Positive Luxury was founded by Diana Verde Nieto and Karen Hanton MBE in 2012. Since then, the company has established itself as the go-to partner for brands in the luxury industry who want their commitment to sustainability to be visibly validated and recognised.
Diana was already a globally recognised figure in the sustainability field – she founded the first international sustainability communications consultancy in 2002 and was subsequently named as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. Karen is a technology pioneer and founder of toptable.com. With their combined expertise, Diana and Karen set out to forge trust between people and brands, inspiring consumers to buy better and discover brands that are helping to save the planet.
Positive Luxury awards its Butterfly Mark, a visible symbol of trust, to brands that have adopted sustainability as a business strategy. The Butterfly Mark promotes transparency and enables people to make a more informed choice about which brands to buy from. ‘A £65 T-shirt will give everyone in the supply chain more than a disposable cheap one,’ explains Diana. ‘Top quality raw materials are expensive because they’re in limited supply, but spend money on them and everyone benefits, and your T-shirt will last.’
The Butterfly Mark promotes transparency and enables people to make a more informed choice
To be awarded a Butterfly Mark, brands are holistically assessed across governance, social and environmental frameworks, community and innovation by Positive Luxury. The assessment framework is set out by their Sustainability Council, comprising an independent panel of global experts, drawn from world-class institutions and NGOs. The assessment is updated every two years to help Positive Luxury member brands stay on top of innovation in sustainability as well as overall progression in sustainability legislation.
When the interactive Butterfly Mark features on brands’ websites, it gives the consumer transparency in the brand’s sustainable actions by breaking them down into what are called ‘Positive Actions’. The interactions with the Mark and these actions are then translated into behavioural data, which helps to inform their sustainability strategy.
Positive Luxury is at the forefront of the conversation around sustainability and is recognised as a global resource on this topic by businesses and consumers. This has been achieved through the issuing of daily editorial content on social media and weekly newsletters highlighting and encouraging brands’ efforts to be sustainable, as well as producing an annual Predictions Report, focusing on key industry sustainability trends and offering insights into companies that are innovating with great success.
In 2019, it became ever clearer that action is needed across all industries to solve climate change and so the 2020 Report will focus on biodiversity and highlight the importance of working collectively. It will also cover topics like recycling, legislation change and the goals that have been collectively set for 2030.
Along with its day-to-day mission to support brands on their sustainability journeys, Positive Luxury hosts two annual events. Positive Week is a global celebration of brands and individuals that show leadership in sustainability, while the Positive Luxury Awards celebrate those best-in-class companies or individuals working towards affecting positive change in business.
‘We understand the fragility of the natural world and the fact we can’t change things alone,’ says Diana, ‘but globally we are on a path to sustainability. Change might be slow, but it will happen.’
