Why Sustainability and Quality Go Together
Gabriela Hearst wearing the traditional gaucho attire on her ranch in Uruguay. Credit - DANIËL BOUQUET
So much has, and hasn’t, changed over the past 10 years. We experienced the global collective trauma of a pandemic and deepening polarization, survived some of the warmest years on record, seen a record drought in the Amazon amid declining rainfall, and witnessed the weakening of women’s rights in the U.S. We observed the acceleration of AI.
But some things have stayed the same. Namely, the values necessary to face the most difficult challenges in society—and in the luxury fashion industry. Despite our rapidly changing world, I am not giving up on the concept of honest luxury.
A few years ago, my mother traveled to New York City and asked me a question that stuck with me: “Why are people dressing so badly these days?” If you didn’t know my mother, you would think this was a snob’s comment, but that could not be further from the truth. My mother lives on a ranch in Uruguay in the remote region of Queguay Chico, where her family has lived for generations.
What she meant is, why has the quality of our clothing declined? From housing to food, this trend of declining quality has proliferated chronically across our economy. It was only a matter of time before we allowed the quality of what we put on our bodies to go down as well. My mother, a progressive, “hippie” baby boomer, has always valued quality. And I myself have found my purpose in prioritizing quality in my work. Perhaps this shared value is because we both grew up on a ranch and in a community where things were made to last.
When I inherited my father’s ranch in 2011, I traveled constantly back and forth from New York—determined to not be the generation that lost our family’s land. My life in Uruguay stood in sharp contrast with my life in New York. On the ranch, I found myself in a slower, timeless way of life. There was no central heating, just fireplaces. Shutters and doors were kept closed in the summer during the day to keep the heat at bay. Walls had to be thick to keep in the coolness. Nothing was thrown away because it could be repurposed. Even an empty paint can could be used as a bucket to wash the horses’ manes.
This experience made me take a closer look at what I was doing in New York. I was designing a contemporary clothing line with a fixed price point. I wasn’t allowed to focus on quality. To the contrary, I was constantly being pushed to make the collection cheaper and to make more of it. I started to feel fragmented between what I believed and what I was making. That’s how my brand Gabriela Hearst was born—by combining both my lives, the countryside that raised me and the urban capital where I became a woman.
Yes, the world around us is changing fast. Yet I remain focused on quality. We launched Gabriela Hearst for fall 2015 with a strong resolution of putting quality on the table, of preserving craftsmanship, and of continued commitment to thoughtful sourcing. We are now roughly 10 years in, and we are still a young, environmentally conscious luxury company. Commitment to our environment is the paramount issue we pay attention to. Sustainability is not a marketing tool, it is a daily practice.
My colleagues and I share a deep concern about the world we are leaving the next generation. I come from a culture where you are expected to leave your children better off than yourself. Unfortunately, this is not the current state of affairs.
Right now, we are working on ways to reduce our waste further. Sometimes it is as easy as demanding our suppliers use less water, focusing on verticality and traceability, or connecting with other brands to learn how they are achieving their sustainable practices.
Of course, there is so much more to learn. But one thing we have undeniably learned is that focusing on quality can be good for both the environment and for business. Our ultimate dream is to craft a timeless product with the utmost quality and transparency possible. We want to go to sleep at night with clear consciences, knowing that we did our best for our customers and our children. And that’s the greatest luxury there is.
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