Kering and Savory Institute collaborate for first verified regenerative sourcing in fashion

Kering and The Savory Institute announced a new collaboration today to recognize the positive impact regenerative agriculture can have in the fashion industry. As a first in fashion and Luxury, Kering has become a Frontier Founder under Savory’s Land to Market™ program to advocate verified regenerative sourcing solutions and expand the regenerative agriculture framework in fashion’s global supply chains.

 

Through its use of agricultural raw materials, the fashion industry and its supply chains are directly linked to the degradation of soil, conversion of natural ecosystems and biodiversity loss. Regenerative agriculture can protect and reverse this environmental degradation, including restoring healthy soil, which removes CO2 from the atmosphere and acts as a carbon sink for mitigating climate change. The inclusion of regenerative raw materials is also one of the three key principles to building a circular economy in fashion. Consequently, leveraging regenerative agricultural systems for the sourcing of raw materials has the potential to be a game changer. As such, Kering has become a Frontier Founder under Savory’s Land to Market program to promote and support the regenerative production of raw materials and utilize Savory’s pioneering methodology, Ecological Outcome VerificationTM (EOVTM), in its leather and fiber supply chains that come from grazing systems, such as wool and cashmere. EOV measures the indicators of ecosystem functionality in order to ascertain the overall health of the land and grazing systems that support the production of these raw materials. The resulting science-based and empirical data provides farmers with critical information to make better decisions and realize the ecological results from regenerative grazing.

 

As an element of their collaboration, Kering and Savory will identify and develop a new network of farms that Kering will be able to access. As a first step to build regenerative supply within this network, Kering will focus on its key sourcing regions and work together with Savory to support farmers pursuing and demonstrating positive ecological outcomes on their land. This will provide the Group with a new sustainable sourcing solution that verifies its key raw materials and provides traceability back to the farm. Furthermore, the resulting network of farms will offer a pathway towards more restorative and regenerative practices for other companies to follow and can be incorporated in fashion and Luxury’s supply chains more broadly.

 

“Regenerative agriculture is a multi-benefit solution which supports Kering’s sustainability ambitions to mitigate our environmental impacts and deliver positive outcomes along our supply chain,” said Marie-Claire Daveu, Chief Sustainability Officer and Head of international institutional affairs at Kering. “We are proud to collaborate with Savory to pioneer innovative and nature-based solutions in fashion as part of our broader commitment to contribute to solving our industry’s global challenges around biodiversity and climate change.”

 

“We are delighted to welcome Kering to our growing roster of Frontier Founders across sectors,” said Daniela Ibarra-Howell, Savory Institute’s CEO. “This is an important step forward for fashion and we commend Kering’s leaders for having the foresight to build an approach to sourcing that is rooted in regenerative outcomes. It’s a win for farmers, consumers and of course, the environment on which we all depend.”

 

About Kering
A global Luxury group, Kering manages the development of a series of renowned Maisons in Fashion, Leather Goods, Jewelry and Watchmaking: Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Brioni, Boucheron, Pomellato, Dodo, Qeelin, Ulysse Nardin, Girard-Perregaux, as well as Kering Eyewear. By placing creativity at the heart of its strategy, Kering enables its Maisons to set new limits in terms of their creative expression while crafting tomorrow's Luxury in a sustainable and responsible way. We capture these beliefs in our signature: “Empowering Imagination”. In 2017, Kering had nearly 29,000 employees and its Houses generated a revenue of €10.8billion.

 

About The Savory Institute
The Savory Institute, a U.S.-registered 501(c)(3) charitable organization, facilitates large-scale regeneration of the world’s grasslands through Holistic Management. Together with Savory’s global network of Hubs, the Savory Institute equips farmers and ranchers around the world with education, training, and implementation support to achieve success within their cultural and ecological contexts. Savory Institute also removes barriers and creates enhanced conditions for large-scale progress by informing policy, engaging the marketplace, and increasing public awareness. Savory’s long-term goal is to positively influence the management of 1 billion hectares of grasslands by 2025, thereby contributing to global climate-, water- and food-security. Savory is headquartered at 1500 28th Street, Boulder, CO 80303. Tel: 303.327.9760. Additional news and information about the organization is available at www.savory.global, and Facebook.

 

Press Contacts

 

Kering
Emmanuelle Picard-Deyme
+ 33 (0)1 45 64 61 87 emmanuelle.picard-deyme@kering.com
Mich Ahern (International)
+ 44 (0) 7984 684 454 mich.ahern@gmail.com

 

Savory
Sarah Eykyn
+1 205.239.6445 sarah@freshideasgroup.com

 

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Twitter: @KeringGroup
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www.savory.global
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LinkedIn: Savory Institute

 

YouTube: Savory Institute

 

Photo credit : ©The Savory Institute