September 10, 2019
Look from Gabriela Hearst's fall/winter 2019 show. Image credit: Gabriela Hearst
New York-based fashion label Gabriela Hearst is taking its approach to sustainability a step further by hosting what is said to be the industry’s first runway show without a carbon footprint.
Gabriela Hearst worked with EcoAct and Bureau Betak to examine the emissions from every aspect of the show production and offset them through a donation to an ecological and social cause. The fashion industry has a significant ecological impact, leading brands to take measures to reduce their negative effects on the environment.
Show of sustainability
For the project, Bureau Betak recorded everything from power usage and transportation to catering and waste to try to keep down the amount of emissions that needed to be offset. Then EcoAct calculated the actual carbon footprint of the show.
The resulting offset amount is being donated to the Hifadhi-Livelihoods Project in Kenya’s Embu and Tharaka Nithi counties. The effort brings cookstoves to the communities, enabling them to use less wood.
Along with reducing the wood usage by 60 percent, this also improves the quality of life for those in these areas. Less time is taken sourcing wood for cooking, and the stoves are healthier since they do not emit noxious gasses into the locals’ homes.
The Hifadhi-Livelihoods Cleaner Cookstoves Project
Furthering the impact of the show, Gabriela Hearst has made a donation on attendees’ behalf to Our Children’s Trust, a U.S. nonprofit focused on making a safe climate a legal right.
Show goers will also receive a scarf featuring insects that have recently become extinct.
Beyond fashion, luxury brands are launching consumer-facing initiatives centered on offsetting.
German automaker Porsche’s U.S. importer is helping drivers negate the environmental impact of driving through carbon offsetting.
Porsche Impact is a Web-based program that enables owners to calculate their emissions and then donate to projects that counteract carbon. As more attention is put onto the ecological effects of fuel-powered vehicles, Porsche is looking to give its drivers peace of mind (see story).
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