Confronting climate crisis through corporate narratives: the fairy tale in LVMH’s 2020 and 2021 social and environmental responsibility reports

Figures & data

Figure 1 LVMH’s Hero Plus helper journey.

Table 1. Evaluation of select LVMH “maisons” by “good on you.”

Name of House (Fashion & Leather Goods)	Animals	Environment	Labor	Overall rating January 2022
Louis Vuitton Christian Dior Loewe Loro Piana Fendi Celine	Rating: 1/5 Animal rating is ‘very poor’. Details might include*: Use of fur, leather, wool, down, exotic animal hair, and/or exotic animal skin. Traces some animal products to first stage of production	Rating: 2/5 Environment rating is ‘not good enough’ Details might include*: Does not use (or uses few) eco-friendly materials Does not minimize textile waste Has a target but not clear whether it meets greenhouse gas emissions Eliminated some hazardous chemicals but not all Complies with its own restricted substances list but no evidence of meaningful action to eliminate hazardous chemicals No evidence it implements water reduction initiatives in most of its supply chain	Rating: 2/5 Labor rating is ‘not good enough’ Score of 21-30 in the 2021 Fashion Transparency Index Details might include*: Final stage of production takes place in medium-risk countries for labor abuse Little of its supply chain is certified by labor standards which ensure worker health and safety, living wages or other labor rights No evidence of diversity and inclusion practices in its supply chain It does not publish a comprehensive list of suppliers or information about forced labor, gender equality or freedom of association Not clear if it pays a living wage in its supply chain Discloses inadequate policies or safeguards to protect suppliers and workers in its supply chain from the impacts of COVID-19	‘Not good enough’ (2/5)
Moynat Berluti Rimowa Emilio Pucci Givenchy Kenzo Marc Jacobs	Rating: 2/5 Animal rating is ‘not good enough’ Details might include*: Use of leather, wool, down, and/or exotic animal hair Uses down accredited by the Responsible Down Standard Traces some animal products to first stage of production
Patou	Rating: 3/5 Animal rating is ‘it’s a start’ Has a formal animal welfare policy aligned with Five Freedoms but has no clear mechanisms to implement Use of wool and exotic animal hair Traces some animal products to first stage of production	Rating: 3/5 Environment rating is ‘it’s a start’ Uses few eco-friendly materials including organic cotton Reuses some of its offcuts to minimize textile waste Has set a science-based target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions generated from its own operations and supply chain but it is unclear whether it is on track to meet its target Has a policy to protect biodiversity in some of its supply chain		‘It’s a start’ (3/5)

*Aggregated by rating value but details might differ between houses.

Compiled from information available at: https://goodonyou.eco/.

Table 2. Propp’s (1968) fairy tale archetypes and the characters in LVMH’s environmental and social responsibility narrative.

Propp’s archetypes (Not all archetypes appear in all fairy tales)	Characters in LVMH’s environmental and social responsibility reports
The Hero	Bernard Arnault, CEO, and LVMH are the heroes in the LVMH story; the UN may be viewed as the hero in the wider global climate crisis narrative.
The Villain	Climate Crisis.
The Donor	UN provides the SDGs (a magic object or token) as a means of achieving an environmental and socially responsible future. Other, subsidiary, donors include ESG auditors and accreditors that offer methodologies to assess progress toward sustainability.
The Dispatcher	The UN through its Global Compact dispatches LVMH to achieve environmental and social responsibility.
The False Hero	By providing unrealistic and contradictory goals, the UN may be viewed as the False Hero in the global climate crisis narrative.
The Princess	The princess is the prize, which for LVMH is profitable growth performance and a strong share valuation – this is facilitated through attracting the key stakeholders of investors and customers. In the wider climate crisis narrative, the prize is an environmentally sustainable planet.
The Helper	For LVMH the helper is initially Stella McCartney, but as time progresses other helpers are drawn into the narrative from across the LVMH organization and beyond.
The Princess’s Father	While the character of the Princess’s father does not seem evident in the LVMH narrative, one could argue that in the wider global corporate narrative of climate crisis this role is taken by an individual like Larry Fink, the CEO of BlackRock, who shapes trends in the global financial markets in favor of companies that comply with ESG.