The luxury fashion industry faces increasing pressure to balance environmental responsibility with commercial value, as consumers and stakeholders demand greater transparency, ethical sourcing, and sustainable practices. Gucci, as a leading luxury brand under the Kering Group, has emerged as a benchmark for sustainable transformation in the sector. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of Gucci’s sustainable production system, focusing on its upstream raw material sourcing, midstream production and manufacturing, and downstream inventory and logistics management. Through the implementation of the “Gucci Equilibrium” strategy, the brand has established a full-link sustainable system that integrates innovative materials, vertical supply chain integration, digital management tools, and circular economy initiatives.
The study highlights Gucci’s efforts to ensure compliance with international standards such as CITES and LWG, the adoption of plant-based and recycled materials, and the use of digital tools like the Environmental Profit & Loss (EP&L) platform to monitor and disclose environmental impacts. Furthermore, Gucci’s agile production planning, ethical manufacturing standards, and circular initiatives such as “Gucci Up” and “Gucci Vault” are examined as key drivers of both environmental and commercial performance. Despite significant progress, challenges remain, including supply chain transparency, ethical risks in rare leather sourcing, and the sustainability paradox of outlet-specific production. The paper concludes with recommendations for further enhancing transparency, expanding circular services, and strengthening third-party audits. Gucci’s practices offer valuable insights and a replicable model for the broader luxury industry, demonstrating that sustainable development and business value can coexist through full-link integration, technological empowerment, and circular innovation.
