Sustainable fashion, shall we talk about it?
Spotlight on Sustainable Fashion
Because the quality of a garment is not limited to its cut or material, more and more people are turning to responsible fashion.
Why? Simply because by joining the responsible fashion movement, we show greater respect for our planet, our ecosystem, and also for the people around us. It's a new way for professionals to meet demand, and an opportunity for consumers to rethink the word "shopping" by adopting a much more responsible and thoughtful behavior.
It is therefore with enthusiasm that we have observed for several years the growing interest of buyers in this new state of mind, this desire to “ consume better ,” particularly in the field of fashion. As a result, many people are inspecting the labels to learn more about the materials, conditions, and manufacturing locations of their latest purchases.
Logically, these attitudes have pushed a growing number of brands to turn towards more responsible fashion... to our great joy!
What if we defined “Responsible Fashion” precisely?
To put it simply, responsible fashion is, above all, fashion that respects people and the planet: a responsibility that must come from all stakeholders in the sector: designers, manufacturers, distributors, but also the end consumer. It is also a fashion that aims to be transparent towards consumers, the goal being to allow them to dress with full knowledge and awareness.
From a brand's perspective, responsible fashion is all about making better choices when creating clothing, footwear, leather goods, and accessories. When choosing materials , the ideal is to opt for high-quality, natural materials, organic if possible, such as cotton or hemp, wool, or vegetable-tanned leather . Avoid anything similar to polyester, elastane, or polyurethane, which are more polluting.
Trimming small leather goods in fish leather JULES & JENN
The cut of a JULES & JENN vegetable-tanned leather
From the consumer's point of view, responsible fashion is a state of mind, a personal commitment that pays particular attention to the fashion items we buy, whether in terms of the manufacturing conditions and materials , or the care we take with them.
The goal is to preserve our fashion treasure trove for as long as possible in order to reduce our consumption, and ultimately our impact on the environment. This is not to be overlooked when we know that 80% of a garment's ecological impact comes after its purchase. The way we maintain, repair, or not, and dispose of our clothes is therefore just as important as the clothes we buy! The after-purchase process is therefore not to be neglected.
In short, responsible fashion is above all about producing better, to enable consumers to buy and store better.
Let's dig a little deeper...
Responsible fashion, where the art of “producing better” can be characterized according to these different criteria:
– The use of ecological raw materials , particularly organic, and secondary raw materials, i.e. recycled, which are an alternative that can effectively combat the depletion of natural resources.
– An environmentally friendly manufacturing process , using production techniques aimed at reducing the ecological footprint of a garment or fashion item in the broad sense, by avoiding the use of chemicals and limiting water consumption and CO2 emissions into the atmosphere, for example.
– Compliance with fair trade rules , whereby brands pay producers and workers a decent wage, respect human rights and labor laws and, sometimes, implement training projects aimed at developing the skills of the populations concerned.
– Local production , which allows for greater transparency on manufacturing processes, a reduction in the weight of transport, in addition to making national economies work and perpetuating the know-how of countries. In France, this local production can be materialized by designations such as the highly publicized “Made in France”.
– European production , a form of regional production, since the economy is no longer considered today on a purely French scale; producing in most European countries presents ethical and ecological advantages similar to those of French-French production.
The artisans JULES & JENN from the Graulhet workshop, France
Responsible fashion, fair trade & recycling
Responsible fashion has many faces, and isn't necessarily limited to its production methods. The term "responsible" encompasses a whole range of considerations regarding consumption patterns, since, beyond the production of clothing, it is also transported, sold, worn, washed, altered, thrown away, donated, or even recycled for the lucky few.
On the trade side, responsible fashion fully embraces ethical and fair trade. As a reminder, in addition to ethical trade, fair trade aims to establish labor rules, such as the prohibition of forced or child labor, the absence of discrimination in hiring, workplace safety, and fair pay.
At the end of the chain, recycling is one of the biggest challenges facing the clothing industry, which is considered the second most polluting industry on the planet.
Currently very trendy, “upcycling” consists of creating new clothes from recycled clothing.
Finally, responsible fashion is taking shape
Within the European Union, the fashion sector represents 220,000 companies with a turnover of around 200 billion euros per year.
Needless to say, it has a significant role to play in adapting our consumption patterns to the limits of what the planet can offer and support.
In addition to the efforts of consumers (purchasing, using, awareness, etc.) and businesses (innovation, education, etc.), associations like Fashion Revolution , Clean Clothes , and even Greenpeace are taking numerous actions, not only to denounce, but also to explain, guide, and facilitate action. And we support them 100%!
In a future article, we will show you how to buy better, particularly using labels and other tips.
