Luxury companies must do more to justify their value in an increasingly resource-constrained and unequal world.” That was the conclusion of a report by WWF, the conservation charity, into the environmental sustainability of luxury products, published last November. The report found that “despite strong commercial drivers for greater sustainability, luxury brands have been slow to recognise their responsibilities and opportunities”.

When WWF graded some of the best-known luxury brands according to their environmental performance, none received higher than a C plus. L’Oréal, buyer of the Body Shop, topped the list, scoring more than 60 points out of a possible 100 on various green and social sustainability criteria. Close behind came Hermès and LVMH, then Coach. Tiffany scored a D plus to rank fifth, but Bulgari and Tod’s merited only an F.