French people and responsible fashion

Lola is a curious soul who shares her discoveries through her blog Made in 1998. Questioning the challenges of the textile industry, she asked her community about their relationship with responsible fashion. Welcome to the closets of your neighbors and perhaps your own.

YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH RESPONSIBLE FASHION

As I became increasingly interested in more responsible fashion consumption, I wanted to know different opinions on the subject. Responsible/ethical/eco-responsible fashion (call it what you want) is a topic that is making more and more noise. However, because the textile industry is gigantic and can sometimes seem (too) distant to us, we can easily overlook its challenges, which are nevertheless so important.

I really wanted to better understand your views on the subject, which is increasingly being relayed, that of a more responsible consumption of fashion. After thinking about how to ask you for your opinions, I chose to create a little questionnaire for you consisting of 6 fairly simple questions about your relationship with responsible fashion.

To stay true to the variety of answers, I selected the most dissimilar testimonials. Enjoy reading!

What place does fashion hold in your everyday life?

Anonymous : I really like being well dressed, with clothes that are not necessarily from big brands but well cut and elegant. As a woman in science, I feel the need to fight the stereotype of the poorly dressed scientist (cf. Amy in Big Bang Theory) and I want to be dressed to the nines pretty much all the time, and change, innovate often.

Pierre, 23 years old, engineering student : An important place because I consider that the way we dress reflects our personality. I think it brings me above all self-confidence and therefore well-being because by being comfortable with my clothing style I feel “good in my skin” so more able to face my social environment.

Léa, musician : Fashion allows me in everyday life to enhance my body and assert my character. It is also a vast playground, full of possible originalities. On stage, it allows me to stand out.

Ghislain, 22 years old, law student : Fashion holds a place that is not especially very big in my everyday life. I am not a fashion enthusiast. But I like to stay informed and follow certain creators and brands that I appreciate. In my opinion, dressing the way you like offers a boost to self-confidence and it is also a way to display your personality and your “universe”.

Mathias, 20 years old, engineering student : It is a bit of a waste of time in general, and more of a social pressure problem than anything else at heart.

Hugo, student in BTS : It's a waste of time and too polluting.

Are you interested today in a more responsible consumption of clothing ?

Photo by Zeny Rosalina on Unsplash

Most participants answered yes to this question. Some of you seem to be genuinely interested in the subject but do not yet apply actions daily. From my point of view, a “simple” awareness is already quite honorable even if it is not yet followed by concrete actions. It is clearly the first step towards a gradual change in our excessive consumption habits.

Anonymous: Yes, I ask myself a lot of questions about my clothing consumption. I managed to reduce the rest (public transport, little meat…) and it remains the hardest point. Since about a year ago when I had to go abroad and learn to live with little stuff, I started to realize that I had too many things. Now I only buy if I am sure I will wear it often and that I have nothing similar.

Quentin, 21 years old, engineering student : Yes because I think the textile industry is polluting and that every industry must make efforts. This is above all through individual consumption which must probably be reduced.

Léa, musician : Yes I am interested in it, for over a year. I am concerned by the deplorable state of our planet and try to do my part to save it, especially with fashion. And since I know how to sew, buying second hand allows me to be able to create unique pieces with my own hands.

Héloïse, 28 years old, communication student : Yes but I need it to not be too expensive.

Marina, 21 years old, space designer and freelance interior architect : Yes and no : yes in the sense that I have a personality that tends to get involved in everything that is close to my heart, and my way of thinking evolves every day a little more towards a more responsible lifestyle. I like giving a second life to my clothes rather than throwing them away. However, I am not a fashion addict and I continue to consume “mainstream” fast fashion clothes, because I simply like them, and they are “cheap” compared to “small brand” clothes handmade in organic cotton made in France… even if I would really like to promote the work of our French artisans and our young creators etc… I choose the easy solution… even if I am not proud of myself!

Maxime, 21 years old, law student : Interested, yes, for a few years where I became aware of the ecological challenges. But my clothing consumption is not responsible for that. Probably for concerns of accessibility.

Some of you answered “no” to the question. Most often, this “no” seems to reflect the fact you would like to have this awareness but you have not (yet) had it. Often, this answer is also given by people who do not consider fashion as a very important element of their daily life and who prefer to commit to a more responsible consumption in other areas. These people do not think they have to slow down their clothing consumption which is already very low.

Pierre, 23 years old, engineering student : No because I do not consider having an unreasonable consumption and that you need to know how to renew your wardrobe. Our clothing style reflects our personality and our personality evolves. It is thus consistent that our wardrobe evolves too.

Thomas, 21 years old, engineering student : No it is a subject that I have not really explored. I have seen some initiatives but without really understanding the challenges.

Vadim, 21 years old, Communication Officer in work-study : No, that is not in my habits I do not have the reflex to look at the details related to this criterion when I buy a piece of clothing.

Do you find that information on the challenges of responsible fashion and the textile industry in general is accessible?

On the accessibility of information :

For some of you, this subject is very little covered and disseminated in mainstream media. Because of this, you do not really realize its challenges and therefore you have never really searched to find out about the subject.

For others, when you want to know more about the challenges of a more responsible consumption of fashion, the only solution is to do the research you need by yourself. Many people answered that you can easily miss the subject if you do not pay attention because the subject is little addressed in the media. Thus, it emerges that the lack of information on the subject is widely felt among most of you. However, if you really want information, you have to roll up your sleeves and dig by yourself.

And what is the best way to find information by yourself in 2020? The web of course. However, an anonymous highlights that you must also stay vigilant and have a certain critical spirit when you do research on the subject because on the Internet, you can find a little bit of everything but also anything.

Where do you find information about responsible fashion?

Thanks to communications made by brands but I stay attentive to greenwashing (marketing method consisting of communicating to the public using the ecological argument. The goal of greenwashing being to give oneself an eco-responsible image, quite far from reality).
Internet overflows with information for those who want to find it and are interested in it.
On social networks (many committed accounts, media…).
The mainstream media talk about it more and more.
On independent/alternative media that are developing talk about it repeatedly and do a lot of awareness on this subject.
By watching films/documentaries.
Thanks to people who try to influence eco-responsible fashion with their brand and by reports or even podcasts.
On scientific websites like that of theADEME (agency for ecological transition).

Do you apply actions in your daily life in favor of a more responsible consumption of clothing?

I give all my stuff to collection centers or to associations.
I try to buy less and not go shopping when I do not necessarily need something.
I try not to buy my clothes in the big ready-to-wear stores that practice fast fashion.
I buy much fewer pieces than before I favor quality over quantity.
I stop at maximum these sites that sell clothes clearly Made in China.
I would like to learn to sew to make my own pieces.
I consume little and when I consume, it is almost no longer than second hand or ethical brands.
I try toavoid now free t-shirts and of bad quality that you can receive at events.
I often sort through my clothes and give them to friends.

What are the actions that are more complicated to integrate into your daily life?

I cannot necessarily buy second handproducts.
I find that in France, thrift stores remain a little too marginal and hippie.
I do not practice the resale of clothes, nor theexchange.
I would like to have this awareness but I have not really had it yet.
Not yet purchase of an ethical brand because too expensive.
I do not believe in ethical brands (for me, it is “green growth” and it is impossible).

At Meanwhile Boutique, we think that the impossible does not exist. Each of us at our scale can reduce our environmental impact. And that is what our collective of eco-responsible creators also defends. Discover their stories in Creator Story!

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Written by the talented Lola de Cruz, from the blog Made in 1998.