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.
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  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.
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  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.
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  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)

Packaging and packaging material which the product’s end user (who separates the product from the packaging) discards. Packaging waste does not include waste from packaging manufacture. Packaging is any item used to contain goods, whether to facilitate shipment and storage or to present the goods for sale.

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Articles R. 543-42 to R. 543-52 of the French Environmental Code define requirements for the design and manufacture of packaging.

References:
Ademe
French Environmental Code
A legally binding international treaty on climate change that was adopted by 196 Parties at the COP 21 summit in Paris on December 12, 2015 and entered into force on November 4, 2016.

The goal of the Paris Agreement is to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius and preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius against pre-industrial levels. In order to achieve this long-term temperature goal, countries need to reach global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible, for a climate neutral world by mid-century.

Reference: United Nations
Substance used to repel or kill “unwanted” plants or animals (“pests”). There are multiple categories of pesticides, including herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, rodenticides, molluscicides and nematicides, in addition to plant growth regulators, defoliants and dessicants. Because of their low rate of degradation, pesticides can accumulate in the food chain and/or contaminate natural environments (a process known as bioaccumulation).

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Water, soil and air contamination by pesticides is a serious problem. The toxic substances contained in pesticides represent an inherent risk for the non-targeted organisms exposed to them and for ecosystems in general.

References:
Pesticide Action Network
French Ministry of Ecology
Awarded by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to highlight clothing, accessories, furniture and home decor items made of vegan alternatives to animal-derived materials such as leather, fur, silk, feathers and bone.

Reference: PETA
A space within which humanity can continue to thrive in a safe and sustainable ecosystem, without the risk of generating abrupt or unforeseeable environmental change.

The concept is based on nine biophysical processes which collectively regulate the planet’s stability: climate change, biodiversity loss, ocean acidification, ozone depletion, atmospheric aerosol pollution, freshwater use, biogeochemical flows of nitrogen and phosphorus, land-system change and release of novel chemicals.

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The concept follows on from the work of the Club of Rome (Meadows et al., 1972) and was made public in 2009 with the publication, in Nature and in Ecology and Society, of a paper by an international team of 26 research scientists, led by Johan Rockström from the Stockholm Resilience Centre and Will Steffen from the Australian National University.

References:
Stockholm Resilience Center
French General Commission for Sustainable Development
A short lifespan that is built into an appliance by the manufacturer in order to oblige consumers to buy a replacement product or upgrade to a newer version.

In France, an anti-waste law (Loi AGEC) passed in 2020 includes measures to counter planned obsolescence:
• Certain product categories must display a repairability index and, in the longer term, a sustainability index
• Manufacturers must make it easier to have products repaired, preferably using replacement parts from the circular economy
• Consumers must be given information on software compatibility
• Introduction of a scheme to subsidise the cost of repairs

References:
French Ministry of Ecology
French Law n° 2015-992 "Loi relative à la transition énergétique pour la croissance verte"
The party responsible for pollution must bear the financial cost of preventing, reducing or managing that pollution or other environmental damage. The polluter pays principle is embedded in environmental law.

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In France, the polluter pays principle is one of the four fundamental principles of the Loi Barnier (1995), alongside the prevention principle, the precautionary principle and the principle of public participation (article L110-1 of the French Environmental Code).

References: 
FranceTerme
Article L.110-1 - French Environmental Code
European Directive 2000/60/CE of October 23, 2000 defines pollution as “the direct or indirect introduction, as a result of human activity, of substances or heat into the air, water or land which may be harmful to human health or the quality of aquatic ecosystems or terrestrial ecosystems, which result in damage to material property, or which impair or interfere with amenities and other legitimate uses of the environment”. A pollutant is defined as “any substance liable to cause pollution, in particular those listed in Annex VIII.”

Reference: Directive 2000/60/EC establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy
Various types of synthetic fibre made from coal or petroleum, the best-known being nylon.

Like other conventional synthetic fibres, polyamides raise environmental issues associated with the use of non-renewable fossil resources as feedstock, carbon emissions during production, and chemical, energy and water consumption. Synthetic fibres release microplastics and, because they are not biodegradable, require solutions for end-of-life disposal.

Recycled alternatives to virgin polyamide include EcoNyl and Q-Nova.

References: 
The Good Goods
Kering Standards
Polyvinyl chloride, commonly known as PVC, is a synthetic polymer of plastic.

It is a potential threat to health and the environment due to the chlorinated by-products (including dioxins) that are released during production or when products containing PVC are burned. Chlorine byproducts are carcinogenic and extremely dangerous to human health and the environment, and to wildlife more broadly.

Reference: Kering Standards
Synthetic fibre resulting from the condensation (esterification) of two petroleum by-products: terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol.

According to Textile Exchange’s 2021 Preferred Fiber & Materials Report, polyester is the world’s most used fibre, accounting for 52% of the fibres market in 2020.

Polyester production is dependent upon non-renewable resources and consumes large amounts of energy. Polyester has increasingly been linked to microfibre pollution – particularly microplastics, which endanger marine life and pose serious risks to human and environmental health.

More responsible alternatives to conventional polyester include recycled and bio-sourced polyesters, although these too are responsible for microfibre pollution.

References:
The Good Goods
Textile Exchange (2021) Preferred Fiber & Materials Report
Fédération de Maille, Lingerie et Balnéaire
Mistra (2019) Environmental impact of textile fibers - Part 2
ISO 14021 defines post-consumer material as “material generated by households or by commercial, industrial and institutional facilities in their role as end-users of the product which can no longer be used for its intended purpose. This includes returns of material from the distribution chain”.

In the textile sector, post-consumer material refers to all of the clothing, household linen and footwear produced by households.

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Outcomes of collected textiles and footwear in France:
• Reuse – 57,9%
• Recycling – 31.2%
• Solid recovered fuel – 8.7%
• Disposal with energy recovery – 0.6%
• Disposal – 0.7%

References:
ISO 14021 - Environmental labels and declarations
Refashion (2022) Activity Report 2021
Refashion - Lexique
See: Post-consumer material
Waste generated at any stage prior to sale. ISO 14021 defines pre-consumer material as “material diverted from the waste stream during a manufacturing process. Excluded is reutilization of materials such as rework, regrind or scrap generated in a process and capable of being reclaimed within the same process that generated it”.

In the textile sector, this corresponds to production waste, unsaleable faulty or substandard products, and overstock.

In a circular economy, waste is considered a resource and referred to as pre-consumer material.

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On a global scale, it is estimated that a quarter of the textile industry’s resources ends up as waste every year. Over half of this is yarn waste (Pulse of the Fashion Industry - 2018).

References: 
ISO 14021:1999 - Environmental labels and declarations
Mode responsable le guide pour agir (2019) Alliance du Commerce
See: pre-consumer material
Whenever there is a risk of serious or irreversible damage to the environment, even when cause and effect has not been scientifically established, public authorities must implement a risk assessment procedure and adopt temporary measures that are commensurate with the risk in question.

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The precautionary principle was first codified in principle 15 of the Rio Declaration (1992). It states that “in order to protect the environment, the precautionary approach shall be widely applied by States according to their capabilities. Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation”.

References:
French Ministry of Culture
Global Compact
Defined by article L.110-1 of the French Environmental Code as “the prevention and rectification of environmental damage, whenever possible at source, using the best available technology at an economically acceptable cost in order to prevent damage to biodiversity and the services it provides or, when this is not possible, to limit the scale of such damage. Lastly, to compensate for damage that could not be prevented or reduced, taking into account impacted species, natural habitats and ecological functionalities.”

Reference: Article L.110-1 - French Environmental Code
Measure of the environmental performance of a good or service throughout its life cycle, developed by the European Union. Its purpose is to provide reliable and comparable information and support a single market for green products within the EU.

Criteria cover 16 environmental impacts, including climate change, water, air and resources, land use and toxicity. Global methods are completed by specific Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCR) which enable comparisons of similar products or companies in similar sectors. PEFCR for apparel and footwear are currently at the draft stage.

Reference: European Commission
ISO 14040 defines product life cycle as "the consecutive and interlinked stages of a product system, from raw material acquisition or generation from natural resources to final disposal". Life cycle assessment measures the environmental impacts of a product or service during its life cycle.

See also: Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

Reference: ISO 14040 - Environmental management — Life cycle assessment
In a 2012 report, the French Agency for Ecological Transition (ADEME) defined four key aspects of product lifespan. They are:

• Service life: average length of time during which a product continues to function, measured in test conditions;
• Duration of use: length of time during which is product is in working condition and ready for use;
• Possession span: total length of time a product is owned by all users;
• Age: time between the date a product is fully finished and the date it is destroyed, recycled or recovered for energy.

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Because it prevents waste, product life extension is a key factor of the circular economy. French law n° 2015-992 of August 17, 2015 on energy transition for green growth introduced measures against planned obsolescence and promotes extended duration of use through enhanced consumer information.

References:
French Ministry of Ecology
Ademe (2016) Allongement de la durée de vie des produits
International certification scheme for sustainable forest management. Applied to a wood or wood-based product (including paper and cardboard), PEFC certification guarantees that:

• the forest owner who grew the wood and the forest manager who harvested and transported the wood implemented PEFC sustainable forest management practices;
• that all the companies which processed and marketed the wood complied with PEFC chain of custody rules.

Reference: PEFC