One of Chanel’s family to launch investment fund in Brazil to focus on sustainable fashion

New York – David Wertheimer, fifth generation of owners of Chanel, leads an investment fund that will expand sustainable practices for the production of clothes, shoes, and accessories. He is eyeing at least two businesses in Brazil, according to local media.

Wertheimer’s fund has signed a partnership with Brazil’s subsidiary of Swiss bank Mirabaud to explore investing in technologies that can extract sugar cane and replace other materials used in shoes, such as plastic and non-organic rubber.

"We are looking at a set of brands that are completely sustainable, linked to sugar cane, using recyclable leather and other recycled materials," said the businessman in an interview with ‘Estadão’. "We are also looking for new ways of selling online, of communication to facilitate negotiations and we look at how people will approach consumption from now on," added the French luxury fashion brand’s heir.

The fund is in an advanced phase of funding, looking to secure circa 241million dollars (1.3 billion reais) and is to focus on the so-called ‘affordable luxury’. In this regard, Wertheimer highlighted that “The new luxury is to be sustainable. My vision is that sustainability is the key to all brands that will come in the future.”