A circular economy initiative focusing on upcycling materials to safeguard natural resources.
Our commitment to reduce our impact on nature led us to launch “Gucci-Up” in 2018, a project dedicated to the recovery and creative reuse of leftover materials to help safeguard natural resources. Our contribution to the circular economy has strengthened in recent years and, with Gucci-Up, it is being incorporated more and more through new collaborations.
“Up” stands for “upcycling”, which technically means “giving value” to items that are traditionally considered as waste and turning them into resources; raw materials that can be used again and again in new production cycles. In upcycling, waste is transformed through repurposing, repairing and remanufacturing in a way that increases their value, giving it a second life or a virtuous recovery because it makes the most of natural resources and avoids waste going to landfill.
With Gucci-Up, obsolete or out-of-collection materials, scraps and waste generated by our production processes become a precious resource that triggers a new process of regeneration; a process that contributes to the reduction of environmental impacts but also in the creation of positive impacts for the community through the involvement of social enterprises.
High-quality leather and textiles that are no longer used in our production have the possibility of extending their life cycle through different destinations: they are put back on the market or donated to social enterprises for use in socially responsible projects.
In recent years we have set up several specific TAKE BACK and re-use programmes for leftover materials from manufacturing. These initiatives have led to considerable environmental savings associated with the decreased purchase of new raw materials.
Some examples:
- Regeneration and recycling of textile waste from our supply chain achieved through a partnership with Green Line, a company specializing in the collection and recycling of textile scraps. From the partnership launch in 2015 to 2020, 395 tonnes of textile waste was collected from our suppliers and given new life in fashion’s supply chains.
- Regeneration of leftover materials from the Gucci Off The Grid ECONYL® scraps are recovered from the production of Gucci Off The Grid and then recycled to create new ECONYL® materials as part of the “GUCCI-ECONYL® PRE CONSUMER FABRIC TAKE BACK PROGRAM”.
- Collection of leather waste generated in our supply chain and its re-introduction into the market or donation to socially responsible projects. Between 2018 and 2020, around 27 tonnes of leather scraps were recovered and regenerated in collaboration with non-profit organizations and social cooperatives in Italy. Also in 2020, 25 tonnes of leather offcuts were collected and reused as fertilizer
- Collection and reuse of industrial packaging. From 2019, we have reused protective boxes for transporting our accessories to reduce the number of new boxes we make. This is a relatively simple step with the potential for huge impact. Gucci has already been able to reuse 1 million of these protective boxes in 2020, with a savings of about 90 tonnes of plastic since launching.
- Promote upcycling through All our discontinued non-branded fabrics and leathers are reused internally or through external channels, such as donating these materials to non-profit organizations. Starting in 2020, we have developed an environmentally friendly process to remove logos or other customizations from leather. In addition, as far as metals are concerned, all accessories are destined for recycling.
Extending into the community, Gucci-Up also contributes to the creation of entrepreneurial projects through partnerships with non-profit organizations that support disadvantaged people: women, migrants, people with disabilities.
Stories of emancipation, empowerment, redemption and innovation. Different stories, but all of them characterized by sustainability and a positive social impact. Discover their stories.
…see stories (Cartiera, Quid, Colori Vivi)
Cartiera laboratory
The new hub for leather reuse
Our collaboration under Gucci-Up with the Abantu cooperative and its “Cartiera” leather laboratory develops and promotes sustainable business models associated with the reuse of leather. In line with its desire to combat all forms of disadvantages and its conviction that work is an indispensable tool for inclusion, since 2013 the Abantu social cooperative has focused on people in need, such as asylum seekers and refugees, trafficking victims, young people and women. Since 2017, the Cartiera lab has offered training and employment opportunities in the leather goods industry to the disadvantaged, promoting the use of recycled raw materials and collaborating with the Ethical Fashion Initiative, a United Nations programme. Based on the initiative’s successful results, Cartiera, with Gucci’s support has created a new recovery and storage hub for unused leather. The project aims to establish a production network that drives positive social and environmental action, providing employment to people in need and promoting the reuse of leather.
QUID Project
Quid Project: empower women from vulnerable backgrounds through fashion
Through the Gucci-Up initiative we support “Progetto Quid”, a sustainable clothing brand. Born in 2014, from the desire to give employment opportunities to women from vulnerable backgrounds, the social enterprise Quid empowers women to create a new beginning.
Creativity, beauty, ethics, and sustainability are the founding principles of Progetto Quid, whose products are made from the recovery of high-quality fabrics otherwise unused and made available by different fashion brands.
In 2020, Progetto Quid received the Responsible Disruption Award at the Green Carpet Fashion Awards.
Colori Vivi
Colori Vivi: creating working opportunities for migrant women
Through Gucci-Up we support “Colori Vivi” a sartorial and creative lab, where migrant women from different countries around the world are employeed, realizing clothing and accessories that result from a sharing between different cultural universes.
The women have been trained by professional seamstresses and volunteers based on an experiential hands-on approach to learning. Their items are created with high-quality materials manufactured using sustainable approaches, like recycling. Through their work a message of diversity, cultural coexistence and eco-consciousness is conveyed.
