What is the future of sustainable fashion?

After a chaotic year, with closures aplenty, what is the future of sustainable fashion? I have been working in sustainable fashion since 2004. We have seen changes and closures. Each time we manage to escape unscathed. But will that be enough this time? Discover Peau-Ethique products

First observation: lack of interest

The words are harsh, but the facts are there. Sustainable fashion is interesting but fails to convince. No doubt because the notion of fair price is biased. Why buy a t-shirt for €40 when it's €10 in fast-fashion stores. 10 or 15 years ago, we were unaware that textiles would have an impact on the environment. Indeed, the climate crisis was on some people's minds, but less so than today. The style argument is no longer relevant. Today, for example, organic cotton lingerie is fashionable. The same goes for shoes and clothes; you can dress in organic clothes without it being obvious. This lack of interest also stems from the limited means brands have to communicate. Indeed, we don't have the budget of fast fashion giants. We could have it, but this budget is included in the selling prices. This leads to the second point.

Second observation: Margins

We are not playing in the same league. Our margins are not at all the same as in so-called conventional textiles. This can be explained by several points, notably labor. We remember what happened in Bangladesh and now with the Uyghurs. Added to this are large (huge) volumes. Which will pollute, but it doesn't matter, it's cheap. The choice of materials, because even if more and more brands use organic cotton, the certificate is a BCI cotton (you can read this article which perfectly summarizes our opinion). We also add thousands of euros in advertising, marketing campaigns, influencers... Clearly, we are in a remake of David versus Goliath! Of course, everything is increasing, but when your margins are multiplied by 8 or 10, you won't be in difficulty. Shareholders will still have enough to pay for nice vacations in the sun.

Lack of visibility

As far as I remember, I haven't seen an ad in the Paris metro for a sustainable fashion brand, but I have for one made by Uyghurs. And it always remains a kind of niche, as if because we are interested in sustainable fashion, we are against consumption with radical ideals. And always this idea that it's unfashionable. Rest assured, we are always someone's unfashionable person. Yet we are becoming increasingly aware that the textile industry pollutes, that there is still a problem with overconsumption, that global warming was not invented by a bunch of extremist environmentalists. But the 4x4 ads are for fast fashion. How to make more noise when you are a tiny drop in the ocean and have no megaphone? We have seen since 2022 that it's a catastrophe for responsible brands. In January alone, 5 brands. The market is not saturated, there is room for everyone, why isn't it working?

What do we do?

There is no miracle recipe, but the brands' job is to convince, again and again, that consuming less but better is possible. Let's not kid ourselves, our goal is to sell to continue to live from our activity. We have ideals that you share, values that define us, and we will not trade them for a few more euros. On our side, this year we are going to step out of our comfort zone. We are no longer going to think like a small brand that has to be discreet. On the contrary, we have existed for 19 years, we have our say, and if the microphone is not extended to us, we will go and get it. We are going to step up to create even more content. Sustainable fashion has its place in our society. It is not necessarily more expensive; it is simply that the notion of fair price has disappeared. This year, you will hear about us, and you will also talk about us. Together we will move forward and go further! We want to celebrate our 20th year!

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