Receive the latest articles for free. Click here to get the Luxury Daily newsletters.

Christian Louboutin, Missoni highlight social responsibility through Positive Luxury e-magazine

September 13, 2011

Positive Luxury homepage

Positive Luxury, a recently-launched online magazine, looks to bring to light environmentally- and socially-conscious luxury brands such as Christian Louboutin, Missoni and Smythson, while providing easy access to their products.

The new e-magazine hopes to highlight luxury brands that are already using environmentally-sound design and production practices, as well as encourage more brands to do so. Many luxury brands have been aiming to increase consumer trust through corporate responsibility, and Positive Luxury looks to encourage these initiatives.

“Consumer understanding of sustainability is evolving and deepening over time,” said Diana Verte Nieto, founder/CEO of Positive Luxury, London. “And the perception of a responsible, or not particularly responsible, company is also evolving, too.

“People want to feel proud of the brands they buy, and they want to be sure about the credentials of those brands without paying more or sacrificing on style,” she said.

“We make this information easy, accessible and give consumers confidence in the products they are buying.”

Will it fly?
Advertisers such as Mr. and Mrs. Smith hotels, Jimmie Martin furniture and Baruzzo chocolates are already supporting the site.

The two companies have sponsored banner and towers ads on the e-magazine.

Positive Luxury features one new daily editorial piece and each editorial has a corresponding curated boutique.

The boutiques contain an average of six items that relate to the editorial theme. So far, topics have included man bags, Fashion Week looks, iPad covers and knits for the home.

Positive Luxury's "Man Bag" editorial and boutique

The brands featured include Christian Louboutin, Missoni, Smythson, Yves Saint Laurent and Stella McCartney.

Each item in a Positive Luxury digital boutique is linked to the brand’s ecommerce site or a department store’s listing for the product.

The e-magazine covers a number of categories, with tabs for women’s and men’s apparel, beauty, sports, technology, home and leisure, travel, food and wine, gifts, cars and flash sales.

Eventually, every item featured on the Positive Luxury site will have a small blue butterfly icon in the corner.

When clicked on, it will provide the consumer with more information on that particular brand’s social responsibility efforts.

Each company featured on Positive Luxury is asked to fill out a questionnaire regarding their environmental and social causes and values, which will be featured on the site.

“We aim that Positive Luxury will become the platform that will enable brands to unlock the value of sustainability through non-preachy, easy-to-understand, effective communications,” Ms. Verte Nieto said.

Recent Positive Luxury articles

CSR, not CPR
The e-magazine makes sense, since many luxury brands have been trying to place on effort on corporate social responsibility.

For example, Swiss watchmaker Longines and Hearst magazine Town&Country recently found and awarded three women who make a difference in the lives of children around the world and presented them with a donation on behalf of Longines (see story).

Additionally, hotel chain Four Seasons is marking its 50th anniversary with multiple volunteering options that allow guests to give back to local communities while travelling luxuriously (see story).

Also, skincare brand Kiehl’s celebrated its 150th anniversary by allowing fans to vote on four charities through a microsite to determe the size of the donation Kiehl’s made to each organization (see story).

Given the numbers of brands dedicating themselves to a social cause, a magazine that features both editorial on these initiatives and easy shopping of the products may be successful.

In a way, the site provides free advertising for the featured brand’s social corporate responsibility, and therefore many luxury brands may jump on-board.

“From a consumer perspective, we are trying to provide fun, interesting, insightful, editorial content combined with ecommerce at people’s fingertips,” Ms. Verte Nieto said.

“It is making the shopping experience easier for the consumer – see it, buy it – but also in the security that they are making an informed decision that didn’t mean trawling through wads of information,” she said.

“From a brand’s perspective, we are providing a platform where they can showcase their sustainability credentials in a way that is easy for consumers to understand at glance.”

Final Take
Kayla Hutzler, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York

Kayla Hutzler is an editorial assistant on Luxury Daily. Her beats are automotive, consumer electronics, consumer packaged goods, financial services, media/publishing, software and technology, telecommunications, travel and hospitality, real estate, retail and sports. Reach her at kayla@napean.com.