Sustainable Practices Timeline

2015

Gabriela Hearst launches her first designer womenswear collection for Fall/Winter with two main values - Long Term and Sustainability. A brand that reflects a slower pace and process: where tradition influences more than trend, where there is a purpose to every piece, where it’s all in the details.“I wanted to create a brand that had that feeling of things that are well made and long lasting.”

The company began a partnership with Manos del Uruguay, a 50 year old non-profit women’s cooperative that empowers rural women who are in charge of the production of Gabriela Hearst hand-knits. 

2016

Gabriela Hearst introduces Handbags. In the interest of maintaining her values of sustainability, she decided to produce the bags in limited quantities and available only through direct to consumer channels.

2017

Gabriela Hearst presents her first runway show using about 30% deadstock fabrics “I like the idea that we’re doing our part by not creating something completely new.” 

The company introduced TIPA flexible packaging, which offers bio-based alternatives to traditional plastic packaging that are fully compostable within six months. TIPA was founded in 2010 by Daphna Nissenbaum and Tal Neuman to address the plastic waste crisis. The flexible packaging has the durability, transparency and shelf life of conventional plastics, yet has the same end-of-life as organic matter, returning to nature with no harmful impact to the environment.

Gabriela Hearst introduces a special silver fabric that prevents cell phone radiation from reaching women’s reproductive organs. Jackets and coats are lined with this silver textile.

The use of only certified natural fibers and the utilization of leftover materials like cashmere and silk from previous collections is implemented for designs.

For the Resort 18 collection, a brand new fabrication was introduced: aloe-treated linen, a much more complete fiber than cotton because it absorbs less water during production. At the same time, its flax seed can be used for nutritional value. 

2018

For the Spring Summer 2019 collection, Gabriela Hearst introduced piqué and twill suits spun from the wool of her family’s six-generation merino sheep farm in Uruguay. This process took a year and a half to execute.

In April 2018, on Earth Day, Gabriela made a commitment to reduce the amount of non-recycled plastic and replace it with compostable packaging for front and back of house.

In November 2018, Gabriela Hearst opened its flagship store at 985 Madison Avenue in New York. The store was built with a conscientious approach, without the use of synthetics or chemicals, using natural, non-treated reclaimed oak, built-in light occupancy sensors throughout the space to reduce electrical consumption and a filtered water fountain that eliminates the need for plastic bottles. 90% of the material waste generated during construction was recycled.

2019

By April 2019, Gabriela Hearst achieved the goal to be plastic-free for both front and back of house with the use of compostable TIPA packaging and introducing recycled cardboard hangers.

In August 2019, Gabriela Hearst opened its London store in Mayfair, at 59 Brook Street, designed by Norman Foster. It was sustainably built without using any new materials. Simultaneously, Gabriela Hearst opened a shop-in-shop at Harrods, also designed by Norman Foster.

For the Spring Summer 2020 collection, shown in New York in September 2019, Gabriela Hearst produced the first ever carbon neutral runway show.

By 2022, Gabriela Hearst has set a goal of eliminating the use of virgin materials.

2020

Gabriela Hearst sets a goal to use 50% non-virgin materials by 2020.

In February, Gabriela Hearst announces its partnership with EON, a leading digital identity platform for the fashion and apparel industry, connecting products throughout their lifecycle by unlocking visibility, traceability, and insight through a QR code. The goal is to provide customers with more transparency by sharing the supply chain and giving them access to learn about their garment’s journey.

The premise of the Gabriela Hearst Autumn Winter 2020 collection was to devise further techniques to work with waste that would not compromise the quality or aesthetic values of the company.

By 2022, Gabriela Hearst has set a goal of eliminating the use of virgin materials.

Antique remnants of Turkish rugs were pieced together for outerwear, existing pieces of cashmere outerwear from prior collections were deconstructed and re-assembled with blanket stitch, and recycled cashmere was reprinted and repurposed. This idea permeated both the collection and creative direction of the show.

Recycled shredded paper bales from a recycling facility in Brooklyn were used as set design. The paper bales were kept in their original size and condition and then returned to the recycling company.

Gabriela Hearst presents her Spring Summer 2021 collection for the first time at Paris Fashion Week, at the Ecole Des Beaux-Arts courtyard. This heavily handcrafted collection was comprised of 60% deadstock materials and was a carbon neutral runway show.

2022

In November 2022, Gabriela Hearst participated at the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (CoP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh (Egypt) to discuss the critical role fusion power has in the fight against climate change.