SHORTLISTED BRANDS 2020

Elephant Gin
Swarovski
Weleda

Winner: Weleda

Back in 2010, Weleda implemented a new process for their raw material supply chains, enabling traceability of more than 1,200 ingredients right back to the source. In 2013, they earned a Butterfly Mark from Positive Luxury. Going beyond their efforts to protect biodiversity and support local communities, they set their sights on the Union for Ethical BioTrade ‘Sourcing with Respect’ certification standard, which they finally achieved last year. The winner was selected by our judging panel, then sponsored and presented by Imagine.

SHORTLISTED BRANDS 2020

Hanneli Rupert, CEO of Okapi
Stephen Webster, CEO of Stephen Webster
Nadja Swarovski, Head of Branding and Sustainability Chairperson of Atelier Swarovski and Swarovski Foundation of Swarovski
Janice Lao, Director of Group Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability, The Peninsula Hotels

Winner: Nadja Swarovski

Nadja Swarovski is the driving force for sustainability across the business and their foundations. Nadja have committed the brand to collaboration through global initiatives like the UN Global Compact, the Women’s Empowerment Principles, and the World Economic Forum’s Compact for Responsive and Responsible Leadership, as well as working towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The judges were looking to commend an inspiring leader with a compelling vision who has improved their organisation’s sustainability impacts across all of the five Positive Luxury assessment areas in the last year, while also taking steps to embed a culture of sustainability into the fabric of their organisation. This award was sponsored and presented by Baker McKenzie.

SHORTLISTED BRANDS 2020

MatchesFashion
Selfridges
IWC

Winner: Selfridges

The retail landscape is in a constant state of change, and success is a well-executed strategy that readies a business for anything. The Retailer of the Year category recognises retailers who have future-proofed themselves by putting sustainability at the forefront of their plans. For this category, our judges looked for a brand that questions their role in the climate emergency, and how they can disrupt the usual business model. Selfridges has developed science-based targets to ensure they achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, and has shown real leadership in removing single-use plastics in packaging and products. They also work to educate their customers. In June of 2019, they launched a Beauty Booth that focussed on refillable, packaging-free beauty, and they’ve banned disposable wipes in their beauty halls. This award was sponsored and presented by Arena Flowers.

Winner: Caroline Bamford

Carole Bamford has demonstrated a personal and professional commitment to social and environmental sustainability. She has shared her knowledge and fostered collaborations to help advance this agenda, working closely with the NSPCC, the Soil Association and the Slow Food Movement. She has built schools and communities to support vulnerable women and children in India, Iran, the USA and Brazil, as well as establishing creative centres to preserve artisanal skills.