Gucci launches eco material Demetra, makes it available to other companies

Italian fashion brand Gucci has introduced Demetra, a new luxury material that combines quality, softness, durability and scalability with an eco-friendly ethos. Demonstrating the versatility of the material, the company has introduced three sneaker models, Gucci Basket, Gucci New Ace and Gucci Rhyton, to mark the first products made with Demetra.

It's a big deal for the brand and the luxury sector and underlines the growing importance of ethical and sustainable practices within the fashion industry. And importantly, in the spirit of open innovation, Gucci will also make Demetra available to the fashion industry as a new material source that can be customised to offer exclusive finishing, further facilitating application and differentiation, the company said in a press release.

The eco-innovation behind Demetra combines efficient processes with animal-free raw materials sourced from sustainable, renewable and bio-based sources.

The brand said it's born from Gucci’s desire to explore and innovate materials for the future and is the culmination of two years of research and development by its own technicians and artisans. Produced in Italy in Gucci’s factory, the new material is created using the same expertise and processes used for tanning, thereby achieving characteristics that give Demetra a distinctive, pliable and resilient performance, with a supple and luxurious finish.

“In our 100th anniversary year, Demetra is a new category of material that encapsulates Gucci’s quality and aesthetic standards with our desire to innovate, leveraging our traditional skills and know-how to create for an evolving future,” said Marco Bizzarri, president and CEO of Gucci. “Demetra offers our industry an easily scalable, alternative choice and a more sustainable material that also answers the needs of animal-free solutions.” 

And what's also key is that as a versatile, more sustainable new material, Demetra is suitable for a wide range of product categories. Unlike many new materials being developed, there are no impediments to scalability or limitations on volume, which often is a challenge for brands searching for scale and quantity. Meanwhile, as a next step to support a circular economy, Demetra scraps during manufacturing will be upcycled and reused by Gucci through an extension of its Gucci-Up programme, the release said.

A majority of the upper and part of the linings of the sneakers are made with the new material. They are animal-free and other components contain organic cotton, recycled steel and recycled polyester. The Gucci New Ace and Gucci Rhyton models are already available in Gucci stores and online, and the Gucci Basket will be made available from June 18. Further sneaker models and other product categories using Demetra will follow soon.

Additional reporting by Sandra Halliday