This Sunday, we felt like changing the theme a little and taking a look at a subject that concerns all of us: fashion.

We often read that the textile industry is the most polluting one, and the media have brought to light chilling stories about the exploitation of workers in this sector.

So, to better understand fast fashion and also to make slow fashion our own, we decided to interview CametLine, a French and ethical brand. Happy reading!

Why is it important to rethink the way we consume in the clothing sector?

In 2020, it's important to understand that behind a low price there is a worker who is suffering. For years we have been used to prices that defy all competition: €3 for a T-shirt, €5 for a pair of pants, €10 for a sweater.

But how can prices be this low?

By paying workers a few cents. You need to know that when you buy French clothing, you are paying for employee rights, which include the 35-hour week, paid vacation, RTT days off and so on. By contrast, Fast Fashion brands do not respect decent working hours, offer their workers no paid leave or vacation, and of course pay them below the legal minimum.

Labor costs play a decisive role in prices. For example, in France the hourly cost of labor in the private sector is estimated at $35, or €28.70; in China and South Africa at $3.60, or €2.95; and in Brazil at $2.70, or €2.21.

Source: https://www.china-briefing.com/news/marche-de-lemploi-en-chine-talents-preferences-et-couts-de-la-main-doeuvre/

The calculation made by these big manufacturers is clear: money and profitability win out over people.

How could we not mention the collapse of the Rana Plaza 7 years ago? This garment manufacturing building in Bangladesh, which produced for Fast Fashion brands, collapsed and killed more than 1,100 employees. This tragedy contributed in large part to a collective awakening about the need to change the way we make and buy our clothes. The Fashion Revolution was then organized, with the aim of letting the general public know how, where and under what conditions clothes are made.

But why did such a building collapse? These premises are very often unsanitary, built in a hurry with little money, and can fall down at any moment.

Unfortunately, the human tragedies don't stop there.

In India, children are employed in the fields to grow conventional cotton, where pesticides are widely used and put their lives in danger. They work more than 12 hours a day in 35°C (95°F) heat without masks or gloves to protect themselves. The consequences are severe dizziness, vomiting, headaches and fatal diseases. 22,000 people die every year from poisoning linked to this crop.

Cotton growing is overseen by the government, which encourages the use of these pesticides and forces all men to work during the harvest under threat of losing their current job (teacher, doctor…) or of not getting their degrees (students are recruited too). During the harvest they are of course under military surveillance and sleep in tents, with a single blanket and no heating.

More recently, the scandal of the enslavement of the Uyghurs was brought to light on social media by Raphael Glucksmann. This Muslim people living in the west of China is the victim of a cultural genocide by the Chinese government. These tens of thousands of people are employed, or rather forced to work, in many sectors, notably for many fashion brands such as Zara, Nike, Uniqlo, H&M, Adidas and many others that have been implicated.

We also learned on December 15 that 500,000 Uyghurs work in conventional cotton fields in Xinjiang for a pittance, far below the legal minimum wage. Xinjiang produces 85% of Chinese cotton (20% of the world's). Yet harvest mechanization is progressing very little, and the use of forced labor remains the most common practice.

Worldwide, anyone who wears a garment or accessory that contains cotton fiber produced in China should consider the strong probability of benefiting from Uyghur forced labor.

Sources: Ouest France
BFMTV

The planet suffers from the textile industry too, which is the second most polluting industry in the world. Do you know the consequences of this industry, such as the disappearance of the Aral Sea, the pollution of hundreds of waterways caused by textile dyes, the 7^th continent?

What is the 7^th continent? It is in fact gigantic masses of plastic debris drifting in our oceans. Only recently discovered, one of the main sources of this marine pollution is the washing of our clothes. Several studies show that one wash of clothes made of synthetic fibers (polyester, nylon or acrylic) can release up to 700,000 microplastic fibers. In total, half a million tons of plastic end up in the oceans every year.

It is for all these reasons that by creating Cam&line, we want to offer fashion that respects human rights and the environment.

We believe that this way of thinking about clothing can be applied to what we buy every day. Where does the food I buy come from? What are my beauty products made of? Today, it is possible to find out all of this and to choose what we consume.

We believe the most important thing is to become aware of each of our actions, and then everyone is free to move forward at their own pace to begin an ecological transition.

What does “ethical fashion” mean?

Ethical fashion is fashion that respects workers' rights as well as the environment. For us, ethical fashion means making sure the fashion industry is no longer the second most polluting industry in the world. It means standing in opposition to the Fast Fashion model.

The consequences of the fashion industry as it is today are many. We mentioned some of them in the question above, but to keep it short, for us ethical fashion is everything except what causes these unfortunate human, social and ecological consequences.

It means producing in small quantities and avoiding too much stock. Not destroying unsold items, but giving them new value. Cutting out intermediaries and offering clothing at a fair price all year round. Sourcing raw materials while being aware of what is at stake behind them, making the fairest choices and not inflating margins in order to offer clothing at “a fair price”.

How can a brand reduce its carbon footprint across the whole production chain of its pieces?

You have to be vigilant and careful every day. That is, think about the impact of each of our actions. For example: how do we send our parcels to our customers responsibly?

At Cam&line we send our orders in a compostable envelope, there is no unnecessary packaging in our parcels, and we chose the French postal service because it is increasingly committed to reducing its CO2 emissions.

We choose raw materials (fabrics, lace and haberdashery accessories) that come from France and Europe to limit transport, and therefore CO2 emissions.

Our manufacturing workshop is French and has many advantages, such as proximity. We can quickly go and see our production and keep control over it to make changes to the designs, our exchanges are simpler, and we receive our production faster. There is no transit of more than a month by ship, and no air freight for our goods.

We choose to support the local economy and French know-how.

Today, what obstacles do consumers face when looking for ethical, quality pieces?

The first obstacle as a consumer is obviously the price.

However, if we start changing our consumption habits, we can quickly realize that buying ethical clothing is often more cost-effective. To see this, you also need to know the difference between the cost per wear and the purchase price.

The purchase price is the price at which you buy a garment. For example, take a €15 T-shirt from Fast Fashion that you will wear 5 times before it wears out or you get tired of it. Its cost per wear will therefore be €3 (€15 purchase price / 5 wears).
Whereas with an ethical T-shirt at €45 that you will wear at least 20 times (because its quality is better), your cost per wear will be €2.25 (€45 purchase price / 20 wears). The cost per wear tells you the value of your initial investment: with a quality ethical T-shirt, the cost per wear ends up lower than with the Fast Fashion T-shirt.

The second obstacle, in our view, is the lack of visibility of ethical brands. It can be hard to find ethical fashion brands that you like. Not because they aren't on the market, but because their advertising budget is smaller compared to Fast Fashion brands that have been established for years.

The third obstacle is the lack of vigilance or lack of information: it's easy to be taken in by brands' marketing speak. Indeed, many existing brands are gradually turning to an eco-responsible approach to keep their customers while staying on trend.

Very often, sales arguments can mislead consumers. They do what is known as “greenwashing”. Their message makes consumers believe that the brand's approach is “cleaner” than it really is.

The globetrotting blogger Céline, aka @Iznowgood_, breaks down brands and their eco-responsible positioning for you in her very clear and accessible YouTube videos.

To manage to consume responsibly, you need to be an informed public and know the different names of fabrics and the labels that guarantee respect for human rights and the planet.

Here is a list of the main labels:

GOTS: Guarantees the organic status of the textile fibers used, and ensures that, from the production of raw materials to the production of the finished item, the production processes are socially responsible and respectful of the environment.

Fair Wear Foundation: A multi-stakeholder organization that works to monitor and improve working conditions in the textile industry. It works in collaboration with companies to improve and ensure decent working conditions.

Oekotex: An international system for testing and certifying harmful substances in textiles. It certifies that textiles and dyes are non-toxic, and so it keeps harmful substances out.

How would you describe Cam&line? What are your pillars?

We wanted to create Cam&line with the following values:

• Transparency
• Respect
• Solidarity
• Inclusivity

We care about being transparent about how we make our pieces, our prices, our fabric choices, the manufacturing chain, and also whenever we communicate with our community, on our website as well as on our social networks.

Respect is a pillar of our brand. At Cam&line we respect the environment and our workers. It is also by being transparent and honest that we respect our “consum-actors”.

More than ever, solidarity and sisterhood are at the heart of our concerns. We want to share positive, caring messages with our community. We value self-acceptance and want to break the codes of beauty as they have always been instilled in us (tall, slim woman). Solidarity also because we want Cam&line to be seen as an inclusive brand.

Inclusivity is quite a broad subject that doesn't only concern the size of our clothes. In our view, it also touches on age, interests, ethnicity and so on… It's important to us to represent every woman, and we are working toward a diverse representation of women's bodies in 2021.

What are your commitments?

If you have stuck with us and read all our answers above, you will understand that we have committed ourselves in many ways and in several areas.

We are committed to a cleaner, more conscious and more responsible fashion industry.

We are committed to respecting workers' rights and social standards.

We are committed to inclusivity and the representation of all women.

We are committed to solidarity and sisterhood.

We are committed to offering you responsible clothing at a fair price all year round.

What are your plans for 2021?

For summer 2021 we have chosen to release new designs that will fit into the existing collections, in order to create a complete wardrobe where all the pieces can be mixed and matched. Our goal is to create an ideal, ethical wardrobe and to let you combine our pieces with each other as much as possible, just like in your own closet!

We would like to organize our next photo shoot collaboratively, calling on our customers and friends so that we can represent all women more fully (sizes, ages, skin tones…) and so that everyone can picture themselves in our designs through the photos.

We are also thinking about adding sizes, like a 32! It's a size we hadn't thought of at first, but it seems important to us following customer feedback. Of course, we would like to broaden our ranges and offer sizes up to 54 and beyond. We are waiting to sell more of our plus sizes before investing further in this direction.

2021 will also mean recruitment: we are looking to surround ourselves with interns to give us a hand managing our social networks and website, but also to help us develop and produce our new designs. This will let us combine our know-how and pass it on as well.

Conclusion

On the LAO team, we learned a lot from this article, both about the consequences of fast fashion and about ways to remedy them. We can't wait to discover Cam&Line's next collection and their complete wardrobe to mix and match!

As you may have guessed, we see ourselves in this brand because it is French, sustainable and ethical!

In the meantime, discover their collection!