// Our (humble) take

Our take on Sézane’s ethical and sustainable approach

By Marie 27 May 2020

// How we went about it

We look at a brand’s sustainable and ethical approach based on the information available. For this review we put ourselves in a customer’s shoes, relying on public information: what the brand publishes on its website and social media, and what third-party partners publish when the brand cites them.

We don’t claim to hold the truth.

Our method in detail

// In short

🌱 On the environmental side, Sézane is a brand that is making an effort, even if it could go further: eco-friendly materials, but not in every piece; reliable labels, but on only 30% of pieces; 100% renewable energy; eco-packaging... But many clothes still contain materials that aren't considered eco-friendly.

🤝 On the ethical side, the brand is transparent about its countries of manufacture and says it carries out inspection audits every year. However, neither these audits nor the brand's “code of ethics” are public, so this information can't be verified.

⚖️ The brand's overall approach isn't yet slow fashion, and it barely touches on the question of mindful consumption. It does, however, run charitable initiatives with several associations and NGOs.

Sézane’s environmental approach

Eco-friendly materials used by Sézane:

Eco-friendly materials	Non eco-friendly materials
Organic cotton	Viscose
Recycled polyester	Silk
Vegetable-tanned leather	Wool
	Elastane
	Polyester
	Cotton
	Acetate
	Leather

Percentage of eco-friendly materials:

Information published by Sézane: 67% of the cotton used is organic cotton (of which only 41% is GOTS certified), 65% recycled polyester, 47% viscose (FSC Mix), 31% vegetable-tanned leather.

💬 Our opinion

✅ The brand does offer products made with eco-friendly materials such as organic cotton (GOTS), recycled polyester and linen. There is also the denim collection in organic cotton and the sports collection in recycled materials and Tencel.

🔴 On the other hand, many products contain materials we do not class as eco-friendly: FSC viscose (because even with the FSC label, viscose is still a polluting material), polyester, elastane, cotton. And some products contain no eco-friendly material at all. What's more, animal raw materials such as silk, wool and leather lack information about their manufacturing conditions and origin.

Sézane's approach to environmental labels:

Information published by Sézane: 30% of Sézane's collections in 2019 carried labels. 41% of the organic cotton is GOTS certified, part of the viscose (47%) has an FSC label, and part of the collection is Oeko-Tex certified.

💬 Our opinion:

✅ The brand seems committed to getting certified, with 30% of the collection certified. The brand says it wants to obtain more labels, such as the Oeko-Tex label (no toxic substances) for silk and the RWS label for wool (animal welfare).

🔴 Be careful, though. 30% of the collection in certified materials is still very little for an ethical fashion brand. What's more, the term "organic" is sometimes used without any label to back it up (what does it mean, then?). The brand puts Oeko-Tex certified cotton on an equal footing with GOTS certification. This can mislead consumers. Oeko-Tex certification only covers the absence of harmful substances, not whether the product is organic.

Sézane's other eco-friendly initiatives:

Information published by Sézane: 100% of the energy used in the workplaces comes from renewable sources (wind, hydro). The IT servers are supplied with 50% renewable energy. Use of 100% recycled cardboard. Use of click-and-collect, efforts on last-mile delivery by bike, minimising air transport. Thinking about the end of life of clothes (12000 pieces were collected and processed by Le Relais).

💬 Our opinion:

✅ Sézane seems committed to reducing its environmental impact beyond production.

🔴 The brand could go further by disclosing a precise, quantified impact assessment year on year (CO2 reduction, transport reduction, kWh of renewable energy).

Support for environmental NGOs or charities:

Information published by Sézane: No mention of an environmental charity for now. Sézane seems to focus on social initiatives instead.

Efforts on R&D and lab testing:

Information published by Sézane: We found no information mentioning lab tests, in particular to check how durable the products are.

Sézane’s social approach

Transparency about Sézane's production sites:

Information published by Sézane : The brand gives the countries of manufacture on its products: China, India, Portugal, Italy, Madagascar, Poland, Bulgaria, Morocco... The brand provides a "production notebook" with pictures of some of its production sites: Portugal, India, China, Bulgaria and Italy. And a description of the sites in Portugal and China.

💬 Our opinion :

✅ The brand is making a first effort at transparency about its production sites. We found a page describing a few factories (Portugal, China).

🔴 But there is (at the time of writing) no precise information about the factories in Madagascar, Morocco, Poland and Turkey. Nor is there any information about the employees' working conditions or social and environmental audits. The brand could even go further by naming its production sites and giving public access to its social audits.

Sézane's approach to labels and social audits:

Information published by Sézane : The brand relies on the following social audits and labels: BSCI, SMETA, ICS or WCA audits. It also relies on compliance with its "Code of Ethics". It sorts the audit conclusions into 4 categories: excellent, very good, compliant, warning. The brand states that 40% of its workshops are in the "excellent" category, 33% in "very good", 27% in "compliant" and 0% in "warning".

💬 Our opinion :

✅ These audits matter because they confirm or refute compliance with the social minimums set by the International Labour Organization. (💬 Find out more about the ILO fundamentals)

🔴 We did not find the brand's "code of ethics", nor a clear definition of the "excellent", "very good", "compliant" and "warning" levels described in the brand's CSR report. As we also have no access to the conclusions of these audits, we cannot take our analysis any further.

Traceability of the whole supply chain

Information published by Sézane : The brand claims to know 100% of its tier 1 suppliers, meaning the garment factories that make the finished piece. It also claims to know 80% of its tier 2 suppliers, those who make the final fabric. And 20% of tier 3, those who process and transform the raw material. The brand gives no figures for tier 4, those who produce the raw material.

💬 Our opinion :

✅ The brand seems to be investing in the traceability of its products.

🔴 However, these are self-declared claims. No third party is named to verify this information. And tier 4 is not mentioned.

Support for NGOs or associations working to improve workers' social conditions:

Information published by Sézane : The brand has launched a charity project called DEMAIN, which aims to fund access to education and culture and the fight for equal opportunities. It is built around 4 sources of income: 10% of profits on the 21st of every month, 1 piece created each month with 100% of sales donated, a charity shop and volunteering.

Sézane’s commercial approach

Sales and marketing:

Information found about Sézane : The brand does not seem to hold sales.

💬 Our opinion :

The brand does not communicate about this: is it a deliberate choice? It seems that some collections are available at a lower price in the brand's "archives solidaires", through email sign-up and flash sales. Some pieces are reportedly sold through the "Demain" charity project. To what extent?