VENCHIA x Sustainability
At LOEWE, we’re combining our long-standing knowledge of craft with new research and technologies to help lessen our impact on the planet. Every day, we explore new sustainable practices in everything from material sourcing to designing, manufacturing, packaging and the building and management of our sites and stores. We’re still at the beginning of a journey which gained momentum in 2019 with the launch of our first Eye/LOEWE/Nature collection, that works as a laboratory for more sustainable practices and has enabled us to reduce our overall CO2 emissions by 25%.
Materials
We work with high quality, low impact materials that are sourced and produced with our planet in mind. Factors such as traceability of origin, fair conditions for farmers, animal welfare and the protection of biodiversity closely inform the way we approach and procure raw materials.
We source our leather from tanneries certified by Leather Working Group (LWG), an international organisation that evaluates the environmental compliance and performance of the leather industry. We’re testing a variety of other low impact materials, including recycled and upcycled fabrics, and are also using an increasing amount of organically grown cotton in the products we make, that uses non-toxic pesticides, improves soil quality and saves water.
Manufacturing Processes
We work with likeminded suppliers who are environmentally and socially conscious, and who strive to limit their environmental impact. In practical terms, this means complying with the applicable legal and environmental regulations, from actively seeking to improve the performance of our products, to taking clear steps to reduce CO2 emissions in the manufacturing process. We perform regular audits across our supply chain to ensure these commitments are being met — including SMETA audits (Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit), one of the most widely used ethical audit formats in the world.
Packaging
Every day, we’re taking steps to reduce the environmental impact of the packaging we use. Current measures include using low impact packaging materials, the reduction of excess packing, the use of foldable shoe boxes, the implementation of circular economy systems and the optimisation of space during transportation.
The paper in our shopping bags and final customer boxes comes from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified forests, considered to be the gold standard in responsibly managed wood harvesting. We use recycled cotton in our felt bags, and we’re continually looking to reduce, minimise and optimise our packaging materials.
We source our leather from tanneries certified by Leather Working Group (LWG), an international organisation that evaluates the environmental compliance and performance of the leather industry. We’re testing a variety of other low impact materials, including recycled and upcycled fabrics, and are also using an increasing amount of organically grown cotton in the products we make, that uses non-toxic pesticides, improves soil quality and saves water.