Celebrating 50 years of Earth Day, for 2020 its continued mission calls on our collective power to join together and protect our planet - from travel to arts to fashion, we can all do our bit.
With an ongoing mission to build the world’s largest environmental movement to drive transformative change for people and planet, this year Earth Day calls on people to “flood the digital landscape with action”. Whilst we #StayHome, there are so many ways to join the movement, celebrate what others are doing, and take action.
Join the conversation and take part in your own Earth Day activities at www.earthday.org, or take a look below at how just a few luxury companies are reshaping their businesses to build a better future for all.
1. ANANTARA
Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas, recently released its ‘Beyond Horizons’ video to spotlight the incredible ‘green’ work the group is doing, with each property’s green initiatives designed to encourage sustainable travel through meaningful community involvement. Its Holistic Approach to Reef Protection Program in the Maldives helps reverse coral bleaching in the region and promotes growth across coral nurseries. Anantara’s Peace Haven Tangalle Resorts uses a reverse osmosis plant that produces 2,000 litres of clean water day that is bottled for drinking; the Anantara Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation has rescued over 30 elephants. And The Royal Livingstone Victoria Falls Zambia supports Maramba Women’s Mushroom Farm, that trains 3,000-plus workers at Nsongwe Women’s Farm in sustainable agriculture techniques.
Find out more: www.anantara.com
2. MATCHES FASHION
Luxury global e-commerce giant Matches Fashion has launched The Responsible Edit, an online hub for its customers to shop brands that share their commitment to responsible and ethical practices. What this means is that each brand who worked with Matches Fashion had to meet stringent responsible requirements for the edit, as well as identify with at least one or more of the four Key Responsible Pillars: Artisans, People, Charity, Materials. In conjunction with The Responsible Edit, Matches Fashion has also introduced fully recyclable signature marble packaging that is 100% plastic free, recyclable materials in terms of parcel envelopes, packing notes and tags, all enabling those who love style to shop with a conscience and help make sustainability the world’s biggest fashion trend.
Find out more: www.matchesfashion.com
3. ZIGHY BAY
One of the original leaders in sustainability and a commitment to the environment, Six Senses Zighy Bay continuously challenges itself do do more in the realms of eco-tourism. So far, this includes a full-time on-site sustainability manager; an Earth Lab where the resort makes cold process soaps, bath scrubs, recycled paper and recycled glass ornaments; organic farming, with an on-site herb garden, an off-site farm, as well as locally-rousted fish and menus shaped around what the resort can grow and produce itself or buy locally and seasonally; twice-monthly beach clean-ups for the resort and neighboring village beach of Zighy; and Six Senses Water that is produced via an RO filtration process from the sea water, and is bottled and produced on site, reducing the need for 250,000 bottles annually. Chic eco-tourism done right.
For more information: www.sixsenses.com
4. TIFFANY & CO.
The New York-based jeweller has announced that its iconic little blue box is actually green. The beautiful Tiffany turquoise box, that has made its way into the jewellery boxes and hearts of so many is made of paper from sustainable sources and recycled materials, as all current packaging should be. The brand is also advancing the use of sustainably sourced paper and wood-fiber materials so a Tiffany gift can continue to arrive more grandly than most, wrapped in the keeper of a great tradition whilst moving forward hand-in-hand with sustainability.
For more information: www.tiffany.co.uk
5. VELAA PRIVATE ISLAND
The Maldives is renowned for its unrivalled underwater experiences, but human’s impact on the environment is a continuing and very real threat to the future of its coral. Velaa Private Island is home to the largest Coral Regeneration Project in the Maldives, having successful translated over 4,200 nursery-grown corals, increasing coral growth around the island by three per cent since its plantation just three years ago. Designed and directed by the island’s own on-site Coral Biologist, the area has also seen surge in fish quantity throughout the transplant areas and their surrounding endangered sites. With the capacity to nurse over 6,000 coral reefs within its four nurseries, the project aims to raise awareness of the destroyed coral reefs following the severe global bleaching in 1998 and 2016, whilst allowing guests to experience first-hand the extraordinary rewards of coral restoration and celebrating its now thriving marine life that includes black and white tip reef sharks, manta rays and the graceful eagle ray.
For more information: www.velaaprivateisland.com
6. TOMMY HILFIGER
Embracing a ‘waste nothing, welcome all’ ethos, all-American apparel brand Tommy Hilfiger is embracing Earth Day with an ongoing commitment to becoming “a circular fashion brand - one which limits carbon and water footprints, and where all the materials we use are part of a sustainable loop,” says the designer. Its 100% recycled denim styles feature stitching thread made from recycled plastic PET bottles; the brand’s 100% cotton products contain independently certified organic cotton grown without chemical pesticides or fertiliser; and by using an innovative technique that blends cotton scraps from the factory floors of the apparel industry and bed linens from the hotel industry, the company has also reduced the amount of water and energy used to make a pair of jeans.
For more information: www.tommy.com
7. SCOTT DUNN
Luxury travel specialist Scott Dunn is exclusively inviting guests to take part in a reforestation project with locals in Antigua, Guatemala, on an immersive volunteerism holiday, where they can learn the importance of reforestation and help with the maintenance of Guatemala’s fragile eco-systems and rainforests. Scott Dunn, in partnership with local Guatemalan charity, Global Visionaries, will give guests the chance to work on the already reforested land, ensuring the planted trees are in the best condition to survive and to assist reducing the risk of forest fires. The hands-on experience is a truly unique way to learn about nature, interact with the local community, and, of course, embed yourself in the ever important ideology of eco-tourism.
For more information: www.scottdunn.com
8. SINGITA
Award-winning conservation brand Singita opened its doors to Singita Kwitonda Lodge and Kataza House in Rwanda last August, with a vision to support a long-term conservation approach for the reinvention of Volcanoes National Park that both properties border. Set on 178 acres of lush land on the edge of Volcanoes National Park, both properties work in close paartersnhip with the Rwandan Development Board and local communities, whilst offering a natural space at Singita Kwitonda Lodge for agricultural plots and the estimated 320 mountain gorillas that find sanctuary there. The lodge’s on-site nursery, Akarabo, has to date provided approximately 250,000 indigenous forest shrubs, bamboo shoots and trees for an extensive reforestation initiative. Ultimately, Singita’s mission with its reforestation focus is to help support the Rwandan government in finding ways to increase gorilla habitat, with the end game of helping save the endangered primates.
For more information: www.singita.com
9. POMELLATO
In celebration of Earth Day 2020, Pomellato has launched its Denim Lapis Lazuli Capsule Collection, made entirely with sustainable materials responsible sourced from around the world. The Milan-based jeweller has created a ring, bracelet and earrings set that celebrates the universal appeal of blue denim, whilst using expertly crafted Farimined rose gold from Colombia. The project began with an idea that came from the 2018 Kering Award for Sustainable Fashion at the London College of Fashion, by Chilean student Maria Teresa Flores, who won first prize with the suggestion of creating jewels using sustainably sourced lapis lazuli from her native Chile. Two years on, now you can buy a piece that ethical history, and wear it with pride.
For more information: www.pomellato.com
10. COCO COLLECTION
With its Coco Cares initiatives, Coco Collections’ two properties in the Maldives - Coco Palm Dhuni Kolhu and Coco Bodu Hithi - go beyond just saying they care, they put sustainability goals at the forefront of their eco-ethos. Promoting awareness about ongoing environmental issues within the region, the company connects with like-minded individuals to discuss ways to help protect the environment and its inhabitants, partnering with initiatives that can make the biggest, lasting positing impact in its corner of the world. Examples of its green-goal initiatives include: an on-site marine biologist to develop Cocol Collection’s marine conservation and protection programmes; a plastic artist residency; a turtle rescue centre with Oliver Ridley and rehabilitation programmes, plastic reduction; conservative landscaping and tree-planting initiatives; an organic herb garden providing home-grown herbs, fruits and vegetables; and the replacement of in-room amenities with those made from natural materials, such as wooden toothbrushes and cotton buds not made of plastic, all making globetrotting a far more green and attractive prospect.
For more information: www.cococollection.com
11. FREGATE PRIVATE ISLAND
Ensuring the island’s flora and fauna are protected, Fregate Private Island in the Seychelles carefully managing the island’s unique ecosystem courtesy of the resort’s Conservation & Sustainability Team and Landscaping Team, who oversee all aspects of the island’s environment, from habitat management to biosecurity to scientific research. Fregate’s green vision means the resort uses solar water heating, cogeneration air conditioning in the villas, electric golf carts, refillable amenities and reusable glass bottles for drinking water. With food always an appealing factor for would-be visitors, Fregate also ensures that around 85% of the fresh fruits and vegetables it uses are grown in the hotel’s own organic garden. Certainly one reason to put the Seychelles on your sustainable travel bucket-list.
For more information: www.fregate.com
