Organic cotton: a new challenge for the start of the school year!

In our TPR (Always More Responsible) approach, the Balzac Paris team has set itself a challenge that is close to its heart: to offer sweaters made from 100% organic cotton . Discover the interview of Chrysoline (Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Balzac Paris) and Marie (Group Leader) to learn a little more about their manufacturing secrets.

• What is organic cotton and the GOTS standard?

Marie : Organic cotton is cotton grown without chemical fertilizers . The GOTS standard provides a framework for this “organic cotton” certification. This standard applies if the garment contains at least 90% certified organic natural fibers but also if the factory meets certain criteria. They are regularly checked by independent and approved organisations. Mohair sweaters, for example, are labeled GOTS by recycling water and respecting the treatment of animals.

• What was the process? How did you come up with the idea?

Chrysoline : Offering organic cotton sweaters is a new challenge that has been close to our hearts for a year. This approach is part of a more global approach that we have implemented since the beginning: we manufacture most of our parts in Portugal, Italy and Spain. We prefer to seek know-how as close as possible to us. This desire was initiated by responsible collections and our “zero-waste” approach . This is one of our biggest concerns that we have been implementing since 2015. This encourages our stylists to think differently and to think "responsibly" from the start of a collection: for example, certain technicalities are not selected because this implies manufacturing them elsewhere than in Europe. Exceptionally for our organic cotton collection , the sweaters were made in India and Madagascar in order to rely on production chains with very strict environmental and social criteria and unique craftsmanship. We are also trying to apply this approach internally. We have called on the Happy Recyclers to help us in the best way possible in the treatment of waste and we do not intend to stop there! We will never be perfect, but we will always try to be better and more transparent towards our customers: this is essential for us.

• Why make this choice as a consumer?

Chrysoline : In general, consumers want to consume more responsibly and this applies to all sectors. We pay more attention to labels, to consuming seasonal products, in short circuits, to using fewer chemicals... And our customers are more and more aware of these subjects. The textile industry is one of the most polluting industries: we try to change this at our level and offer products that last over time , far from fast-fashion... Pollution should not be inevitable in fashion. Organic cotton reduces water pollution by 98% and greenhouse gas emissions by 94%. At Balzac Paris, we try to offer products that are aesthetic, feminine and responsible.

• Could you present the organic cotton models to us?

Chrysoline and Marie: The September collection is made up of four 100% organic cotton sweaters: the Gill model, which is available in ecru and black, and the Géraldine sweater, available in burgundy and navy. The Gill sweater has been crocheted entirely by hand, which makes it truly unique. It is a high quality sweater and is ideal for the season. The ecru model goes perfectly with our Daniella dress in pink velvet. The Géraldine jumper has an oversized shape that we love and it is ultra comfortable. It can be worn casually with jeans or more fashionably with a skirt and XXL earrings. There is also our Olivier model, very soft: it is not entirely made from organic cotton but benefits from the GOTS standard which guarantees traceability, ethics and good working conditions. Our Yoni sweater which will be released in October is also part of it... but we won't tell you more!

• What are Balzac Paris' commitments for the future?

Chrysoline and Marie: Our ambition is to be recognized as responsible players . This new organic cotton collection already marks a turning point in our responsible approach . It is difficult for us to commit 100% to this approach but we are working on it, it is a long-term approach and it does not only involve organic cotton: this is what we call the first consumed and post-consumed. Post-consumer is starting from an existing product already finished to reproduce a new product. As for pre-consumer, we have already integrated it within Balzac Paris because the factories have a lot of secondary resources that we can reuse. Our Myrtille clogs are back this season with a sole made with scrap wood from a cabinetmaker in Portugal. For our exceptional collections, we recover the most noble materials (silk, brocades, etc.) from major manufacturers: this allows us to present rare pieces at reasonable prices to our customers: an approach, here again, that we want the most respectful. To discover all our TPR (Always More Responsible) pieces, go to the e-shop .