Chloé’s technique for measuring the social impact of fashion

After becoming the first luxury brand to obtain B-Corp certification last year, Chloé wants to reduce the social impact of fashion.

The firm of which Gabriela Hearst is creative director is working with the Institut Français de la Mode and the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers to develop a tool that will help brands measure their performance on issues such as gender equality, living wages, diversity and inclusion. The company later wants to provide it as an open methodology for the entire industry.

The initiative is a growing push in the fashion industry to look for new ways to operate more sustainably. “To improve sustainability, you need figures, measures, KPIs,” said Aude Vergne, CSR director at Chloé. When it comes to measuring environmental impact, there are a number of established methodologies, “but measuring your social impact on people’s [lives], on suppliers, is more difficult.”

Chloé’s Social Performance and Leverage (SP&L) tool has been in development for 18 months. Its name is a nod to the Environmental Profit and Loss, or EP&L, methodology used by rival luxury group Kering. Chloé wants to develop a tool that will be used across the industry (although, unlike EP&L, SP&L will not put a financial value on social impact).

Now… Why not take a look at Glenn Martens’ debut show at Diesel FW22?