Understanding Sustainability with Diana Verde Nieto of Positive Luxury

p/p pandnbsp;/p pspan lang="EN-GB"There is a strong reason that eggs on Diana Verde Nieto of Positive Luxury to champion the cause of sustainability. Right from being born in dictatorship in Argentina to realising the need for sustainability in times like today, the stimuli are aplenty; and Diana has been working relentlessly with luxury brands, urging them to embrace sustainability. In a freewheelingandnbsp;/spanemspan lang="EN-GB"tandecirc;te/span/emspan lang="EN-GB"-emandagrave;-tandecirc;te/em/spanspan lang="EN-GB"andnbsp;at Forevermarkandrsquo;s annual forum she breaks down the concept of sustainability and explains how it is becoming a part of the luxury industry, one brand at a time./span/p pandnbsp;/p pspan lang="EN-GB"Every year, Forevermark Diamonds hosts a themed forum wherein they discuss pressing issues in the jewellery industry, interact with dealers and curate sales strategies. This year, the conference veered towards an important issueandmdash;andlsquo;Sustainable Luxury in the Modern Eraandmdash;a concern that motivated us to head to the forum being held at Conrad, Pune, and support the cause./span/p pspan lang="EN-GB"andnbsp;/span/p pspan lang="EN-GB"The Forevermark Forum 2016 hosted sessions with prominent speakers who elaborated on topics such as responsible hospitality, travel and more. What particularly amazed us was the session by Diana Verde Neito, Founder and CEO, Positive Luxury who spoke about the various faces of sustainable luxury, millennials becoming the next luxury consumers, and how brands can turn their heads towards sustainability./span/p pandnbsp;/p pspan lang="EN-GB"To a laymanandrsquo;s ears, the term andlsquo;sustainable luxuryandrsquo; may seem alien to begin with? One would evidently wonder how luxury can be sustainable? But the reality is that sustainability and luxury are actually two sides of the same coin. The concept thrives on simply choosing well and buying less. While most of us take luxury goods as commodities that harm the planet due to their exclusivity and rareness; luxury and sustainability actually have many things in common. Both, in their own ways, talk about caring about the resources, cherishing craftsmanship and community, design, durability and timelessness. To put in things in perspective, sustainable luxury embodies goods that mirror the goals of sustainability and social responsibility./span/p pandnbsp;/p pspan lang="EN-GB"Diana, a second time entrepreneur, has been in the sustainability sector for a long time now and heads Positive Luxury as its founder and CEO. Positive Luxury is a company that was born out of the desire to make sustainability accessible to consumers and to helpe them make informed decisions about the brand they are buying. At its heart, the company assesses various luxury lifestyle brands and the effect that they have on their consumers and the environment based on criterions like business transparency, governance, philanthropy and so on.andnbsp;/span/p pandnbsp;/p pspan lang="EN-GB"strongDefining Sustainable Luxury/strong/span/p pspan lang="EN-GB"For Diana, there is no such thing as sustainable luxury. She feels sustainability is completely inherited by the product. Her claim is backed by a fitting ideologyandmdash;if someone has a beautiful Louis Vuitton hand bag, it is very unlikely that he/she would throw it away. the same would be the case with, say, Forevermark Diamonds. She reminds us that no one ever will throw the diamonds anywhere, instead will pass them on to your daughter, or sell them. andldquo;So what luxury has is craftsmanship, design and heritage embedded in it. And that is sustaina ble all the time.andrdquo;/span/p pandnbsp;/p pspan lang="EN-GB"strongThe Demand/strong/span/p pspan lang="EN-GB"When asked who, according to her, between the consumers or brands is demanding sustainability, without taking time to think, she says, andldquo;Everyoneandrdquo;. As per her views, it is not the consumers or the brands in particular, both demand sustainable luxury. She insists that the future luxury consumers are millennials; those whose journeys starts with Google, with access to any and every good and bad piece of information at the fingertips. Hence the reputation of the brand is incredibly important./span/p pandnbsp;/p pspan lang="EN-GB"She adds, andldquo;Youngsters are making a huge difference, putting pressure on brands to do the right thing.andrdquo;Unlike the past, today the world is completely interconnected and interdependent, with nowhere to hide. So, whatever the brands do is as important as what they say./span/p pandnbsp;/p pspan lang="EN-GB"While this was from a consumerandrsquo;s point of view, she also mentions that even brands have an appetite to do the right thing. No CEO of a company wants to be caught out not doing the right thing for their employees, communities or customers. And therefore, they look at manufacturing products and services that have a role in the wider world that impact not only their market segment but also the society at large./span/p pandnbsp;/p pspan lang="EN-GB"To get a broader perspective from the brandandrsquo;s side, we spoke to Forevermarkandrsquo;s Head of Design and Innovation, Costantino Papadimitriou, who has recently forged an associated with Diana and Positive Luxury. Agreeing with Diana, he says, maintaining a good reputation is important. He believes that brands should be in a position where they can make claims that consumers can check and be confident of the truth of what they hear./span/p pandnbsp;/p pspan lang="EN-GB"strongMeasures To Be Taken/strong/span/p pspan lang="EN-GB"It is not one particular measure, Diana insists. She shares that it starts with leadershipandmdash;the vision of the CEO and what he believes in. How the company behaves as a global citizen is also of significance. Apart from that, fair governance, responsible sourcing of products, transparency in business, philanthropy and the manufacturing process are some of the measures that a company needs to take to turn sustainable./span/p pandnbsp;/p pspan lang="EN-GB"Constantino adds that although the basics are good governance and business transparency,andnbsp;andnbsp;what is making a difference in consumer choices is what the brands do in terms of education, health, women, children and the whole community; this is because they are concerned about employment, the future and the sustainability of individuals and families. andnbsp;/span/p pandnbsp;/p pspan lang="EN-GB"Forevermark, even before joining forces with Positive Luxury, has been doing a lot of work in and around their mines for the welfare of their employees and community. The brand is involved in the Southern African region, including Botswana, where they are taking measures to protect endangered species like rhinos, plant life and so on./span/p pandnbsp;/p pspan lang="EN-GB"Nieto signs off talking about investing her faith in the younger generation. She feels, as millennial consumers grow older their growth will in turn accelerate the change in the world. andldquo;My hope is in your generation, I think they can make a whole lot of difference and in countries like China and India (with so many people); this is where the hope is.andrdquo;/span/p pandnbsp;/p pstrongMore On andgt;andgt; a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.luxpresso.com/lifestyle" target="_blank"Lifestyle/a/strong/p

from Luxpresso http://www.luxpresso.com/news-lifestyle/interview-diana-nerde-veito-of-positive-luxury/16080968
via Your #1 Source to Finding Luxury & Designer Goods, Handbags & Clothes at or Below Wholesale: Click Here.