Overall: 3/10
Prada is a luxury fashion brand founded in Milan in 1913 by Mario and Martino Prada. It scored 18% in the Fashion Transparency Index in 2022.
The brand does have an initiative called Re-Nylon, Prada’s first sustainable bag collection, which was released in 2019. “Re-Nylon” stands for regenerated nylon, and it is created from plastic collected from oceans, fishing nets, landfills and textile fiber waste. However, on their website, there is no section for this collection. To find Re-Nylon products, you have to search them up. It’s like they don’t want people buying them!
In this same vein, Prada has a fine jewelry collection called Eternal Gold which according to the website is “made of 100 percent certified recycled gold.” Unfortunately, when we last checked on the main page (November 2022) every single piece was out of stock. But when we opened the more extensive list of jewelry in the collection, hidden in the darkest corner of the page, it said that the pieces shown on the main page were “Made to order.”
It is important to mention that in 2018 Prada stopped selling and designing accessories that people described as having a, “resemblance to racist caricatures historically used to dehumanize black people” after social media outcry.
In their own investigation, Good on You found no evidence that Prada ensures fair wages or labor standards. It also does not release factory or supplier lists. While the brand eliminated fur in 2020, it still uses leather, wool, down, angora, exotic animal skin and hair, while having no animal welfare policy.
Miu Miu is also a luxury fashion brand, and is a fully owned subsidiary (child company) of Prada, established in 1992 by Miuccia Prada. It also scored 18% in the Fashion Transparency Index in 2022. Miu Miu has scarce sustainability efforts. The closest they come is their Upcycled initiative; “a special collection of vintage dresses reworked by Miu Miu.” These pieces are extremely limited, and only available for purchase in nine of their 146 stores globally. Like Prada’s Re-Nylon and Eternal Gold projects, Miu Miu’s Upcycled products are not showcased on the website – you have to search for the page about the program. The sustainability link at the bottom of their website just takes you to one of Prada Group’s sustainability pages.
Conclusion
Prada Group gets a three out of ten. The only way to score better at the moment would be to become more transparent about the inner workings of the company and the current steps it is taking and has taken to combat climate change.
Environmental impact: 2/5
Labor rights: 1 / 5
