The paradoxes and opportunities of sustainable luxury. Principles, cases, and key challenges

Luxury companies are currently facing social and economic pressure to adopt sustainable practices. Even though luxury and sustainability have long been seen as opposing concepts – the former reflecting ostentation and status, the latter reflecting self-denial and parsimony – this chapter argues that luxury products feature characteristics that make them inherently sustainable: namely, their high quality, durability, limited production, and preservation of artisanal traditions. First, the present chapter highlights the main characteristics of luxury brands alongside the evolving tastes of luxury consumers. Second, it explains why luxury products and services can be considered inherently sustainable, while describing the main challenges currently facing luxury brands in the most prominent sectors (i.e., automotives, hotels, and personal goods). Finally, this chapter synthesizes current research on this topic in order to isolate two themes of sustainable luxury: (1) innovative sustainable solutions and (2) emerging business models oriented around circular economy and sharing principles, as well as identify avenues for future studies.