Cat-walking the lies

Here I am a happy kiddo enjoying my regular day on the Erasmus Exchange Program in Berlin. On a sunny April morning, I left my apartment super early, as usual, to make it to school on time. If you don’t know Berlin, I must say, you miss a lot of fun, but most of all, you miss hours and hours traveling from point A to point B. With a population of 3.7 million and nearly 900 km2 of total area, the city is like a massive beast that never sleeps. On some days, it feels like this city can eat you alive. Or rather eat your time while you are stuck on the S-Bahn because some random dude decided to have fun on the train tracks.

Being pathologically paranoid about getting late, I ran from my apartment in Charlottenburg, crossing the famous Kurfüstendamm (also known as Ku’damm) high-fashion street to get to my metro. While cursing myself for not leaving earlier, I spotted a group of people wearing high-visibility jackets just across the road. “Well...” I thought to myself. “Just another regular protest about something that a non-German will never understand.” I also noticed other pedestrians suspiciously glancing at the group. But there was something more, a weird feeling, that made me stop and wait for a second. My gut feeling said that something crazy was about to happen. And, as usual, it was right. One of the guys in the group suddenly flashed out with a massive paint bottle and started spraying horrible-looking orange paint on the Pucci store. Meanwhile, his friends grabbed the posters, shouting, “Das werden wir nicht tolerieren,” which translates in English to “We will not tolerate this.” I turned to a middle-aged woman who also stopped to look at this circus and said, “Wow, what a crazy day,” and then she replied, “All days in Berlin are crazy”. This is how I came across The Last Generation, a student-led climate change activist group.

Thinking about my future as a communication professional, I couldn't help but wonder why they only went after the Pucci store. Sure, fashion isn't great for the environment, but did they just randomly choose Ku’damm, or was it planned? As life always puts its pieces together, it happened that my interest in this incident led me to a discussion with one of my classmates. I must say, I do not recommend discussing this topic publicly in Berlin with someone you barely know, especially if you think that those activists are just plain crazy. In fact, that was what I said to my classmate, "They are just nuts!" Big mistake. Why? Because her sister is part of the Last Generation! Viktorija, next time mind your tongue! I was glad that she did not slap me and was so open to accepting my opinion. But still, I stuck to my argument that there are at least 1 million other stores in Germany selling the same or similar products. To my eye, targeting Pucci is simply a cry for publicity. She kindly explained to me that Pucci is lying to people about the production locations and processes of their products.

According to The Last Generation, Pucci lies by stating that their production processes are sustainable and comply with all sustainability regulations and laws. When, in fact, only a small part of their products is being produced in locations closest to the selling points. For example, a factory in Romania produces goods for the European market. Besides, the movement states that other similar stores use unpaid and undertreated workers in Asia and South America, using unsustainable and poorly built production facilities that damage the environment and forests. On top of that, they are using the most unsustainable transportation means to reach selling points.

To my own surprise, after listening carefully, I started changing my opinion. Those stores are not just happy places for the rich to get something beautiful. In fact, they are giant money-making machines, treating their employees unfairly, extensively using the world’s resources, and, most importantly, lying to their customers by pretending to be the good guys. But then I asked, “What does The Last Generation want from these brands? I don’t think that the movement has that much power to tear down the high street fashion monopolies.” The answer I got was somehow different from what I expected. The Last Generation wants those brands to stop lying and be 100% transparent about their operating practices. No wonder the Last Generation protests brought unwanted attention to many high-fashion stores. I might be wrong in saying that any advertisement is a good advertisement because, in this case, The Last Generation won by questioning Pucci consumers about their purchasing choices.

Long after our conversation, I kept on bringing myself back to that day on Ku’damm Street. I wondered how those radical acts against fashion stores affected the brand's reputation, and most importantly, what the brand could do to gain back the public’s trust? Thanks to my careful listening skills in PR classes, I knew the answer, and it was pretty simple: radical transparency. I believe that Pucci can win back its customers by accepting the mistakes they have made. We are all people, even rich businesspeople are people, right? Accepting the mistake is a way to avoid a PR crisis in the future. The second step is to create a PR campaign showing that you listen to the public, and you care. Creating a PR or marketing campaign in which the brand showcases its most vulnerable working practices can be the way to win consumers' hearts. People spot authenticity, so presenting unfiltered reality can play a positive role for brands, especially those who want to rejuvenate their reputation. And for God’s sake, do good for the Earth. Sustainability is one of the top 2023 marketing trends for all business practices, and it is not likely to go away soon. Greenwashing people can knock down even the biggest brand giants if they are sustainable only 0.1% in their work. So, dear Pucci, be bold, sustainable and transparent.