More and more of us are paying attention to our consumption, wanting to buy in a more ethical way, scrutinizing ingredient lists (even if we have to know how to decipher them!), spending our articles on Yuka to know the opinion of professionals, looking at the places of production on labels. Yes, by necessity, our generations and those to come are directly impacted by the situation of our planet and in fact involved. And this is a good thing. Try to be interested in this current topic on a daily basis: consume less but better.
And here comes the sales period. A long awaited period to be able to finally afford that dress or those shoes spotted since 6 months. We understand this desire and we are not going to play the moralizing here. Yes, we also make baskets to see what we can buy with all these promotions and that we update 10 times! We also feel the frenzy of the good deal! But that was before we understood what is behind our desire for sales, before we understood that we are often cheated all year long!
This period today is ideal for us to explain to you why we don't have sales in the store and on the website at L'Atelier Français.
Let's talk numbers?
- 47% of clothing, shoes, accessories and linens are purchased during promotions worldwide.
- The textile industry doubled from 2000 to 2014. The number of items produced exceeded 100 billion in 2014. It is the 3rd most polluting sector after the wheat and rice industry.
- 1.2 billion tons of greenhouse gases are emitted each year by the textile sector, which represents up to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
- 517,000 tons of clothes were sold on the French market in 2020.
- Between 10,000 and 20,000 tons. This is the number of textile products thrown away every year in France!
Our beliefs
Practicing a fair price all year long!
What is a fair price? It is a price that correctly remunerates the employees behind the making of the product, and for the company a guarantee of a margin that allows it to absorb its fixed costs and live reasonably from its work. It is a price that is not built to be reduced by 50% while maximizing the profit of the brand. With Made in France, the margins are even more restricted because the production is on average much higher than the rest of the continents. When China makes times 10, we laboriously make times 2 on Made in France. Times 3? We do the belly dance :-) !
Because sales encourage brands to produce too much.
Do you know what slow fashion is? It is the opposite of the concept of fast fashion of the 2000s. It is a less intensive production, in smaller quantities or in pre-order, taking all the time necessary to develop the garment, using the most responsible materials possible. In short, it is to privilege quality over quantity!
Because the environmental impact of sales in terms of energy is frightening!
The fashion industry consumes 79 billion cubic meters of water each year, almost 1% of the world's consumption. It takes more than 5,200 liters of water to harvest 1 kg of cotton. The cotton fiber for example is bleached with chlorine to obtain white t-shirts, then it is dyed with heavy metals such as lead and chromium. All these products are very toxic and then discharged into rivers and can reach the water table. Moreover, the period of sales amplifies the pollution: printing of the marketing necessary to communicate on the period, printing of labels for the display of prices, orders of bags etc...
Thinking well and adjusting our orders, a balancing act.
Originally, the principle of sales is to sell off the unsold items of the year. However, some companies and brands order in mass all year long to have stock during the sales period. And believe us, even with -60% on products, they still make money! We try at L'Atelier Français to order at the right time to avoid the delivery of multiple packages and to have too much merchandise in stock. And if there are only 3 references left, well that's all there is! That's the game, to adapt our purchases according to the demand. You will find here at low prices very often: the last sizes of some articles, products that we will not order anymore because we stop the partnership with the brand or the reference simply stops being produced, or even references whose deadline of consumption is close. And if we offer you a 30% discount on the initial price, we are only reimbursing ourselves, neither more nor less. More, we sell at a loss.
By the way, it's here for our low prices:
HIM : https://latelierfrancais.net/en/45-last-chance
HER : https://latelierfrancais.net/en/44-last-chance
THE HOUSE : https://latelierfrancais.net/en/47-last-chance
THE CHILDREN : https://latelierfrancais.net/en/46-last-chance
Other solutions to buy better and cheaper.
No, we are not going to tell you to go to flea markets every Sunday morning to get dressed! Let's not fall into a cliché. But there are other more responsible options to please yourself at a low price with these three words that you should know well?
Recycle. Rather than creating yes. This is the principle of home staging. Give a fresh look to your decor by using what already exists.
Reduce. It is the famous consume less but better. It requires to sort out your closet and to take stock of what you really need. Is this new jacket really necessary right now? The act of buying is still a pleasure, so let's give ourselves one or two jokers but keep in mind the idea of buying consciously.
Re-use. Thanks to Vinted, Le bon coin, Emmaüs and other platforms that allow us to give a second life to products. And you're lucky the second hand is IN! :-)
We also recommend this book: The vintage bible. It is the first reference book designed to guide consumers in the world of vintage fashion and second hand. A book made to make quality second hand accessible to everyone: https://www.thegoodgoods.fr/sorties/la-bible-du-vintage-print-magazine-papier-thegoodgoods/
"If it doesn't cost you anything, someone else is paying for it for you."
Serious sites to draw inspiration from that can fuel your questions:
www.wedressfair.fr
www.thegoodgoods.fr
www.collectifdesboutiquesmif.fr
www.lacartefrancaise.fr
https://www.fimif.fr/
