Category / Environment
Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011|20 Comments
 Remember, last year the United Nations declared 2010 the International Year of Biodiversity. For its part 2011 is devoted to forests -real earthy sanctuaries for a biodiversity which is more and more jeopardized by our behaviors globally speaking.
Urbanization, pollution, illegal deforestation or great woodlands converted into fields dedicated to intensive farming –oil palm for instance which is particularly lucrative…- are some of the most serious threats to the protection of our global ecosystem.
Let’s see the facts: Forests cover 31% of total land area (4 billion hectares) while at the same time supporting 80% of terrestrial biodiversity (living plants and animals) that live in them -50% of the global biodiversity-, they capture CO2 and directly help 1.8 billion people to survive through the different activities that rely on them (wood for power supply, construction materials, paper industry…).
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Thursday, November 18th, 2010|0 Comment
We have already mentioned linen for its beauty and qualities. This fiber can be at the same time luxurious in fashion and very robust in the manufacture of ropes. Also the waste can be used to produce compost among many other examples.
Linen is disconcerting : because of the prejudice that linen creases very easily (so elegant !) and the fine linen clothes are expensive, consumers have turned away for a long time. Just a few “lovers” of this special effect of linen are still wearing linen because it becomes beautiful with time.
So the challenge is to change minds about linen. It is done with CELC masters of Linen (European Confederation of Linen and Hemp) in order to highlight the local origins of linen (France and Belgium). The main idea is to promote its ecological advantages, the many uses and the technological innovations. Also, it is important to remind that linen is essentially European and Russian, not Chinese…
CELC has launched a 15 minutes film for professionals in order to show them the life cycle of linen from culture to the final use. Of course students and retailers are concerned : they can see how they can use this material and how it can be presented in the shops.
http://vimeo.com/16882995
The stake is important because linen represents 12 000 direct jobs and 8 000 indirect jobs through 7 500 farmers : five times more than the culture of the wheat.
The ambition is to make linen the ambassador of Europe… for this local and ecological product (rotation of soils : linen is cultivated every seven year), little quantity of water is needed and large diversity of use.
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Friday, October 15th, 2010|0 Comment
Stella McCartney could have been one more ‘fashion’ designer among the others… Not only she is trendy end edgy but also she has created an organic beauty line.
The line is called Care – it is a mix of glamour and respect for environment. Just as for her collection of clothes and accessories where she has prohibited any use of leather and fur, she has created beauty products which are totally on the same logical as her global approach.
Here we are talking about luxury and organic products : no paraben, no conservative nor silicone. The market of this kind of products has increased a lot and it has become a fashion phenomenon. But Stella McCartney has been demanding regarding the design of bottles and pots, and the perfumes by using only the best quality of materials (organic sesame oil from Burkina-Faso, green tea from China, camomile from Egypt or bean sprout oil), and of course no test on animals.
A very refined brand that makes women want to go beyond prejudices of organic beauty products… So keep in mind that 60% of parabene in a standard face cream get into the skin and we can find around 200 chemicals in standard creams : the market of organic beauty is far from weakening.
The approach of Stella McCartney is really consistent with her commitment in ethical fashion : to combine nature and luxury. She is really a pioneer. We just hope that other luxury brands will join this movement : attention to the world and the environment, a new lifestyle…
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Monday, October 4th, 2010|0 Comment
European Union has declared 2010 as the Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion www.2010againstpoverty.eu Also last Ethical Fashion Show (25th to 28th September) was under the responsibility of the General Director for Social Cohesion. So let’s review this subject that deserves the attention of Europe authorities.
Poverty is first of all considered beyond a financial view : when people’ income is equal or lower to 60% medium national income. Other criteria are important too, such as unemployment, housing conditions, rate of giving-up studies, access to public services and health.
More than 84 millions of European people are concerned by poverty because of their living conditions. These persons who have no money to meet the most simple needs of food and clothes are also in precarious housing conditions or even homeless. They have a limited access to culture and sometimes they are in debt situation. Last, they may suffer from social exclusion.
So European Union has decided to raise awareness and to combat the causes of poverty. Each country in the EU leads actions during all the year : workshops, campaigns and actions in the schools.
Nobody is safe from poverty in some fragile moments of life, but the risk is higher for some categories of people : big families or one-parent families, the elderly, immigrants and handicapped persons. It is important to say that whatever the category is, women suffer more from poverty than men. In every case, employment rate is lower and school giving-up is higher.
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Monday, September 13th, 2010|0 Comment
2010 has been declared the International Year of Biodiversity. And that ’s exactly the theme of the next edition Ethical Fashion Show in September in Paris.
Just have a look on Google and you will find more than 3 million pages… So let’s start with a definition !
The notion of biodiversity appeared in the 80’s : it is the diversity and natural variety of living beings – ecosystems, species, populations and genes in space and time. The preservation of biodiversity is an essential component of sustainable development. It is a way of better understanding the links and interactions between species and their living environment. Biodiversity is also the action of protection and nature conservancy in order to stop decline.
Of course our behaviour has an impact on life which surrounds us : intensive farming, deforestation, overfishing, pollution, diseases, invasive species… So without strong actions, we will have to face the disturbingly disappearance of species.
Biodiversity is our main concern, because it is more than threatened : it is a fast decline. Every year, 17000 to 100000 species disappear from our planet, and a fifth of all living species could disappear in 2030. Well, if everybody does not agree on figures and time, most of scientists are sure that the current rate of extinction will increase faster than ever.
Some figures :
11 % of natural areas existing in 2000 will disappear before 2050, and a figure close to 40 % of soils cultivated in an extensive way will be converted to intensive farming. 60 % of coral reefs will disappear before 2030.
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Monday, July 26th, 2010|0 Comment
Valérie Pache came to visit us, one of our colleague is about to marry… It was enough for us to speak about wedding dresses, the ethical ones of course ! Wedding market is also really concerned by environmental influences…
On that day, the brides just want to be beautiful, different, unique. For this special day the dresses must be up to the dream. But is it a reason to spend so much money for a polyester dress, impersonal : the same dress as thousand ones ?
Every year, the trend for sustainable weddings is getting stronger and the supply of “fair” or “ethical” dresses is booming. A lot of designers create poetical dresses made with natural or recycled materials, unique pieces : an extraordinary luxury.
Among them, Aranel has been creating for some years now : made-to-measure dresses with natural materials, Human and Eco-friendly.
Valérie Pache, of course so enchanting with dresses worthy of a fantasy world made of imaginary trips. She creates also made-to-measure dresses with parachute and paragliding material ! Lined with natural silk…
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Monday, July 5th, 2010|1 Comment
Linen is the most ancient textile plant in the world : woven linen fabrics have been discovered in excavations in Egypt.
It is indeed a noble material which has always inspired designers. It is synonym of elegance and well-being. It has a “nature” image, it is crumpled and it falls beautifully : for all these reasons linen is coming back regularly in the collections.
Linen is fresh in summer but if it is mixed with other fibers such as cotton, wool, silk or cashmere, it can be worn in the mid-seasons and also in winter.
Linen is good for health, above all for sleep : using linen sheets rather than cotton is much better. The contact with skin regulates the temperature of the body and absorbs dampness while remaining healthy. Last, linen has anti-allergy and anti-bacterial properties.
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Tuesday, June 8th, 2010|0 Comment
Masters of Linen with CELC (Confédération Européenne du Lin et du Chanvre – ‘Linen and Hemp European Confederation’) organizes an artistic event in the heart of Palais-Royal in Paris : LINSTALLATION (’Implementation of Linen’), from 2nd to 7th July 2010 during the Couture Week.
This bucolic exhibition in Paris stages this special and smart fabric, from the plant to the ended product. The 200 m² of blooming linen in ground remind the European origins of this culture where France (North of the country) is the first producer.
 This event is the opportunity for around 20 designers and couturier to express their art freely on the theme of scarecrow…
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Monday, May 31st, 2010|0 Comment
Eco-conception is about the environmental demands on a product such as regulations, brand image among others, and also the environmental consequences of the product : consumption of the resources, atmospheric emissions, production of waste, valorisation of the ending life of products, etc.
The demands and the consequences must be considered on the whole cycle life of the product. Indeed, the import is getting a global action.
As far as textile eco-conception is concerned, it is relevant to mention that textile has always been the first waste to be recycled before being re-used again : either recycled or used to a new life. Charitable associations are very active on this point.
The idea of this post started with the edition of the bible of eco-conception for professionals of textile by WWF. The textile industry professionals in France do not actually have tools to help them when they want to commit in a sustainable approach.
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Friday, May 21st, 2010|0 Comment
Here we are in height of the Fifteen Days of Fair Trade (8th to 23rd May). It is the opportunity to talk about this operation and its 10 years existing.
Created by the platform of Fair Trade, this important period allows to anybody to organize a lot of actions about this theme : it may be the public, firms, associations, public organisms… It is time to achieve conferences for schools, exhibitions, tournaments, markets, fair brunches or picnics… So many ways of expressing the actions !
Fair Trade has seen it notoriety increase : indeed it started by 9% in 2000 to 87% in 2008. It is now 95% in 2009, and more than 2/3 of French people are very aware of the values of fair trade. If we have a look on sales, they have increased by 30% for the last three years on products such as coffee cotton, banana, cocoa, tea…
Also the World Fair Trade Day which was on last 8th May 2010 was during the same period as these Fifteen Days : one way more of getting people even more attentive by organizing actions in France and in the whole world.
This very important time that happens every year has become an inescapable event in the regions of France because anyone can act with the own means, whatever the action is…
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Thursday, May 6th, 2010|0 Comment
- Sustainable Development labels : they integrate environmental and social criteria throughout the network. For example in France : Fibre Citoyenne (Citizen Fiber program) whose initiative is from non-governmental organization Yamana.
Naturtextil (international association of natural textile industry) or I.V.N. from its German denomination, certifies with the labels IVN Best and IVN Better the natural and organic textiles.
 Created in 1993, the Label FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) points out to the public that a product corresponds to transparent specification and it is controlled by independent certifiers – with the backing of one the biggest non-governmental organizations (WWF and Greenpeace). It helps to identify wood and the wood by-products or products coming from a forest that is managed according to sustainable criteria as they have been defined in Rio in June 1992.
 Originally, the Label PEFC (”Pan European Forest Certification” that became “Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes”) has been created by European forester for a pan European certification. Indeed they have considered that the system FSC (Forest Stewardship Council), first forest certification created in 1992, after Rio was not appropriate to the breaking-up of the European forest. Furthermore it was too expensive to implement. In the 2000, PEFC suggested its certification system to the foresters and wood industry out of the pan-European, in equatorial Africa, In Australia, and some South American countries, by adapting it to the specificities of these areas.
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Friday, April 30th, 2010|2 Comments
Talking about labels leads to a lot of information. Ecological labels are so many that it is not easy for the public to understand.
So, how to find one’ way around ? What is the real importance of labels in ethical fashion ?
There are more than 60 labels in textile area… Alongside with the official labels like European Ecolabel, organizations, associations or firms can issue them.
- Ecological labels: they guarantee the absence or the limitation in the finished product of some kind of chemicals.
Oeko-Tex Standard 100 label : it forbids the use of about ten substances, for example the aromatic chlorous compounds or heavy metals.
 European eco-label : created in 1992. It is the official ecological European certification. If they have the same performances of use, the European eco-label distinguishes the products whose environmental impact is reduced. To get this label, the product must respect ecological and ability for use criteria. These criteria are the result of negotiations between European industrials, associations of consumers and environmental protection, distributors and the authorities.
 The official Nordic Swann : created in 1989 by the Nordic Council of Ministers. the demands of this eco-label mainly answer to outside and domestic environmental reflections, with strict criteria during the whole lifetime of the product. This is the most important and well-known label in Sweden. Also it is generally used in the others Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland).
 Blue Angel label (Der Blauer Engel) : a German eco-label created in 1977. The reward is given by the Jury Umweltzeichen (13 members from associations of environmental protection, of consumers, trade unions, etc). Around 4000 products are certified in Germany.
 Öko-Test : Independent German association of consumers that tests the ecological quality of numerous products available on the market. The result of these independent tests are published on a magazine very popular in Germany. It can be compared to “UFC Que Choisir” or “60 millions de consommateurs”, both ecological French magazines.
- Organic labels : they concern the techniques of fiber production. For example, organic cotton must be produced according to the specifications of organic agriculture
 Ecocert is an independent organization of control and certification. It acts mainly in organic agriculture. ECOCERT tests 70% of firms (production and transformation) of “bio” (label AB) in France and 30% in the world. It has been created in 1991 by European community movements (Belgium, Spain, Germany…) : France was the leader in the 70′. At present, ECOCERT enlarges its activity to other areas using its demand and impartiality reputation : organic cosmetics, textiles, fair products, ecological green spaces.
 Eko concerns cotton organic culture, transformation and packaging. Some social conditions are also required. This label has been defined in Netherlands by Skal organization.
To be continued… with the labels in sustainable development in fashion
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Monday, March 29th, 2010|0 Comment
To define what ethical fashion is : this is a tricky question. When you try to, you just find pieces of definitions.
First of all, it is only about fashion. The “ethical” side is a complement to the word “fashion” without being negative : on the contrary it gives more sense to fashion.
Ethical fashion is the activity of every clothing firm : garments, shoes, under-wear, accessories, bags, jewels… By extension, it is also house linen and decoration. These activities integrate in their production process all or just a part of the social & economical and environmental notions.
The social & economical notion is based on the respect for workers rights, banning forced labour of children and the application of a minimum social right charter. Also, the guarantee of better commercial conditions for the producers, fair wages to the workers and the creation of social projects.
The social question also has to do with the cultural idea of keeping alive the different cultures, traditions, handcrafting and local know-how – the ethnical side of fashion.
The environmental notion deals with the decrease of ecological footprint in the production. Designers use ecological, organic or recycled materials in the processes of production that use less water, energy and transports.
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Monday, March 15th, 2010|1 Comment
The poster advertising is inviting : we are a blog of ethical fashion, so of course when the last issue of a great fashion magazine as ‘L’Officiel de la Mode‘ titles “Mode Durable” (Sustainable Fashion), we buy it. Behind this headline the question is how to make co-existing fashion (ephemeral in essence) and sustainable development.
We look through the pages avidly and… the wish to go ahead is blunted after the 80 first pages of advertisings for prestigious prêt-à-porter (ready-to-wear) – all of them less ethical than the others.
So, we go on patiently and… here are the Special pages dedicated to Sustainable Fashion and this is the real disappointment. Only some pages, a small handful of designers who recycle indeed but where are the French brands ? The little designers ? Why only speak about an elite of fashion ?
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Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010|1 Comment
The Show Maison & Objet took place few days ago in Paris. It was a big Show with beautiful stands and others more modest : all kind of creation was represented.
We had a great surprise because we discovered Parcours Développement Durable (”the Sustainable Development Circuit”) : www.collectifdeveloppementdurable.com
This is a group a 15 designers whose objective is “to help customers and influencers to better identify the environmental, social and economical practices regarding the elaboration of their products.
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