SUSTAINABILITY
OUR PURPOSE IS CLEAR
As a female-owned and female-led business, Coco de Mer exists to shine a light on the extraordinary power, potential and importance of female pleasure and sensuality.
Our vision is to build a true icon of pleasure in luxury, occupying the intersection of style, luxury and pleasure – creating the world’s finest range of luxury lingerie, toys and accessories. We are committed to doing so in a sustainable and responsible way, with the utmost respect for people, the environment and animals.
For over 20 years we have fostered enduring relationships to create better and more sustainable products. As we continue our journey towards more conscious luxury, sustainability is being considered in and across every touchpoint. People are at the heart of what we do, and we strive always to be inclusive and open, creating a brand that champions and celebrates women.
We realise the importance of protecting our planet and are dedicated to reducing our carbon footprint, embracing climate-smart strategies and being transparent in everything we do to create a more sustainable tomorrow.
POSITIVE LUXURY
Our purpose is at the heart of what we do. Being a brand with purpose is crucial, and a deep belief in championing women's causes underpins all our goals for Coco de Mer. However, we are not a company to rest on any laurels.
We’ve joined the Real Changemakers of Positive Luxury Because it’s time to go beyond baby steps. We believe the world’s challenges require leaps of transformation. That’s why we’re honoured to have been awarded the Butterfly Mark by Positive Luxury.
The Butterfly Mark is only ever awarded to the luxury brands meeting higher and higher standards for people and nature. To earn it, we had to undergo a comprehensive assessment which is built on the foundation of international agreements, global frameworks and standards, and even potential upcoming legislation. And every two years, we have to do it all again. It’s a symbol that we stand for progress over perfection, difficult work over easy wins, and that we will never stop trying to improve.
We had to provide evidence of the change we’re making across a vast range of sustainability issues, including our impact on things like climate, nature and water (Environment), how we treat our workers and communities (Social), as well as how responsibly and ethically we manage our businesses (Governance). No detail is left out.
Whilst we will continue to work on improving further, we are incredibly proud to have excelled in the following areas:
Ethics and fair operating practices: 84%
People management: 82%
Sustainability purpose: 79%
Diversity, equality and inclusion: 74%
Animal welfare: 71%
A WORD FROM OUR CEO
"To be part of the Positive Luxury community means the world to me, ad I am so proud of what it says about Coco de Mer. As sustainability becomes a key focus of our overall strategy, we are committed to creating a positive impact on society and the planet, building a transparent brand that supports responsible practices and uses its platform to champion social justice in the world.
As a small business which wants to go the extra mile to positively impact our planet, Positive Luxury will be an invaluable guide to help us shape a more sustainable future, incorporating industry leading actions in a sustainable way, for our business and our environment.
We can see the impact of being a ‘changemaker’ already. What we have achieved in this year alone has been brilliant, the assessment has really encouraged us to raise our game and look at the ways we can futureproof the business as a force for good. Our work is not done, and we are so excited for the journey ahead."
Lucy Litwack, CEO & Owner
AND FROM POSITIVE LUXURY'S CO-CEO
“We are very proud to announce that Coco de Mer has been awarded the Butterfly Mark, the mark of real change hard earned by luxury brands meeting higher and higher standards for people and nature. Coco de Mer has placed sustainability at the foundation of its business- championing women and social impact, collaborating with and educating its suppliers, and defining targets to lower its environmental impact following its first carbon assessment. This is a beautiful brand, brazenly challenging social taboos. Transparency and impact are priorities for this passionate team of trailblazers and Positive Luxury is honoured to work with them - a group of Real Changemakers.”
Amy Nelson-Bennett, Co-CEO Positive Luxury
OUR ALIGNMENT TO THE UN SDGS
Given the company offering and our commitment to female equality, we identify and measure our social purpose and activity in line with the following social issues:
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
Women’s equality and empowerment
By focusing on these matters which feel intrinsically linked to the core of Coco de Mer, we believe that we will be able to help break down the taboos of female pleasure, to encourage a more open conversation and healthier relationships with, and increased respect for, the female body.
The 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are an urgent call for global action by 2030. We are firm supporters of the SDGs and we are proudly aligned with the following goals:
Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
Goal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
Goal 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.
OUR SOCIAL IMPACT
We believe in the impact of our presence, with a hands-on approach providing a truer personal connection to the causes we care about, along with a tangible and authentic presence in raising awareness and creating impact.
This is shown through regular trustee meetings with The Five Foundation, attendance and support at regular fundraising events, taking part in digital events and campaigns, sharing our online audience with charities, organisations and topics that are aligned with our core values, hosting events and fundraising ourselves.
We want to create the most empowering experience at every point of the journey on coco-de-mer.com, so in August 2022 we partnered with Beam, an online integration that helps to reinforce our social impact - a simple way to enable tangible choice with a purpose.
At the checkout at coco-de-mer.com, we have created the option to donate 1% of every purchase made to a charity of the customer’s choice, at no additional cost to them.
We have selected four charities that are aligned to our core belief in creating genuine, empowered equality:
Once a customer makes their choice, they will be able to follow the journey of our commitment, and see their role in this.
We look forward to reporting on the financial and social impact of this partnership on a consistent basis.
OUR TARGETS
Our social impact will always be a core part of our efforts. We will continue to raise awareness for inequalities and injustices against women, in particular striving to end the antiquated, barbaric use of FGM. We will continue to use our platform to highlight and educate on the need for gender equality.
- We always want to reduce our use of single-use plastics. So far this year, we have reduced our plastic packaging by 98% and are working on the remaining 2%.
- Printing is passé. All our lookbooks are digital.
- All our packaging, boxes and bags are 100% recyclable, and all our boxes are made using FSC® certified materials.
- Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions are on the way out, step by step. We want to reduce our GHG emissions by 5% over the next 12 months, along with a 5% reduction of our carbon footprint. Ultimately, we are working towards Absolute Reduction by 2030 and to be Carbon Neutral by 2050.
- Looking at our waste, we are starting at home, reducing our office waste by 25% within the next 12 months. We will halve waste production by 2030 and achieve zero waste to landfill by 2050.
Tending to Mother Earth and female pleasure with equal care.