Petite Lucette Launches a Sustainable and Circular Fashion Brand
Launched in 2014, Petite Lucette is a sustainable and circular fashion brand founded by French sisters, Anaïs and Clémence. From the start, Petite Lucette was rooted in a “do good” mentality as Anaïs and Clémence sought to create durable and comfortable clothing for women and children. In their quest to develop a fully organic line, it was initially difficult to find organic fabrics that were both affordable and available in an array of unique colors and textures. But Petite Lucette knew that using organic and natural fabrics was the only way to be a truly sustainable fashion brand due to their lower environmental impact.
Organic Is The New Black
Organic cotton is less water intensive than conventional cotton. In fact, about 2,000 gallons (7,600 liters) of water is consumed to manufacture a single pair of jeans! Not to mention over one-third of microplastics found in oceans come from synthetic fabrics such as nylon and polyester, along with laundry detergents. Today, Petite Lucette only works with natural fiber fabrics – cotton, linen, wool, silk – and Oeko-Tex certified fabrics to ensure their garments are sustainably sourced and manufactured, 100% traceable, free of harmful substances, and support fair wages for workers.
Petite Lucette further combats the plastic crisis by shipping orders in recyclable boxes with recycled tissue paper. Their next challenge is to find an eco-friendly alternative to the poly plastic bags used to protect clothing during shipments. But every improvement and small adjustment counts! They even upcycle fabric scraps into accessories to reduce the millions of tons of textile waste that enter landfills each year.
Keep Your Partners Close
The fashion industry has become the world’s second largest polluter, contributing 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. With “fast fashion” brands taking advantage of cheap foreign labor, much of the industry’s emissions come from transporting fabrics and clothing vast distances across sea and air. Petite Lucette has structured their supply chain to source from local European suppliers close to their production facility.
Choosing local partnerships not only minimizes transport emissions, it also creates a valuable opportunity to form strong relationships with these partners. Petite Lucette shares a personable bond with their family-owned partner manufacturer in Portugal, often visiting their facility to evaluate working conditions and to engage with the workers. With industry practices and working conditions too often hidden from the consumer’s view, it is critically important to Petite Lucette to show their customers where their clothing comes from and the hardworking hands that made them. Transparency lies at the cornerstone of sustainable business.
Circular Fashion Is The Future
Petite Lucette co-founder, Anaïs, states that there is an urgent need to educate consumers on the dangers of fast fashion and how to make sustainable clothing choices. In partnership with London’s secondhand marketplace Kids O’clock, Petite Lucette is supporting and raising awareness about circular fashion, a regenerative system of designing clothing, shoes and accessories with longevity, resource efficiency, good ethics and sustainable end-of-life disposal, e.g. biodegradable, recyclable, etc. Customers are incentivized to resell gently worn kids clothing items to Kids O’clock in exchange for a discount at Petite Lucette.
Petite Lucette is also a longtime partner with volunteer organization, Zazakely Sambatra, which works to give at-risk youth access to education and medical care in Madagascar. Petite Lucette is aiming to donate 3% of their online sales to support the organization’s mission.
Petite Lucette co-founder Clémence with Director of Zazakely Sambatra, Madagascar
– Anaïs and Clémence, Founders & Owners of Petite Lucette
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