Full house: The discussion rounds for the presentation of the study initiated by ‘Paris Good Fashion X Climate Chance’ were well attended. Finally, in the amphitheater of the Institut Français de la Mode, the strategy of the French fashion industry in the field of sustainable development was discussed.
The document presented by Paris Good Fashion (PGF) aims to be a tool for transformation projects. It should make it possible to share visions and support dynamics. “It is the first time that 24 French players in the textile industry share their data on the key issues of climate, biodiversity, circularity, production and social governance issues,” said Sylvie Bénard, President of the industry organization Paris Good Fashion.
Paris Good Fashion is an association created in 2019 under the 1901 law that brings together professionals committed to driving change in the fashion industry. PGF brings together more than 100 members, including Balzac, Chanel, Chaussettes Orphelines, Richemont, the Etam Group, Galeries Lafayette and the main French associations and schools.
“To make progress, you need to be able to measure yourself and equip yourself with scientific tools at the service of a global vision,” said Isabelle Lefort, co-founder of PGF and the morning’s moderator. The method complements public and non-public data from 24 companies through interviews with a panel of 50 professionals from the French fashion industry, representing a turnover of around 70 billion euros in 2021.
MEP Raphaël Glucksmann opened the debate and recalled the ‘role model function of fashion’: “This conference takes place before the great revolution, at the end of a cycle, that of globalization without rules, marked by the destruction of the climate, human rights and society characterized by excessive consumption. Issues that, in the long run, will overlap with the question of autonomy and regaining control of our destiny.”
25 entrepreneurs, economists and CEOs then took part in the five thematic round tables and contributed their insights and considerations, which should help to act in the interests of transformation in the future.
Fiber production is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions
In an effort to get closer to scientific research and reliable data, Ronan Dantec, Senator and Chair of Climate Chance, highlighted the role of his observatory during the first interview. One should “leave behind the logic of the obligations and enter into scientific reflections on how these obligations can be met.”
Since 2015, Climate Chance is the only international association that seeks to unite and support all non-state actors through their networking, analysis and information sharing in order to contribute to the achievement of the goals of the Paris Agreement.
Companies are becoming more transparent about their climate impact. In companies, corporate social responsibility positions are relatively new and growing, including at executive committee level. Measurements of environmental impact are inconsistent and textile companies are still struggling to formulate plans for the transition to more sustainable economies by 2050.
Fashion companies make many commitments to renewable electricity supply and transportation reduction, but few to fiber production and industrial processes.
Most carbon dioxide emissions occur in the upstream production chain, during manufacture and raw material extraction. The main sources of emissions include the cultivation and extraction of cotton and synthetic fibers, manufacturing including weaving, tanning, transport, delivery and use. Fiber production increased from 8.4 kilograms per person in 1975 to 14 kilograms per person in 2020 and could increase to 17.5 kilograms per person by 2030, according to the Textile Exchange. In particular, man-made fibers, which account for almost two-thirds of fibers produced – with 54 percent of that being polyester fibers alone – have overtaken cotton production since the 1990s.
The problem of environmental pollution from synthetic microfibers is huge
Five companies mentioned plastic and microfiber water pollution, but few specific targets are set. Using natural or cellulosic fibers or improving the physical durability of products helps reduce the rate of degradation and release of environmentally harmful microfibers. Two ways are clearly identified to reduce the impact of fiber production in particular and raw materials in general (vegetable or animal): the incorporation of recycled materials and the use of organic farming.
Under pressure from the legislator (AGEC law art. 13, environmental labeling) in the last three years, the steps needed to achieve visibility and control over the entire value chain through transparency and traceability have multiplied. The majority of the panel interviewed for the study embarked on this program thanks to the support of specialized service companies such as CrystalChain, Fairly Made, Good Fabric, Trustrace.
A French textile recycling chain would be a real French competitive advantage
Frank Gana, founder of (Re)set, advanced discussions with three international companies. These could set up production facilities in the French regions of Aquitaine, Hauts de France and Provence Alpes Côte d’Azure.
Sophie Hersan, co-founder of Vestiaire Collective, recalled that 15 million textile products arrive in Ghana every week, 60 percent of which are unusable. Together with Paris Good Fashion and a small committee of stakeholders, the resale company commissioned a study to better understand textile waste flows, which will lead to the creation of a “position paper” for the European Commission and Parliament to to regulate the export of used clothes.
Paris Good Fashion has initiated a working group to better regulate the export of used clothing. (Re)Paire offers private label shoemaking solutions and training courses for shoemakers. A working group on clothes hangers and plastic polybags is in the field trials phase. Initial feedback shows that global environmental pollution is still underestimated overall.
Actions to promote reusable mailing materials continue, including campaigns such as Paris Good Fashion x http://Make.org, run on 600,000 Decaux signs in France. The next step is to reach out to key players in e-commerce, such as Vinted or Amazon, to make them aware of the use of recyclable materials.
Conservation: One million species are threatened worldwide
The measures are currently concentrating on limiting the risks: in the value chain, for example, in the area of sourcing and good animal husbandry, in the manufacturing processes, these are operations such as dyeing, washing, tanning and raw material production.
The problem with this is that there is no global measure and the effects are usually local. There are some impact measurement tools such as the LCA – Life Cycle Assessment, which measures the life cycle assessment of a product, but an overall view is missing. Julia Marton-Lefevre, The Tyler Prize For Environmental Achievement, emphasizes that the sector would benefit from working more closely with institutions such as the International Council of Science, the International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN and the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services ISPBES to work together.
Growth or decline, this social model is no longer sustainable
The decisive question about the business models was also asked during the panel discussion, moderated by Lucas Delattre, Professor at the IFM. Philippe Aghion, economist and professor at the Collège de France, comes out as an opponent of slowing growth as a solution. If “growth is undoubtedly responsible for warming,” Aghion said, the solution must be sought where the state pushes green industrial policies, and where consumers and civil society are involved. For Timothée Parrique, economist at Lund University and author of the book “Ralentir ou Périr (éditions du Seuil): l’école de la décroissance” [Verlangsamung oder Untergang (Editions du Seuil): Die Schule der Entschleunigung], gross domestic product is “uncorrelated with quality of life”. He calls for production to be reduced and consumption to be curtailed. It is already too late to pursue any form of economics other than capitalism,” countered Philippe Moati of the Université Paris Cité. “We didn’t manage to turn growth green fast enough. We need to get away from quantity: produce less but better.”
Pascal Morand, President of the French Fashion Federation, also shares this view and addresses the issue of volumes: “Since 2017, these have been growing continuously. Digitization is bringing new players onto the market and it should not be the case that there are leading brands that are committed to more sustainability on the one hand and new companies on the other that are staying away from it.” Finally During this intense half-day discussion, Valérie Martin, Director of Mobilization and Consumers at the French Environment and Energy Agency Ademe, spoke about the dangers of greenwashing and the tools used to combat it.
Greenwashing is driven by advertising, but also by influence marketing, which plays a major role in brand strategies today. It is reminiscent of the study “Courage to Change”, which explains waste. Part of this is the BISOU method: B for “Do I really need this?”, I for immediacy [immédiateté] to question the purchase, S, to verify that we do not already have something similar [semblable] in our closets have O to the origin [origine] of the product and U to know if it’s really useful [utile] is.”
This article was published on FashionUnited.fr. Translation and editing: Barbara Russ