Eco-friendly fashion arrives in Chartres

Since February 10, 2023le concept store Coming opened its doors in the city center of Chartres (Eure-et-Loir), with the key, a vision of the textile trade a little different from the norm…

Avenir, wants to be a textile shop ethical and responsible (not to be confused with eco-responsible) present for a few days rue du Soleil d’Or. The surname of Avenir was chosen because this mode of consumption is the future, and in the future, we will have to pay attention to it, worry about the “future of our loved ones, of commerce” explains Florian Plu Bercher , at the origin of the project.

The origins of this concept store

Florian is no newcomer to this downtown street. Since 2009, the 34-year-old has worked for the Serge Blanco brand, a few steps from the new concept store. Ten years later, he bought the franchise, then some time later, the building that will house Avenir.

The textile industry is the third most polluting on Earth, i.e. 10% of total emissions.

The flow of clothing is so important in France that some waste ends up piled up on beaches in Kenya or even at Laos. After more than ten years of experience in this field, he then wondered if there were not “means of consuming responsibly? “.

Future hiring

A year of reflection later, Avenir, which is in the process of recruitment (without success for six months), will come out of the ground.

An ethical and responsible dressing room, which offers dozen brands concerned about the environment and respect for people and promises total transparency on prices…

Present in Paris, this kind of concept store is unique in Chartres, and within a radius of 70 kilometers around.

The entire concept store is also ethical and recyclable

Inside, the approach goes well beyond the textiles sold. THE hangers and curtains are made in France, the paint is organic, the trays come from recycled bottles, the floor is made from 80% natural and recyclable material.

Paper tickets will be discontinued and the store will soon be selling recycled or organic cotton bags made in Indeby Hindbag and the NGO SSMI, which reintegrates women from the underprivileged district of Punjabi Bagh, in the north-west of Delhi.

More interesting than the bag itself is the approach that goes with it, this time in France. Offered at 5 or 8 euros for purchase, their price will be deducted from future purchases if consumers integrate the reflex of reusing it each time they come to Avenir.

This is the promise of the concept store, an ethical fashion, which remunerates each person from the beginning to the end of the chain.

We can make textiles with less impact on the environment […] I want us to get to the bottom of things, whether in terms of materials or working conditions

The limits of ecology?

Unfortunately, “we can’t do 100% green, ecology and economy don’t fit together yet” notes Florian.

This lack of interlocking is reflected in the prices, particularly in terms of the layout of the shop. Having environmentally friendly paints or flooring is good, but it comes down to the bill.

Result, nearly a thousand euros per square meter (32,000 euros of work in total), possibly almost “half less” if there had not been this desire to protect the environment to the corners sections of walls.

It was then necessary to focus on the profitability of the projectand therefore what was going to be sold.

Logically, to be as eco-responsible as possible, the best solution in the textile industry is second hand. After a “business reflection”, Florian concluded that thrift stores already existed in Chartres and that he had to offer something else, something new. The second hand will still resurface, since the concept store will sell products from Resap Paris, which sells upcycled products.

In the future, why not set up a clothing recovery system with the City of Chartres… Until then, we had to move on to something else.

Hard-to-find partners

The search for a brand to exhibit took a year. “There are few eco-responsible brands when you dig a little deeper” regrets Florian, accompanied by his wife’s cousin on the project, who saw some of them selling him smoke.

The vast majority remain from very small structures. So we had to dig, canvass, meet. And so that all the partners are in the same spirit as that of the creators. With 27m2 of usable surface, the number of brands has necessarily been limited so that each of them has enough space to be highlighted.

Not all of them are French. Some are european, americaneven chinese who, despite the vision that we can have of it, have been able to innovate and deviate from the economic model of the giants of the middle empire, who themselves “will have to adapt”.

Some of the store’s brands are labeled ” B Corporation », which concerns 200 companies in France. To obtain this label, it is necessary to meet criteria around five pillars, in particular environmental.

QR codes to ensure traceability

Among them, Faguo, which means France in mandarin. On the box of its shoes, the brand inscribes a QR code which refers to the brand’s approach, in particular to see how this environmental commitment is reflected in the production of the pair.

Faguo uses recycled materials for its products and offsets the emissions it has produced by doing some gardening. For each piece made, a tree is planted by the French brand, which produces partly in Asia, as well as in Morocco or even in France.

Currently, 3,538,496 trees were planted by Faguo, some of which in the forest of Fontaine-la-Guyon in Eure-et-Loir. These plantations can be geolocated and can be visited for free.

The Graine brand is also present. The particularity of the latter, which manufactures its products in the region of Braga in Portugal, this is its label. Each item of clothing is accompanied by a label which contains ecological seeds of flowers and vegetables. Just put it in a pot or in the ground and water it regularly to initiate your ” mini vegetable garden ».

The cost of eco-responsibility

With these brands, Avenir claims to be ethical and responsible, calling for even stronger commitments.

The shop tends towards this objective in the long term, without being so for the moment. It could become so according to the statements of its manager, but for that it would be necessary to turn to other suppliers, to even higher prices.

Currently, a pair of sneakers at Avenir is around a hundred euros, the same for a sweatshirt. Count 35 euros for a belt, or 20 euros for customizable laces. ” Responsible production costs more summarizes Florian.

Avenir is still prospecting, particularly in the Scandinavian countriesto, why not, bring to Chartres brands that have not yet shown the end of their nose in France.

In the end, 80% of the dressing room is intended for women, partly because “consumers are more in agreement with this approach” than consumers.

Stocks are limited, contrary to the vision of the fast-fashion. The other side of the coin is that the store can quickly run out of certain sizes. The collections are renewed approximately every six months, with a few “one shots” in collaboration with certain brands over shorter time intervals.

From action to awareness

The other big idea of ​​Avenir is to embark on a process ofexplanation on the manufacture and origin of the products.

Notably ” why this jacket costs 119 euros explains the owner of the premises.

The origin of this approach has its roots in the creator, father of children aged 3 to 7, in whom there was a “reality effect” on the current situation of the textile industry. Faced with an increasingly environmentally conscious clientele and a certain demand, he now wants to “show the way” and raise awareness around this approach.

“I’m not here to convince but to explain,” he concludes.

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