Our glossary

The Paris Good Fashion glossary was born following the citizen consultation on responsible fashion carried out in 2020 at the initiative of our association alongside a collective of committed actors*.

It responds to the expectations expressed by more than 107,000 participants, concerning the need for consumer information and the need to use a common language understood by all. Hence, the members of Paris Good Fashion decided to develop this glossary in order to exchange and communicate on the same basis.

Initially published in French, this glossary is now available in English in order to make as many people as possible benefit from this work. It includes about 350 definitions, and is the result of collaborative work with our members**.

  1. We first defined the main categories and terms to be included. First, we defined the main categories and terms to be included: general terms of fashion and sustainable development, labels and certifications, actors and initiatives, and materials. Another category was established, that of "Basic concepts". It includes the most important generic terms of our sector. These are also often the most complex, as their scope is either very broad or unclear.
    _
  2. Then, we carried out bibliographical research, which allowed us to carry out a state of the art of the existing definitions by basing them on the official and international definitions when they existed.
    _
  3. When they did not exist, the terms were the subject of consultation and in-depth reflection by Sylvie Benard, Clémence Grisel and Isabelle Lefort in order to be enriched and as precise as possible. For each term, you will find the bibliographic references that helped establish its definition.
    __
  4. Following this work which took place from March 2021 to February 2022, the definitions were submitted to the members for correction and validation. Special thanks go to Claudia Lee and Guy Morgan (Chanel), François Souchet (BPCM), and Andrée-Anne Lemieux (IFM) for their careful reading of the translation, coordinated by Clémence Grisel.

If you would like to know more, or have any suggestions, please contact us at contact@parisgoodfashion.com

* Eram Group, Etam Group, Galeries Lafayette, Petit Bateau, Vestiaire Collective, WSN

** They participated in the WG: Chantal Cabantous (Balmain), François Souchet (BPCM), Éric Dupont, Guy Morgan, Claudia Lee (Chanel), Christophe Bocquet and Aude Vergne (Chloé), Sylvain Cariou and Hugo Sereys (Crystalchain), Clémence Hulet and Alice Timmerman (Deloitte), Géraldine Vallejo, Yoann Regent and Annabelle Villot Malka (Kering), Frédéric Lecoq (Lacoste), Hélène Valade and Alexandre Capelli (LVMH), Thomas Bucaille and Pauline Mattioli (Petit Bateau) as well as Léonore Garnier (FHCM), Adeline Dargent (Syndicat de Paris de la Mode Féminine) and Andrée-Anne Lemieux (IFM)

A quality mark developed by Chargeurs Luxury Materials – world leader in luxury combed wool - which guarantees the quality and traceability of wool fibres across the value chain, from farm to finished garment. The label guarantees that garments are authentic and made with natural fibres that respect the environment and animal welfare.

Reference: Chargeurs
Natural capital can be defined as the world’s stocks of natural assets which include geology, soil, air, water and all living things.

Find out more

Ecosystem services are the many benefits we derive from the natural environment. The most obvious are the food we eat, the water we drink and the plant matters we consume as fuel, construction materials and medication. There are many other, less visible ecosystem services such as climate regulation and flood defence provided by forests, carbon sequestration by peat bogs and crop pollination by insects. The non-material benefits we gain from the natural environment, such as inspiration, aesthetic enjoyment and spiritual wellbeing, are known as cultural services.

Reference: World Forum on Natural Capital 
Fibre from plants (cotton, linen, hemp, etc.) or animals (wool, cashmere, silk, etc.) that has been woven.

Depending on their individual nature, natural fibres have a range of environmental and social impacts at every stage of their life cycle.

Recycled fibres, or fibres produced through more virtuous agricultural systems such as organic or regenerative farming, offer a more responsible alternative to conventional and/or virgin natural fibres.

Reference: Paris Good Fashion
Quality mark for leather developed by the German trade association Internationale Verband der Naturtextilwirtschaft (IVN). It guarantees, for example, the skins derive from animals held primarily for meat to avoid polluting animal husbandry. In addition to environmental criteria, producers must conform to social criteria based on the International Labour Organization's Fundamental Conventions.

Reference: International Association of Natural Textile Industry
Quality mark, developed by the German trade association Internationale Verband der Naturtextilwirtschaft (IVN), that certifies the environmentally and socially responsible manufacturing of organic textile products (clothes, toys, bedding, etc.). References include social criteria based on the International Labour Organization's Fundamental Conventions.

Reference: International Association of Natural Textile Industry
Introduced in 1991, NF Environnement is an official French ecolabel awarded by AFNOR that guarantees the environmental performance of a product through compliance with standards and through limitations on its environmental impact throughout its life cycle, i.e. from manufacture to disposal.

NF certification is based on rigorous standards developed in collaboration with all the stakeholders concerned: manufacturers, service providers, professional organisations, consumer associations, public authorities, technical inspection bodies, etc.

Reference: NF
Publication by a company of information on its social and environmental impact, and corporate governance. Also known as sustainability reporting, it is a key element of corporate social responsibility vis-à-vis stakeholders, citizens and the State.

European Directive 2014/95/EU of October 22, 2017 on the disclosure of non-financial and diversity information by certain large undertakings and groups has been transposed into French law.

Articles R. 225-104 and R. 22-10-29 of the French Code of Commerce require companies to produce non-financial reporting under certain conditions of balance-sheet total, earnings and number of employees:

• Listed companies with a balance-sheet total of 20 million euros or net earnings of 40 million euros and an average of 500 employees during the financial year.

• Non-listed companies with a balance-sheet total or net earnings of 100 million euros and an average of 500 employees.

Reference: French Ministry of Ecology
A natural resource that is consumed faster than it can be naturally renewed.

Non-renewable resources are primarily ores (silver, copper, iron, etc.), minerals (clay, limestone, silica, etc.), fossil fuels (coal, gas, oil, peat) and fossil water.

Reference: French General Commission for Sustainable Development
Official ecolabel of the nordic countries (Iceland, Finland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway). The Nordic Swan mark guarantees that certified products have a limited impact on the environment, based on a life cycle assessment combined with a global objective to reduce environmental impact.

Reference: Nordic Ecolabel
Synthetic fibre of the polyamide family, made from petroleum. There are several types of nylon, according to the constituent polymers. The most common are Nylon 6 and Nylon 6.6.

As with other conventional synthetic fibres, nylon production poses a number of problems in terms of sustainable development: use of non-renewable fossil resources as feedstock, carbon emissions and consumption of chemicals, energy and water. Nylon is not biodegradable and, when washed, releases plastic microfibres which present a significant risk to human and environmental health.

Nylon 6 can be recycled via a closed-loop chemical process that enables unlimited re-polymerisation without impacting quality. Bio-sourced nylon (from castor oil) is another, more sustainable alternative to conventional nylon.

References: 
Condé Nast - The Sustainable Fashion Glossary
Black, S. (2011). Eco-Chic: The Fashion Paradox. London: Black Dog Publishing.
Gullingsrud, A. (2017). Fashion Fibers: Designing for Sustainability. London: Bloomsbury.
Fletcher, K. (2014). Sustainable Fashion & Textiles: Design Journeys. Abingdon: Routledge.
MISTRA Future Fashion (2019). Environmental impact of textile fibers – what we know and what we don’t know. The Fiber Bible Part 2.
MISTRA Future Fashion (2019). Possible sustainable fibers on the market and their technical properties. The Fiber Bible Part 1.