Luxury fashion group Kering, which owns the brands Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, to name but a few, says it will contribute AU$1 million in support of efforts to combat Australia’s ongoing fires.

Since September of last year, parts of Australia have been ablaze due to record-breaking temperatures and severe drought. What started as a series of bushfires has since escalated immeasurably with an estimated 6.3 million hectares engulfed.

Kering’s sustainability experts will divvy out portions of the sum to local authorities throughout the country as they tackle the widespread fire that’s thus far claimed 24 lives.

As the extent of the fires in Australia have escalated, so too has media coverage on the issue, with influential figures from across industry cropping up in a sign of solidarity.

The states of New South Wales and Victoria have been ravaged by the inferno, with as many as 1,300 homes destroyed in the former, which is now in a state of emergency. In Victoria, more than 800,000 hectares of land have been scorched as strong winds carried the flames.

Thousands of firefighters have been deployed throughout the nation as natives look to mitigate further extensive damage. Whilst supporting these teams of people, Kering also says it will undertake additional initiatives with its portfolio of brands to show solidarity with the people there.

It also has plans to participate in future reforestation and biodiversity programmes.

Courtesy: Eco Textile News