Sustainable Luxury and Social Entrepreneurship Volume II More Stories from the Pioneers

Luxury products are now seen by a growing number of global consumers as an important and more widely available way of expressing personal aspirations and values. Most consumers of luxury products and services use them as status symbols and symbols of success. However, the definition of success – and the way it is perceived by others – is changing. Many of these successful consumers now want the brands they use to reflect their concerns and aspirations. Such products come with a heavy social and environmental cost. Sustainable luxury is about rediscovering the old meaning of luxury – a considered purchase of a beautifully crafted object with built-in social and environmental value.The social entrepreneurs documented in this book highlight the relationship between personal values and sustainability, entrepreneurship and innovation in developing and marketing luxury products. The pioneers outline how they have developed inclusive supply chains with poor and vulnerable communities. Their stories prove that luxury need not be a destructive force. Instead, this book opens a window on a world where entrepreneurial pioneers can change the rules of the game.

ForewordOskar Metsavaht (OSKLEN founder and CEO)AcknowledgementsSustainable luxury: Stories from the pioneersMaría Eugenia Girón (director of Mastercard and IE Business School Premium and Prestige Market Observatory)Stories from the social pioneers in the sustainable luxury sector: A conceptual vision Miguel Angel Gardetti (Director of the Center for Studies on Sustainable Luxury)1. Elvis & Kresse, UKKresse Wesling (company founder and director)2. The IOU Project, Spain Kavita Parmar (company founder and director)3. Aïny Savoirs Des Peuple, FranceDaniel Joutard (company founder and director)4. Pachacuti, UK Carry Somers (company founder and director)5. We Are Knitters, SpainMaría José Marín (company co-founder and director)6. Positive Luxury, UK Diana Verde Nieto (company founder and director)7. Bottletop, UK Oliver Wayman and Cameron Saul (company founders and directors)8. Big Blue Bike, USAShudhan Kohli (company founder and director)9. Estancia Peuma Hue, Argentina Evelyn Hoter (company founder and director)About the editors