WILDLIFE FRIENDLY ENTERPRISE NETWORK WELCOMES GLOBAL FASHION BRAND STELLA MCCARTNEY AS A FOUNDING CORPORATE MEMBER

Stella McCartney Becomes the First Global Fashion Brand to Support the Development of Wildlife Friendly® Products That Help People and the Planet

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

London – April 17 2014 – The Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network  (WFEN), a global community dedicated to supporting products that conserve threatened wildlife and contribute to economic vitality in rural landscapes, and Stella McCartney, a brand with a commitment to sustainability, are pleased to announce an exciting new partnership dedicated to protecting wildlife.

WFEN Corporate Network Members are working towards sourcing Wildlife Friendly® products through their own supply chains and share the WFEN vision for a world where people and wildlife not only coexist but thrive. WFEN Corporate Members are committed to creating beautiful products that are made in a manner that respect the producers, land, and wildlife. Stella McCartney, supports WFEN in its mission to empower and educate consumers and to create change on the ground by providing a market incentive for farmers, ranchers and local communities to improve their production practices. By linking the worlds of sustainable agriculture and sustainable fashion, each garment produced has the potential to tell a story about responsible consumption and can support sustainability throughout the fashion supply chain.

“This unique partnership will benefit global consumers by providing a wider range of truly Wildlife Friendly® choices and enabling them to vote their values with their pocketbooks,” said Julie Stein, Executive Director of Certified Wildlife Friendly®. “Stella McCartney has consistently embraced a Triple Bottom Line approach to business. We applaud the brand’s leadership in initiating efforts towards responsible sourcing across a range of Wildlife Friendly® fibers, textiles and raw materials from around the globe. We don’t have to choose among people, planet or profit, but instead can work to benefit both business and biodiversity.”

WFEN membership is open to businesses and non-governmental organizations who are committed to the WFEN mission and who actively contribute to Wildlife Friendly® business practices. This contribution may be through building Wildlife Friendly® supply chains, production, sourcing and selling Certified Wildlife Friendly® products, building increased awareness and demand with consumers, and implementing best practices for biodiversity conservation and business.

About Stella McCartney

Stella McCartney is a 50/50 joint venture partnership between Ms. Stella McCartney and Kering established in 2001. A lifelong vegetarian, Stella McCartney does not use any leather or fur in her designs. The brand’s ready-to-wear, accessories, lingerie, fragrance, kids and adidas by Stella McCartney collections are available through 35 other free-standing stores including London, New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Paris, Milan and Shanghai, as well around 600 wholesale accounts in key cities worldwide. For additional information, please visit: www.stellamccartney.com.

About Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network

WFEN and its Certified Wildlife Friendly® and Predator Friendly® certification programs represent grassroots farmers, ranchers, artisans and conservation heroes from around the world including two World Bank Development Marketplace Award winners, a U.N. Equator Prize winner, leadership in the world’s marketplace for REDD+ Carbon Offsets, a Time Hero for the Planet, and a National Geographic Big Cats Initiative grantee. Certified Wildlife Friendly® products contribute to the conservation of over twelve million hectares of diverse wetlands, forests, and grasslands; protect keystone endangered speciesinAsia, Africa, and Latin and North America, including the Snow Leopard, Elephant, Cheetah, Spectacled Bear, and Wolf; and benefit over 200,000 people through increased food security, income and employment. For more information visit: www.wildlifefriendly.org.

Contact:

Wildlife Friendly

Julie Stein: Julie@wildlifefriendly.org

 

Stella McCartney

Arabella Rufino: arabella.rufino@us.stellamccartney.com