Valentino to Turn Off Store Lights in the After-hours
V-DARK: Valentino’s stores are going dark — at least in the after-hours.
The luxury brand has pledged to turn off the lights on its stores worldwide after 10 p.m. The move reflects the company’s ongoing sustainable commitment and comes amid skyrocketing costs for energy consumption and growing concerns throughout Europe of energy shortages come winter due to the war in Ukraine and Russia cutting shipments of natural gas to European countries.
More from WWD
The company’s network of 95 stores went dark Thursday night, with the lights of logo-shaped illuminated signs, windows, sales areas, warehouses and displays turned off.
Valentino said it expects to save up to 800 kWh in energy supply, equal to the power used by 13,000 light bulbs.
About 80 percent of the brand’s energy supply for its Italian premises, including headquarters, manufacturing complexes and boutiques, comes from renewable sources.
The initiative was deemed as symbolic, too, and aimed at fostering a more responsible use of resources, in line with the brand’s commitment to adopting and sharing sustainability best practices.
Earlier this year, the couture house debuted a sustainability-leaned section on its website under the moniker “Creating Shared Value” dedicated to its environmental progress and details its evolution toward a business and manufacturing model mindful of carbon footprint and environmental impact.
The entire website is also being assessed for carbon emissions related to traffic and operations as part of a partnership with Karma Metrix Energy Efficient Website, an Italy-based company that is part of the AvantGrade.com search marketing and AI specialist.
Among its most recent sustainably inclined actions, Valentino committed to going fur-free starting from 2022 and alpaca-free starting with the spring 2022 season; introduced a vintage project tapping into the resale market and the circular fashion economy; pledged to work with environmentally friendly viscose suppliers for 70 percent of its production; unveiled the Open for a Change sneaker for men and women made with recycled elements, and joined the Sustainable Aviation Fuel corporate program promoted by Air France and KLM to curb the carbon footprint of its business trips.
Back in 2013, the company joined the Greenpeace Detox Solution Commitment in a mission to eliminate all dangerous chemicals from its supply chain and signed onto Zero Deforestation Commitment projects to help protect life-giving waterways and rainforests.
Last month, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton also revealed plans to reduce electricity use by 10 percent across the group. The parent company of Celine, Dior, Givenchy, Kenzo, Loewe and Louis Vuitton, among others, said it would cut its consumption by turning off the lights across all of its stores between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.
Best of WWD
