Ethics and environment: what BonneGueule does ✊

Since the beginning of our history in 2007, we have developed strong convictions.

However, we talk about it very little. And it's a shame, because today we have a lot to say about our commitments around transparency, social rights, the environment, animal respect, and ethics in general.

First of all, to be environmentally friendly, clothing must be designed to last. Logical consequence: environmentally friendly clothing must be of quality.

OK, but what does quality clothing mean at BonneGueule? How do we choose our materials and suppliers? What relationship do we have with them? Where do our fabrics come from? What do we know about how they are produced?

But also what materials do we prohibit ourselves from using? Where are our parts assembled? What is our opinion on recycled materials? organic cotton?

Very concretely and with complete transparency (a fundamental value for us), I answer all these questions to take stock of what BonneGueule does in terms of the environment and ethics.

Without hiding the progress we must make, nor evading the limits we face!

My clothes in the video: BonneGueule denim shirt, BonneGueule Japanese knit sweater, Husbands blazer

Bonus: our social and environmental production charter

To complete this video, here are the details of all our CSR commitments. This is not a “communication” document, but a real working document that I copy/paste here. Sorry in advance for the verbiage :)

We use it for the production of our clothing, in order to monitor and consolidate our progress as a committed brand.

Finally, I am very proud that BonneGueule is a brand that manages to move forward on all levels , and not just on one subject (example: made in France, carbon footprint, packaging, etc.).

Durability and quality ⏳

Clothing consumes resources, so it must be designed to last. Quality is imperative.

• Anti-obsolescence approach : we choose robust materials, check the lab data, and test them ourselves before putting them on the market

• Raising awareness : we encourage consumers to reduce their ecological footprint by consuming less but better (leading fashion media in Europe)

• CSR : Indirectly, a quality product is a guarantee of CSR. A high-end material and workmanship require a very well-trained workforce with little turnover

Partnership approach 🤝

To produce clothes that make us proud, we surround ourselves with spinners, knitters, finishers and makers who are experts in their fields.

We select them for their know-how, but also because we share common values ​​in terms of respect for the environment, the animal cause, and societal commitment.

Over the years, we have built special relationships with them. This is our dream team .

• Meeting with manufacturers and suppliers of raw materials between 1x and 4x/year

• In-person tour of most production tools

Choice of natural and artificial materials 🌾

• We favor natural fibers (cotton, wool, linen, ramie) and artificial fibers (viscose, acetate cellulosic fibers): around 95% of our clothing

• Viscose from renewable resources : wood pulp, hay or eco-managed forests VS deforestation

Choice of materials of animal origin 🐑

• High-end cottons and wools : long fibers, which requires a limited number of shearings or harvests/year

• No fur

• No down, no feathers

• No exotic leathers (reptiles)

• Wool without mulesing , Woolmark® label, suppliers traced (when possible to know)

• Leather from the agri-food sector with traceability guarantees (French and Italian tanning)

Choice of materials of synthetic origin 📽️

• We avoid synthetic fibers (polyester, polyamide, vinyl), except technical materials

• No PFCs or endocrine disruptors (Bluesign®, OekoTex® labels, etc.)

☝️ Synthetic fibers only if strong technical dimension (softshell) or particular visual effect (nebs)

CSR approaches of raw material suppliers ✊

• Waste recycling : revaluation, wastewater treatment plant, responsible dyes

• Fiber traceability

• Green energy : cogeneration station, solar, wind, hydroelectric

• Neutral carbon footprints

• Quality labels , CSR or codes of conduct

Choice of manufacturers ✂️

➡️ List of manufacturing suppliers 📎 (confidential because it is strategic, but audited by the SloWeAre association)

Promotion of artisanal know-how

We promote and perpetuate artisanal know-how throughout the world through our orders: Living Heritage Companies in France, century-old companies in Europe and Japan.

We favor “made how” more than “made in”. Our obsession is first and foremost quality, then CSR conditions, then price. We do not seek to make clothes made in France at all costs, but we favor local sourcing when it exists.

Place of creation 🇪🇺

Our manufacturing is carried out only in the European Union:

🇷🇴 Romania : 43% (formal wardrobe and outerwear manufacturing)

🇵🇹 Portugal : 28% (casual wardrobe tailoring)

🇮🇹 Italy : 15% (knitting)

🇫🇷 France : 9% (assembly of leather goods, knitting)

🇪🇸 Spain : 3% (shoe assembly)

England : 2% (kicks)

☝️ End of 2019 : 100% Europe 🇪🇺 (a few leftover stocks of chinos made in Tunisia may remain in our stocks for a few months)

CSR approaches for manufacturers ✊

• Compliance with social, environmental regulations and safety standards of OECD and ILO countries

• Fully-fashioned knitting (for a more durable garment and to avoid wasting yarn)

• Ozone blasting rather than sandblasting

Short circuit

• Certain products such as jeans woven and assembled within a radius of 800km

• In 2019, first short circuit projects with TRICOLOR (French wool, French spinning and weaving)

Circular economy ♻️

• Choice of recycled materials (when possible): viscose, technical materials

• Not yet convinced by cotton or recycled wool : short fibers which pill more quickly (use only in a small percentage)

• Mostly recyclable packaging : shipping boxes, bags, supplies

• Eco-contribution paid to Eco TLC

• Green energy electricity contracts in all our stores and at headquarters

Working conditions at BonneGueule 👪

• Provision of drinks, organic snacks, yoga classes for employees
• Team building 2x/year
• Teleworking encouraged
• Equal incentive policy
• Arranging schedules according to individual needs (parents with children)
• Distribution of BSPCE to certain employees
• Clear objectives, set bilaterally, annual and mid-term interviews with “for actions”
• Internal public company strategy, executive salaries communicated
• Continuing training of employees
• Well-paid work-study students and interns, with strong skills-learning objectives, and generally a permanent contract offer.
• Mission, values, work principles defined and respected

Transparency 🔬

We demonstrate an ultra-transparency approach:

• Answers to all readers' questions , even the most indiscreet (>5,000 / month)

☝️ The only confidential information is the salaries of employees (respect for their privacy) and the names of the manufacturers (strategic resource only communicated during audit)

• Unretouched photos (excluding colorimetry)

• Diversity policy : age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, parenthood

Citizen engagement ✊

• Leading men's fashion media in Europe to promote "Consume less but better"

• G20 Young Entrepreneurs (Buenos Aires, 2018): establishment of recommendations in favor of job creation by SMEs, geographical mobility, representation of women and minorities)

• Réseau Entreprendre Paris : pro-bono training for young job-creating companies

• Interventions in schools : HEC, ESSEC, IFM, SciencePo, Institut Mines-Télécom Business School

• Maison des Journalistes : provision of our editor-in-chief for half a day per week to help journalists who have taken refuge in France

• Welcoming a civil servant from the Ministry of the Economy and Finance on an observation internship

• Bpifrance Charter of transparency on the origin of capital (anti-money laundering and fight against the financing of terrorism)

• CSR audits of BonneGueule by SloWeAre

Continuous improvement 👷

Current projects (2020) 👷

• Identify the labels and certifications of our suppliers and ask them for proof of these labels: scans, certificates of conformity, ISO, etc. (in progress)

• Recruitment of a quality and CSR manager (in progress)

• Redesign of BonneGueule’s CSR pages : manifesto, social and environmental commitment, supplier listing (end of 2019)

• Formalize an ethical code and have it signed by each supplier when we launch the next production with them (end of 2019)

• Welcoming an employee with a disability (early 2020)

• Increase the share of recycled materials in our collections (in progress) and explore the path of Tencell® / Lyocell® from Lenzing, and RecycleLeather ® (early 2020)

• Develop a cruelty-free offer by removing animal parts such as horn or mother-of-pearl buttons on certain clothing (early 2020)

• Faceted navigation on the shop according to ethical criteria (early 2020)

• Use 100% recycled materials for our packaging because some of our suppliers use plastic blisters in the absence of existing alternatives on the market at the moment (2020)

• Waste reduction project : Development of a multi-use totebag and invoicing for single-use totebags / free possibility of choosing packaging with extremely reduced packaging in e-commerce (2020)

Future projects (2021+) 👩‍🚀

• Becoming carbon neutral (requires carrying out a carbon assessment and an audit by an approved company)

• Traceability of all materials relative to the origin of the fibers

• Develop an offer with vegetable dyes

• Obtain the B-Corp label

Limits 🤷‍♂️

• We collect our defective and unsold items but have not yet found a way to revalue them beyond donation, because the quantity per material is too small.

• We do not produce our own raw materials and do not have our own production tools (making, assembly, knitting)

• We have not found suppliers giving us satisfaction in Europe for certain materials, we remain very dependent on Japanese know-how , hence a bad carbon impact that needs to be balanced/compensated

• Poor traceability of certain natural fibers upstream of spinning (use of blends, changes of suppliers depending on the quality of the harvests, etc.) but notable efforts on the part of suppliers year after year

And if you, for your part, think of other steps that matter to you, don't hesitate to leave us a few lines in the comments.