We help luxury brands adapt to the sustainability economy.
We support our clients with independent certification, advice, and analysis, keeping them ahead of the world’s transition towards a sustainable future.
How did it all begin?
It’s impossible for me to point to an exact point where Positive Luxury began because it feels like the confluence of my lifelong passions for sustainability and luxury. This project has been taking shape in my brain for most of my life!
What sets your business apart?
We are a luxury specialist certifier with a unique focus on keeping brands relevant to a younger sustainability-focused consumer. We also see certification as a collaboration. We provide 1-2-1 personal support to our clients, guiding them through the process and beyond. We also reassess our brands every two years, ensuring the highest possible standards.
What is the concept behind your business or the problem you’re solving?
If you care about sustainability you want to know a product is actually sustainable, not just that someone from a marketing team decided that it was. The Butterfly Mark and independent sustainability certification that helps bridge that ‘say do gap’ and builds trust between consumers and businesses.
Where to next/What is your brand vision?
We know we already have the definitive luxury sustainability certification. The next step is to work with more brands to help them be the most sustainable they can be and to help them communicate those wins to their customers. And of course, China is on the horizon.
Diana Verde Nieto
Founder of
Positive Luxury
What do you feel passionate about/what drives you?
I am passionate about life, living in the moment and nature.
Share an example of early life that has shaped you?
Growing up in Argentina with my Grandparents who encouraged me to become independent from an early age. However, one of my earliest memories would be when my pet donkey, Raphael, died after eating the butter from the fridge (including the plastic wrapper). I guess you could say this ignited the sustainability passion within me.
Highlights of your business journey so far?
Every time we certify a brand, every time we help a business become more sustainable, I get a jolt of joy in my system. Ten years in and I still feel the same thing with the same intensity.
Key lessons you have learned along the way?
This sounds like a horrible cliché but I truly believe in the power of being yourself. When I first started down this road I felt like I had to act like an entrepreneur, whatever that means! But, I found far more success when I learned to own my personality, my nationality and my gender and find strength there. What makes you who you are is what will make your business great.
Best piece of advice you have received?
Start with the goal and work your way backwards from there.
Advice to an aspiring entrepreneur or woman just starting her career?
Believe in yourself, be resilient and make sure you surround yourself with women who are supportive of other women.
What funding route have you chosen for your business and why?
We haven’t gone for funding yet as we are profitable.
Some of the challenges you have faced and how you overcame them?
The biggest challenge for me was convincing luxury brands that sustainability is important right now, not when it’s convenient. We started doing this before sustainability was a hot topic so there were lots of blank faces in boardrooms and times when people wouldn’t pick up the phone. But, I believed in what I was doing and I was persistent and now the cultural conversation around sustainability has caught up with the science. You have to remember that just because other people might not believe in what you’re doing, that doesn’t mean you aren’t right.
Why is it important to support women-led business?
Women have different ideas, different approaches, and a different perspective. By supporting that, you’re building an economy that reflects the people who live in it.
60
Seconds
with
Diana Verde Nieto
My inspiration is...
Nature.
My greatest fear is...
Being bored.
The most courageous thing I’ve ever done is...
Moving to the UK with $500 in my pocket and not speaking English.
Guilty pleasure?
Dulce de leche.
Mantra you live by?
Never ever give up.
Female role model?
They’re not famous but my female friends who juggle high profile careers and busy family lives.
Women-led brand you love?
It is hard to pick just one, but I admire Lost Isle Project, Cath Kidston and Anya Hindmarch.
Top productivity tool?
Take time to disconnect from everyone and put an out of office on to focus.
