Hope springs eternal – even in luxury retail. Gucci is going green.

Delivering on the brand's promise last November to reduce paper use and its carbon footprint, Gucci says its signature luxury packaging now conforms to FSC Certified paper standards and is 100% recyclable.

It's the latest luxury brand to make good on a Rainforest Action Network-backed pledge to reduce paper in packaging, a commitment that has already signed up Valentino, Versace and Prada.

Gucci Group now joins those ranks, with a commitment that also extends to its Yves Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney and Balenciaga brands.

It’s a major change for Gucci. Bags, boxes, and tissue paper will no longer contain plastic laminate; ribbon and garment bags will change from polyester to cotton; and bags will be labeled: "This shopping bag is FSC certified and made of 100% recyclable material."Continue reading...

Director-artiste David Lynch would like to point out that despite calling product placement "f**king bulls**t," his latest film for Dior is a straight commercial, not a product placement. Lynch made this distinction clear some time ago during a panel discussion, saying, "I do, sometimes, commercials to make money."

Not that the 12-minute short film Lynch has created around Shanghai and Marion Cotillard's considerable charms (and Dior's latest handbag) comes across as a shallow money-making endeavor.Continue reading...

Paypal will soon resume Indian personal bank statements and withdrawals. [TechCrunch]

Tiger Woods is no longer a client of Gatorade. [WSJ]

Is Olympic participation a selling point for advertisers? [Boston Herald]

Burger King starts meet-and-greet promotions for new menu items. [Daily Finance]

3D televisions have arrived in stores without much response. [LA Times]

Financial services for Prudentical P.L.C. set to be bought by A.I.G. [NY Times]Continue reading...

Its been said that everything new is old again, and fashion house Yves Saint Laurent has created a new line to prove it.

“New Vintage II” is the second part of a capsule collection featuring leftover scraps from past collections recreated into classic silhouettes. Creative director Stefano Pilati has implemented his venerable designs on fabrics pulled straight from the house's archives, proving that he has a few new tricks up his sleeve.

The first eco-friendly line was sold exclusively at Barneys New York, a store known for doing its part in celebrating green design.Continue reading...

Known almost as much for his personal life (Salma Hayek's new husband, he's profiled in today's Wall Street Journal) as his public one, PPR owner François-Henri Pinault is looking to sell some of his less glamorous brands in an effort to pay off debts. The businesses that will be pushed aside happen to generate 70% of group sales, but Pinault's goal is to focus on the clothing and accessories brands within its luxury Gucci Group and Puma. FT reports:

He is not interested in slimming PPR down to a pure luxury player and is looking to replace the lower-margin retail businesses with mid-market brands.

Out with the old and in with the new, wouldn't you say?Continue reading...

Apparently, Michael Jackson's movie ranks as a great treat for Jackson aficionados -- who turned out by the thousands in 18 countries at Wednesday's premieres of This Is It, the Sony Pictures docudrama based on rehearsal footage for the grand revival concert tour Jackson was planning for London when he died on June 25. Though it may hold little interest for everyone else -- box office numbers have fallen substantially short of the hype -- the film is likely to do well enough to make up for losses due to the canceled London concerts.

More importantly, it marks the launch of Michael Jackson's posthumous brand.

Since Jackson was alive for half of the year, he only had a few months to try to catch this year's fluke winner of Forbes' annual list of top-earning dead celebrities, Yves Saint Laurent (fueled by a one-time art auction), and took the No. 3 slot. But no matter how well the new film does, extensive soundtrack and licensing opportunities, unhindered by the spooky antics (and appetites) of a pesky live celebrity, are pointing Michael Jackson down Elvis Presley's well-marked path.Continue reading...

Well, isn't this just the most flattering thing – late fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent is at the peak of this year's Forbes Top-Earning Dead Celebrities list with $350 million in earnings. The earnings number far surpasses the $90 million Michael Jackson has acquired since his death in June, which isn't too shabby in itself.

Much of the money compiled for the house of YSL is thanks in part to a record-breaking auction in February that saw the clearance of a massive 733-piece collection of art, antiques and furniture owned by Saint Laurent and his business partner/boyfriend, Pierre Bergé. Pierre felt compelled to sell the collection because it had lost all meaning after the death of the designer.Continue reading...

On 80th anniversary of 1929 crash, US recession ends. [Guardian]

Volvo deal advances as Ford indicates preference for Geely's bid. [FT]

Google shakes up GPS industry by offering free service. [NY Times]

Google signs MySpace deal to include music in search. [Brand Republic]

Slowing Wii sales cause falling profits for Nintendo. [WSJ]

Regulation fears scotch National Express merger with Stagecoach. [Times of London]

(More headlines: GM, Motorola Droid, YSL.)Continue reading...