Our take on Balzac Paris’s ethical and sustainable approach

Materials used by Balzac Paris:

Percentage of eco-friendly products in the whole collection

Information published by Balzac Paris: 50% organic OR GOTS-certified cotton, a large share of the viscose used is EcoVero® certified, a very large number of products are made with Tencel®, 50% of leather products are vegetable-tanned, Naïa cellulose yarn used for small runs, Ingeo® PLA used for small runs, Naïa cellulose yarn used for small runs.

💬 Our opinion:

✅ Balzac Paris seems committed to using eco-friendly materials. Tencel® is very widely used, as is EcoVero® viscose, which is gradually replacing conventional viscose. The brand is also working on using recycled materials such as recycled polyester.

🔴 However, the brand uses materials about which consumers have little information, wool in particular. Finally, be careful with products labelled "vegan": unfortunately they are made of non-recycled synthetic materials. The brand says it now uses only 1% "conventional" polyester. However, a lot of polyester material does not mention being recycled.

Approach to environmental labels

Information published by Balzac Paris: Jeans collection made entirely of GOTS-certified organic cotton, 20% of materials are Okeo-Tex labelled, 50% of the leather used for shoes or leather goods is LWG (Leather Working Group) certified OR vegetable-tanned, 20% of the wool is said to be mulesing-free.

💬 Our opinion:

✅ The brand says it mostly uses EcoVero® certified viscose, as well as GOTS-certified cotton.

🔴 Not all organic cottons carry the GOTS label. The brand told us that not all the factories it works with are GOTS certified, so it cannot use the label on the garments produced. However, the materials themselves can be labelled. It may therefore be important to have access to this information. The product descriptions also lack detail. Part of the wool is said to be mulesing-free, with no mention of a label, certification or verification. As for leather, the brand highlights its wish to use hides of known origin, but the only information given is the country the hides come from, with nothing more about how the animals are treated or the conditions they are raised in.

Other eco-friendly initiatives

Information published by Balzac Paris: Use of fabric offcuts from other companies' factories, and of fabrics from Balzac Paris stock, to produce future collections. Les Durables collection, made of pieces from past discounted collections. Plans for clothing repair workshops, and a Balzac Paris laundry detergent for sale, made in France with organically farmed ingredients. Waste sorting in the offices and a home-made lunch system, with a different team member cooking for everyone each day. Also worth noting is the use of fully fashioned knitting (a technique that avoids fabric waste). Finally, the brand mentions a stock inspection every six months to avoid dormant stock.

💬 Our opinion

✅ Many ongoing projects worth applauding as part of the brand's overall eco-friendly approach. It will be interesting to see the progress in the years to come. Quantified impact measurement could back up the words.

Support for environmental NGOs or charities

Information published by Balzac Paris: Nothing is mentioned by the brand.

R&D efforts and laboratory testing

Information published by Balzac Paris: Nothing is mentioned by the brand.

💬 Our opinion

🔴 The brand could go further by measuring the durability of its products.

Transparency about manufacturing sites

Information published by Balzac Paris: The brand gives the countries where its products are made : Tunisia, Portugal, India, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Italy, Madagascar, Thailand, Spain, Ukraine and France. On its website, you can also find further information (including a video) about the Portuguese factory Balzac Paris works with. The brand told us it wishes to keep the names of its suppliers confidential in order to protect its production chain. Regarding production in India and Madagascar, the brand told us it only works with GOTS-certified factories.

💬 Our opinion

✅ The brand makes an effort to be transparent, by listing the countries of manufacture and giving an insight into its production in Portugal.

🔴 However, it would be good to have this kind of information for all its production sites. Although the brand mentions occasionally producing outside Europe, very little information about the factories and the workers' working conditions is available to consumers.

Furthermore, in the description of some items the brand states « Designed and created in our Parisian workshop »: a misleading statement. Design and manufacture should be kept distinct.

Approach to social labels

Information published by Balzac Paris: The brand relies on the GOTS label. We do not have access to the brand's audits.

💬 Our opinion

✅ The GOTS label is a benchmark label for environmental practices, and it also checks the ILO minimum standards.

🔴 However, not all of the brand's products are GOTS certified. The workshop in Madagascar the brand works with holds the label, and the Portuguese workshop is currently going through the process. We do not have access to any other information on their website about the factories in the other countries. It would be useful to be able to see social audits.

Balzac Paris sent us additional information: "with Fair Makers, we are setting up certification processes suited to the size of our production facilities."

Traceability of the entire supply chain

Information published by Balzac Paris: The brand says it knows its suppliers. However, it is very difficult to get more information. As for raw materials, only the country of origin of some materials is available, leather in particular. The origin of the other raw materials and their production conditions are unknown.

💬 Our opinion

🔴 The brand could go further on the traceability of its production chain, and give consumers access to more information about its production factories.

Support for NGOs or charities working to improve workers' social conditions

Information published by Balzac Paris: the brand mentions nothing.

Sales and marketing

Information published by Balzac Paris: The brand offers the Les Durables range, made up of discounted past collections, which is positive but could point to overproduction. Balzac Paris does not hold sales, but instead gives its customers a small gift above a certain spend.

💬 Our opinion

✅ Balzac Paris's choice not to hold sales is to be applauded. It could reflect the brand's wish not to produce more than needed.

Awareness and education about overconsumption

Information published by Balzac Paris: The brand gives washing advice to help clothes last longer and sells an organic laundry detergent. Balzac Paris also plans to create workshops and tutorials for repairing its clothes.

💬 Our opinion

✅ Balzac Paris makes efforts to encourage more responsible consumption.

*The brand sent us additional information that is not on its website.

This article was written by: Anna Demont, Beryl Tirali and Marie Nguyen.