Sustainable Underwear and Chantelle Lingerie
The French lingerie group Chantelle, parent to 5 brands in the UK, Chantelle, Passionata, Femilet, Chantelle Soft Stretch and Chantelle X and 8 globally has set lofty goals for itself in terms of sustainability. This heritage brand knows that it can’t rest on its laurels and needs to push forward in order to keep up with the demands of a more ecologically and socially aware customer.
Chantelle Launched Its First Eco-Responsible Collection, Motif in Spring 2020
Manufactured with up to 70% recycled fabrics, Chantelle’s first sustainable collection, Motif, was made from fibers produced by re-purposing unused materials, which limited environmental impact and preserved the quality of the garment. Materials such as tulle, lace, mesh and elastic were made of recycled polyester yarn that are composed of leftover material from production. This collection was certified by Oeko-Tex® to ensure the best level of quality and safety to customers. The lace used in this collection came from a Bluesign® certified lace supplier. Additionally, suppliers were GRS (Global Recycled Standard) certified. Chantelle was committed to reducing their impact on the planet and progressing towards a positive environmental footprint while still maintaining our standards of quality, comfort and safety of their products. It was the first step towards a more sustainable fashion future.
Setting targets for sustainable underwear
Chantelle have also looked at their carbon footprint, swapping to only energy efficient LED lights in it’s French HQ and own stores plus moving to 100% organic cotton and recyclable packaging in 2021. The same year the company aimed for a “zero destruction” rate on its unsold products.
Chantelle unveiled the world’s first 100% recyclable bra, CHANTELLE ONE in spring 2021
Being a leader in the circular economy by rethinking lingerie design is the goal Chantelle had set for itself with the launch of Chantelle One. This new style placed sustainability at the heart of Chantelle’s strategy and created the first 100% recycled and recyclable lingerie lines, with a true circular and virtuous economic model.
One bra is currently only available for pre-order directly to consumers in France and its hoped will roll-out to wholesale in more markets in the future.
All the bra materials are made from a single polymer, a revolutionary elastic fibre. Designed without solvents, it replaces the Elastane and allows it to be mixed with other fibres such as lace or tulle; the elastic yarn no longer needs to be mechanically separated from the material, resulting in a bra that is recyclable and recycled in its entirety. After processing, the material can be used to make sturdy accessories such as underwire or clasps for new bras.
Despite having on average 10 bras, women only wear three regularly. Going one step further, Chantelle answers this desire for simplicity by offering three subscription programs which give customers the possibility of exchanging their used bras for a new one. Produced to order in the Group’s historic factory in Epernay, in order to control production and limit waste, the Chantelle One bra is currently only available for pre-order directly to consumers in France and its hoped will roll-out to wholesale in more markets in the future.
Sustainable Underwear, 2022 and beyond
The AW22 collection shows how much further the company has gone bearing in mind in 2020 it produced only 1 Eco-Design range, now in the current collection, there are now 4 partially and 12 fully Eco Designed ranges available such as Smooth Lines and True Lace (Chantelle), Chantelle Life Period Pants, Marta and Thelma (Passionata), Floral Touch (Femilet) all available or coming soon to Mysmartypants. By 2025 Chantelle intends for 70% of its collections to be all Eco Designed. The company also aims to reduce its energy consumption by 40% across all its manufacturing plants by 2030.
“Sustainability is important to Chantelle because we are a family business that has always cared about the next generation....Given the accelerating challenges facing our climate today, we have made sustainability concerns central to all our activities.” - Guillaume Krez, deputy General Manager of Chantelle.