Fashion Industry : Innovation and Sustainability

Hello everyone,

I decided to work on a subject that interests me particularly as I dream of working in this field after the CEPE! So, I will talk about innovation in the world of fashion and all alternatives achievable to our current consumption in this industry, which, you know, is one of the most polluting...

To begin here are some basics to know about the different textile fibers that are used today by fashion industry. There are of three different types:
- Natural fibers: Of vegetable or animal origin, their transformation is purely mechanical. I can mention flax or hemp whose cultures are the least polluting in the world
- Artificial fibers which are made from natural materials but are then processed by chemical processes. And their manufacturing process requires large amounts of water...
- Synthetic fibers which are made from a totally chemical process. They have low biodegradability so negatives consequences on the environment.

I hope to prove to you that fashion and ecology are two reconcilable concepts ! Indeed, it is possible to dress "ecologically" by many way such as wearing clothes made of organic or recycled materials or simply by buying fewer items but of better quality which allows to reduce the ecological footprint of our precious wardrobe. So, do you already adopt these behaviors ?

It's an important subject for today's world. How do you find the way the British education system introduces you to it? Would the French look at it differently?

Hi Florine,

Your subject is very interresting !

I don't buy clothes with a majority of synthetic fiber because I'm feeling incomfortable inside and for me the textile is not "sweet" and "warm".
But, I'm trying to dress "ecological" by buying 2nd-hand clothes or buying clothes with organic cotton. I'm trying as well to buy less in store chain as "Zara", "Pull&Bear" "H&M" etc and more in local store but the problem is that it's expensive.
By dress "ecological" we should has well less compulsively buying and privilege the "Made In France".

Hi Florine! 

Unfortunately, I think that today it is very difficult to buy clothes that are "fashion", "made in France" and "respectful of the environnement" when just like me you don't have a lot of money to buy clothes  

What do you think?

I think like Elsa, that often causes environmental degradation. Equally the rights and safety of the workers who are not respected, who remembers the factory in Bangladesh with brands like primark and mango ?

joachim natali wrote:I think like Elsa, that often causes environmental degradation. Equally the rights and safety of the workers who are not respected, who remembers the factory in Bangladesh with brands like primark and mango ?

Everyone knows these tragic events Joachim but I have a question for you : what are you doing for counterbalance that ?

Elsa RAUCHE LUCAS wrote:Hi Florine! 

Unfortunately, I think that today it is very difficult to buy clothes that are "fashion", "made in France" and "respectful of the environnement" when just like me you don't have a lot of money to buy clothes  

What do you think?

Elsa, I think we can do things to consume better even without a lot of money such as buying second-hand clothes, reduce our clothes comsumption, try to make new clothes with old ones, transorf them. Also now you can exchange easily your clothes with a lot a applications such as vinted etc..
I think we do not realize enough how it was before our society of comsumtion. Before, we paid the real price for things and we were ok with that besause the one who sold a jacket was paid for it so he could spend his money in your business too etc. I think we have forgotten the true values, before peoples could spend more on quality clothes or food (that they could keep 10 years instdead of 6 month….), but maybe less on futile things.

Hello everyone, thank you for your interest !

Clem, I agree with your logic ! We should give more importance to second-hand objects... (while I don't often do this type of purchase because I'm always on the lookout for new trends and vintage pieces are not really what I search when I buy clothes).

Elsa, I think that if we really want things to change both for the planet and for men, the big fashion brands must make efforts in terms of eco-responsibility. And for that, we will have to accept in the future that the prices of the clothes have a slightly higher cost but justified by the quality !!

Admin wrote:It's an important subject for today's world. How do you find the way the British education system introduces you to it? Would the French look at it differently?

Hello John, You're right: the British education system is more advanced than French on this point... In France, we don't care or very little about the environment especially at school. The French always prefer to buy cheaper at the expense of quality. So, I think it could be a very good thing if the British education system could inspire ours. Educating children for sustainability is important to change things in the future because they represent the next generation, but adults must also make efforts NOW for a better world... And that's not only for fashion of course!

Yvanilde Panont wrote:Hi Florine,

Your subject is very interresting !

I don't buy clothes with a majority of synthetic fiber because I'm feeling incomfortable inside and for me the textile is not "sweet" and "warm".
But, I'm trying to dress "ecological" by buying 2nd-hand clothes or buying clothes with organic cotton. I'm trying as well to buy less in store chain as "Zara", "Pull&Bear" "H&M" etc and more in local store but the problem is that it's expensive.
By dress "ecological" we should has well less compulsively buying and privilege the "Made In France".

I totally agree with you Yvanilde, wearing a better quality of textile is more comfortable. At the same time, there is a significant increase in health problems that would be related to the wearing of synthetic clothing like infertility (due to synthetic underwear), respiratory disorders, skin diseases and some cancers... So we have to change our behaviors not only for the environnement but also for our health.

Hi Florine,
I am really interesting about the different aspects of sustainable fashion it is not just clothes it could be the underwears too, or accessories, shoes, bags and jewel or glasses.

I want to change my behaviour to pay ecological clothes but it is really expensive. So the thing I can do is to buy things that I will keep for a long time.
I know, that can be difficult to except when we are in fast fashion time.
I think to help with this fast consumption is to produce more advertisings on real vintage or advice on clothes that could wear in different ways (like that we don't have the impression to wear the same thing).

Hello,

It is an interesting topic Florine !

As a lot of people, I buy my clothes in multinational brands and honestly I don't really pay attention about the composition and the provenance. I know that it is not really ethical and I would like invest myself in brands more moral when I will earn money, it is not possible with my student status.

However, I am really committed in second hand market. I could say that 1/3 of my closet are made with second hand clothes. I know that some people doesn't like wearing clothes already worn by unknown people. In my case, I don't care about that. I am more focused on the price and the quality of the cloth. And I can say that it is really satisfying when you shop a jacket and shoes for 10 euros !

And you ? Have you ever been to a second hand market to shop clothes ?

Mégane wrote:Hi Florine,
I am really interesting about the different aspects of sustainable fashion it is not just clothes it could be the underwears too, or accessories, shoes, bags and jewel or glasses.

I want to change my behaviour to pay ecological clothes but it is really expensive. So the thing I can do is to buy things that I will keep for a long time.
I know, that can be difficult to except when we are in fast fashion time.
I think to help with this fast consumption is to produce more advertisings on real vintage or advice on clothes that could wear in different ways (like that we don't have the impression to wear the same thing).

Hello Mégane ! I know it's soooooo difficult to resist to buy new clothes but we have to change our behaviors for the planet

It's a good idea to customize the clothes you no longer wear instead of leaving them at the bottom of the wardrobe! It allows to give them a second life !!
But for that you have to know a little about sewing... (and it's not my case )

Nolwenn Lautredou wrote:Hello,

It is an interesting topic Florine !

As a lot of people, I buy my clothes in multinational brands and honestly I don't really pay attention about the composition and the provenance. I know that it is not really ethical and I would like invest myself in brands more moral when I will earn money, it is not possible with my student status.

However, I am really committed in second hand market. I could say that 1/3 of my closet are made with second hand clothes. I know that some people doesn't like wearing clothes already worn by unknown people. In my case, I don't care about that. I am more focused on the price and the quality of the cloth. And I can say that it is really satisfying when you shop a jacket and shoes for 10 euros !

And you ? Have you ever been to a second hand market to shop clothes ?

Thank you Nono !! I understand your point of view because we are in the same situation : student life = no money !

I know that you are the best second hand buyer at the CEPE ahaha

I used to buy clothes from friends but I admit that I buy more often in shops... On the other side, I often do the sorting in my wardrobe. When I see that I have not worn some pieces for several years I put them aside and I sell them! Very often I make a preferential rate to my friends if they are clothes of mark or still of good quality. If I don't like these clothes, I tend to give them to friends. If it's too small, I give them to my cousin, younger than me or to my neighbor! And if I don't find anyone I put them in a bin specifically designed for recycling clothes. I don't know if you see but it's the kind of bin that can be found everywhere in the city or next to the plastic recycling bin and glass!

During my autonomous work, I learn a lot of informations on the main raw materials used by fashion brand and the better sustainable solutions. With this summary, I hope you will learn many things about Cashmere, Leather and Cotton like me!!

- Cashmere comes from goats mostly in Mongolia and China. In Mongolia, it's families who produce the cashmere as part of a deeply traditional and importance livelihood. The increase in numbers of goats (driven by increased access to international markets) combined with climate change and changing grazing practices has led to serious degradation of the fragile grasslands and impacts also on the wildlife of the region... So, to improve cashmere production brands have to control that it does continue to be a viable livelihood while at the same time protecting wildlife and natural habitats...

- Leather is linked to the meat supply chains. As we know, farming can have negative environmental impacts because animals reject methane emissions and it's contributing to climate change. However, there are ways of producing these animals that can, in fact, lead to regeneration of the land, restoration of the soil. It is important to make sure we know where our leather comes from and find ways to support regenerative farming and best practices for a better ecological production of leather

- Cotton is an essential raw material for many different products and it is grown across the world mostly in semi-arid regions. Interestingly, most of the cotton in the world is grown by small old farmers who have farm plots that may be as small as two hectares. Cotton's culture requires relatively important quantities of water...

In recent decades, with the emergence of genetically modified seeds and the promotion of synthetic chemical pesticides and fertilizers, people think that cotton is necessarily a chemically intensive crop. However, there are ways to grow this renewable fiber with minimal or no chemical input, and alongside a range of other cash crops and food crops that contribute to the food security and income diversification of millions of farmers. while contributing to soil restoration and climate change mitigation. One of the most sustainable ways of growing cotton is to use organic production - with natural (non-genetically modified) seeds and natural inputs. Supporting organic cotton in supply chains is an important contribution to sustainable development!

Clémence Giraud wrote:

Elsa RAUCHE LUCAS wrote:Hi Florine! 

Unfortunately, I think that today it is very difficult to buy clothes that are "fashion", "made in France" and "respectful of the environnement" when just like me you don't have a lot of money to buy clothes  

What do you think?

Elsa, I think we can do things to consume better even without a lot of money such as buying second-hand clothes, reduce our clothes comsumption, try to make new clothes with old ones, transorf them. Also now you can exchange easily your clothes with a lot a applications such as vinted etc..
I think we do not realize enough how it was before our society of comsumtion. Before, we paid the real price for things and we were ok with that besause the one who sold a jacket was paid for it so he could spend his money in your business too etc. I think we have forgotten the true values, before peoples could spend more on quality clothes or food (that they could keep 10 years instdead of 6 month….), but maybe less on futile things.

Hello Clemence! Yes I agree with you it would be much better to make some efforts about our consumption because it requires many efforts and a lot of time to sell clothes on Vinted for example. But I agree, it woul be better to reduce our clothes consumption, especially when I see how much clothes I have that I never wear...

Florine Bouchet wrote:Hello everyone, thank you for your interest !

Clem, I agree with your logic ! We should give more importance to second-hand objects... (while I don't often do this type of purchase because I'm always on the lookout for new trends and vintage pieces are not really what I search when I buy clothes).

Elsa, I think that if we really want things to change both for the planet and for men, the big fashion brands must make efforts in terms of eco-responsibility. And for that, we will have to accept in the future that the prices of the clothes have a slightly higher cost but justified by the quality !!

Thanks for answering Florine! I do agree with you, it is the brands responsibility to make more efforts in terms of ecology, but I think it is sad that we will have to pay more in return, especially when we know that the majority of the clothes we buy at stores such as Zara or H&M are not really good quality clothes but are still really expensive... I think that it will be normal to pay a price that truly matches with the quality of the clothes we buy

Good morning everybody !

Today, I would like to talk about Stella McCartney brand that promotes organic and vegan fashion by rhyming technology with sustainability! Indeed, the production favors eco-managed forests and a large part of the company's budget is dedicated to finding new materials more respectful of the environment than what is done today by others luxury brands.

In addition to that, the brand communicates on how consumers can keep their clothes for the longest time, for example, as long as how to sew a button for example or even washing clothes at the right temperature. Simple little tips that help reduce our clothes over-consumption and therefore our ecological footprint in the precious world where we live !

What do you think of this initiative? Do you know of other brands committed to the environment like Stella McCartney?

Hello Florine !

Super ! I really like that some brands clothes are more respectful. I see that the Galerie Lafayette launched in 2018 its "go for good" program on certain products, including those of stella Mc Cartney.
https://www.galerieslafayette.com/c/go+for+good

video on bbc this morning:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-46817277/the-women-fighting-fast-fashion-waste

Mégane wrote:Hello Florine !

Super ! I really like that some brands clothes are more respectful. I see that the Galerie Lafayette launched in 2018 its "go for good" program on certain products, including those of stella Mc Cartney.
https://www.galerieslafayette.com/c/go+for+good

Hi Megane, thank you for your interest. I didn't know this program yet, I think every fashion brand will have this category of product because there are more cheaper for people who care about sustainability and also because it's a good initiative for the environment.

Admin wrote:video on bbc this morning:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-46817277/the-women-fighting-fast-fashion-waste

Thank you for sharing this video John ! Customize our clothes to reduce our environmental impact is a good alternative. I admire this two girls but for that we must have great ideas