You might not know the name Positive Luxury, the firm, but if you’ve ever bought luxury, sustainable goods, you will know the mark: a small butterfly, with Butterfly Certified Mark written on it clearly. Like an organic trade association that certifies your coffee is grown under fair trade practices, the mark of the Butterfly means your purchase has been produced with care for people and the land.
In furthering consumer accessibility to data you can now tap the “Connected Butterfly” with a phone and access a company’s ESG policy and applications. ESG stands for environmental, social, governance, and innovation.
What if a company says they are going to go net zero by 2027 but actually do nothing now? How do you really know that their workers in a long supply chain of people and countries are offered a fair wage?
Companies like Tom Ford Beauty, Smythson, Anya Hindmarch and Etro don’t want you to believe them or guess about what’s going on behind their claims. They want to show consumers, partners, employees and investors the Connected Butterfly. Once inside you can find answers.
How do manufacturers treat waste products, or deal with greenhouse gases? The answer’s in a tap of the app, unifying data and processes so this information is no longer in a black box or sitting on a report in the boardroom.
Over 200 leading luxury brands have worked with Positive Luxury since its founding in 2011, and many more are in the wing to sign up. It’s a process that also helps your brand innovate, they tell Green Prophet.
Keeping in line with the times, the Connected Butterfly applies blockchain and certification systems that are digitized, secure, agile and transparent.
How does the Butterfly work?
When a luxury brand signs up to apply for the butterfly mark, Positive Luxury independently verifies evidence supplied to them and also advises the clients how they can do better according to global expectations.
The Connected Butterfly integrates websites, social channels, advertising, products, packaging, in-store and window POS, sustainability reports, and employee handbooks – via a widget, QR code, NFC tag, or hyperlink.
Performance scores, educational content for consumers, other certifications and accreditations, United Nations SDG targets and achievements; and areas of excellence map, a sustainability journey tracker, positive actions, and company information are all included as part of the tool.
Find your single source of truth
Positive Luxury is co-CEOed and co-founded by Diana Verde Nieto an entrepreneur who was a pioneer in ESG, keen on helping companies adapt to the new climate economy. Diana holds a degree in Global Leadership & Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School, was trained by Former USA Vice President Al Gore at the Alliance of Climate Protection and was subsequently honored by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader.
Not seeing ahead and being part of consumer sensibilities and climate risks can be a liability for your brand, she points out. And research shows that companies who do work with ESG in mind, fare better than companies who do not, Verde Nieto recognizes.
She says, “From a single source of truth, people can easily access an unparalleled depth of verified ESG+ verified performance data, including a brand’s sustainability journey, clearly stating their actions and ambition. This level of disclosure raises the bar for Luxury and beyond.”
How brands embrace National Recycling Day
November 15 marked National Recycle Day in the world. This is the first one after Greenpeace sent us the somber report that most plastics aren’t recyclable anyway. So if you are building a brand, it’s time to think about the beginning of life, and end of life, to your product. In short, Cradle to Cradle.
Verde Nieto responds to this challenge with a service: “Recycling is important as it minimizes landfill waste; allowing the material to be upcycled offers manufacturers the opportunity to produce using fewer resources.
“Butterfly Mark-certified brands such as IVAR, Aera, Mark Cross, and Ocean+Main lead the luxury industry by implementing positive recycling actions. As consumers, we are responsible for buying recycled products and continuing recycling as part of our day-to-day lives. The impact has never been more important than it is now,”
We’d be happy to hear about your experience on the app as a consumer or employee of the company’s using it.
