En Mode Durable: a new platform to facilitate the fashion industry's responsible approach

According to the Quantis report published in 2018, "fashion would account for nearly 8% of global CO2 emissions, not to mention issues related to working conditions in the supply chain and overconsumption encouraged by fast fashion" points out the En Mode Durable platform on its website enmodedurable.fr.

Faced with these ecological challenges, there is certainly no shortage of initiatives and sources (labels, associations, public or private structures...). But it's often difficult for players in the French fashion industry, especially small and medium-sized businesses, to find their way through this maze, to access the right information and prioritize their actions.

A portal to facilitate access to information

Adeline Dargent, Responsible CSR of the Fédération Française du Prêt à Porter Fémininand Karine Sfar, General Delegate of Promincor - Lingerie Française and of the Fédération de la Knits, de la Lingerie du Balnéaire">

This is precisely what the three clothing trade organizations, the Fédération Française du Prêt à Porter féminin (FFPAPF), Promincor - Lingerie Française and the Fédération de la Knits, de la Lingerie & du Balnéaire. This prompted them to come up with another way of accessing and using Sustainable Fashion information, namely the enmodedurable.frportal, launched last April. Financed by Le Défi, the Comité de Développement et de Promotion de l'Habillement, it is freely accessible to all companies in the sector.

"There seems to be a lot of information out there that we can find on various channels. But it's not always accurate, often very partial and not always very clear and understandable. We therefore wanted to create something structured, educational, interactive and as comprehensive as possible on the topics covered, so that companies can better understand these subjects, prioritize and anticipate them, and even draw up a CSR roadmap in line with their overall strategy", explains Karine Sfar, General Delegate of Promincor - Lingerie Française and the Fédération de la Knits, de la Lingerie & du Balnéaire.

"The genesis of this platform was the three guides we successively published in 2019, 2021 and 2022, covering sourcing, then eco-design and finally, responsible communication, explains Adeline Dargent, CSR Manager at the Fédération Française du Prêt à Porter Féminin. We have always involved companies in the design of these guides, which are intended to provide them with educational and didactic support, with both content and very concrete tools... The industry's players, including those in the mass market and luxury sectors, i.e. beyond the premium brands that we initially federate, have taken up these guides well. But they had been designed in a rather cumbersome PDF format, not necessarily easy to use, especially for small companies. So we asked ourselves how we could make this information and tools more accessible in a simpler, less time-consuming way."

A pragmatic tool

The CSR teams of the three Federations worked with specialist communications agency Hyssop, for a more accessible rewrite and rendering, and with the experts who had already worked on the guides, namely the Blue Quest and Ecoeff Lab firms, for content validation.

"Our portal may not be the most comprehensive, but it is the most pragmatic, stresses Adeline Dargent (FFPAPF). No tool existed in this form, there were platforms linked to Sustainable Development like ReFashion for example, which proved complementary. Our idea was not to duplicate what already existed".

En Mode Durable thus distinguishes itself from platforms already in place, linking actors or directories of responsible fashion. In fact, in 2020, the FFPAPF itself deployed such a directory, initially named "Ressources Green", recast in early 2024 as the "Ecosystème de la Mode", and now a global tool for connecting all Responsible Fashion players.

En Mode Durable is on a different level, on another level, providing practical answers to "equip" companies, to "accompany and progress" on such subjects. "It facilitates access to information on Responsible Fashion and also makes it more fun, explains Adeline Dargent. This tool is affordable, whatever the company's maturity or size, and is open to all. Whatever the department and the nature of the company, there's an answer."

Responsible sourcing, eco-design and responsible communication

The platform has been built with four entries referring to the main themes -Responsible Sourcing, Ecodesign and Responsible Communication-, plus a "News" section evoking regulatory news and schemes deployed by federations.

"Companies can access different degrees of information depending on their level of progressive maturity, of which there are three: beginning (beginner), structuring (intermediate) and finally, accelerating (advanced), leading to different cards (or cards) to consult" details Adeline Dargent, who insists on the "interactive" nature of the platform, with the content of one card being able to refer to the content of another card.

In addition to content, the portal includes practical tools, such as prioritization of actions to be carried out via checklists or questionnaires aimed at suppliers, for example, or exemplary case studies. "The guides that formed the basis of the platform had been drawn up with a steering committee of varied and representative companies in order to orient the subjects towards operational, says Karine Sfar (Promincor -Lingerie Française and Fédération de la Knits, de la Lingerie et du Balnéaire). The testimonials then integrated have been taken up on the platform to show that it's not just literature but concrete achievements. And the aim will be to enrich it even further in the future with other ambassadors (brands, manufacturers...) other convincing examples, best practices...".

In terms of sourcing, the portal lists more responsible options for each material, such as "GOTS" (Global Organic Textile Standard) labeled cotton. Other fact sheets offer content to help companies move forward according to their level of maturity. More "beginner" companies can, for example, access a country risk assessment and those, with an intermediate level, take note of the summary of the Traceability pilot project coordinated by Le Défi in 2020 and 2022, and which brought together 13 brands to develop and test solutions.

Breaking down preconceived notions

On this theme of Responsible Sourcing, Adeline Dargent (FFPAPF) observes that "the platform helps to break down certain preconceived ideas. Some companies, for example, wonder whether using recycled materials necessarily results in a positive eco-responsible balance sheet, as the product is likely to be less solid and therefore less durable from that point of view. Many people are also convinced that transport has a very significant impact on the balance sheet, when in fact it is very limited. On the other hand, the upstream part of sourcing materials, from cultivation (for example, that of non-organic cotton, which is greedy for water and pesticides) to finishing, counts for much more."

On the eco-design side, for example, the platform offers beginner companies a toolbox with dedicated sheets, inspired and adapted for Fashion, from the work of standard X30-260, which offers a pragmatic methodology for setting up such an approach. In addition, the Chantelle lingerie group provides a testimonial on its approach to reparability, with a view to facilitating second-hand sales of its products.

Avoiding the pitfalls of "greenwashing"

Finally, in the "responsible communication" theme, whether with customers, suppliers or employees, and in particular, sales staff, the portal explains to beginners how to "get started, without burning the bridges or the wings"; to those at intermediate level, how to adapt your speeches to the profile of your employees, and finally; for companies at an advanced level, how to "gain influence" on the subject of CSR, via social networks.

On this last theme, Adeline Dargent (FFPAPF) evokes, among the tools, a checklist of questions to ask oneself to avoid the pitfalls of greenwashing. "It's a question of being very vigilant in this respect, including in regulatory terms," explains the CSR manager of the FFPAPF. The platform also offers a 'stress test' to make sales managers aware of the terms they should never use."

Generally speaking, Adeline Dargent sees the portal as "a fantastic awareness-raising tool that can be taken in hand by both the management team and all employees, whether in purchasing, sales, marketing, communications, etc". It also enables the company to train "its potential new employees" in the "issues and hotspots of Sustainable Fashion to prioritize", she stresses.

"Each employee will be fed with information concerning his or her field of activity and function, adds Karine Sfar (Promincor- Lingerie Française and Fédération de la Knits, de la Lingerie et du Balnéaire). For example, collection managers and stylists will be able to take an interest in eco-design best practices to better design their products."

She adds that "the platform helps to demystify a certain number of beliefs and break out of preconceived ideas to positively open up one's chakras. Each professional will be able to approach CSR issues from his or her own level of knowledge, and find something to suit them. While the common objective is to move towards a more Responsible and Sustainable Fashion, each company will take its own path. Some will make it a priority to design all their products in organically grown cotton, others to sharply increase the proportion of recycled fibers in their collections, and still others to promote biodiversity...".

Getting better known

The platform has so far limited its communication, the Federations being very mobilized by current regulatory and legislative issues (such as the Anti Fast Fashion law...). In such conditions, Adeline Dargent (FFPAPF) is not surprised that En Mode Durable has not yet been contacted by third-party structures to create possible synergies. But the platform would be quite open to it, she adds.

Now that the number of visits to En Mode Durable has immediately increased following the publication of an article in the B-to-B press, the platform is planning to raise its profile in the short term. A workshop using its tools is already planned for the second half of the year. While it's still too early to quote consultation statistics, Adeline Dargent estimates as "very broad", "the profile of brands likely to be interested"in this new tool, which"ranges from mass retail to luxury and premium brands".

In the meantime, En Mode Durable intends to activate its community, in particular by encouraging its users to make recommendations on any gaps they'd like to see it fill. A tab "propose an idea" is thus at their disposal on the platform in order to"submit topics that raise questions".

Generally speaking, the platform is destined to evolve over time. In the short term, "there will be some necessary updates from a regulatory point of view, as there's currently a lot of movement in this area both in France and Europe. So, starting next year, we plan to supplement our tools and information in this direction", explains Adeline Dargent (FFPAPF). "In the longer term", the platform should also broaden its scope, with its initiators hoping to "develop anything to do with biodiversity or social impact to enrich it, with guides due to see the light of day on these subjects in the first half of 2026".

First objectives achieved

Meantime, Adeline Dargent believes that En Mode durable has already achieved its initial objectives. "If I were in a company, this is the tool I'd love to have to work on Responsible Fashion topics, it's very didactic, allows you to go straight to the information according to your subject; all responding to everyone's curiosity" emphasizes the CSR manager of the FFPAPF.

Certainly, the Federations are currently seeing a slowdown in corporate actions in terms of Sustainable Development. "Their budgets allocated to these subjects are rather decreasing due, on the one hand, to a complicated economic context and, on the other hand, to the allocation of part of their resources to legal compliance (Agec law, Traceability...) with, at the end of the day, new costly tools. In 2024, very large companies also had to apply the implementation of the CSRD Directive, imposing extra-financial reporting on sustainability",notes Adeline Dargent.

Despite this new situation, En Mode Durable intends to establish itself as a valuable aid for companies in the fashion industry on their green journey. "Our ambition is for the platform to become a reference tool for Responsible Fashion in the medium term", announce Adeline Dargent and Karine Sfar.

To access the En Mode Durable platform, it's here !