Under the leadership of Creative Director Gabriela Hearst, Chloé continues to lead the Parisian fashion industry's shift towards environmental solutions. The latest of its creation, it was inspired by research into fossil-free fusion energy for the creation of her spring-summer collection, presented this fall.
When elaborating its 2023 SS collection, the Chloé team was guided by researchers working on the ITER project, an ambitious network of 35 countries that are building a nuclear fusion reactor in France that would pave the way for the development of power plants on a commercial level.
The setup of this machine, the Tokamak inspired Chloé in its designs, which presented a commitment to layering, cashmere dresses, and low impact materials, which were woven into textured linen tailoring.
Chloé Uses Low-Impact Materials as a Conscious B Corp Brand
The brand takes the use of sourcing sustainable and low-impact materials for its products very seriously. It uses GOTS-certified cotton, and leather from Leather Working Group-certified tanneries, as well as using recycled fabrics that carry Global Recycled Standard certification. However, B Corp is the most rigorous and demanding, requiring brands to answer 300 questions about their social and environmental impact.
In addition to the technological references in accessories, with shoes with metallic platforms and rope braiding, the firm once again boasted of its artisanal adventures in trying to use sustainable materials: sneakers made with low-impact products, jeans made from 87% recycled cotton and hay, finished with a laser wash to reduce the use of water.
In its previous collection, that of autumn-winter 2022/2023, the luxury fashion house focused on the reimplantation of disappeared animal species, and this time it was on ITER's nuclear fusion, with systems that seek to recreate the process by which the energy of the sun and stars is produced.
B Corp Certification: What it is and Why Chloé is the First Luxury Brand to Achieve it
In order to recognize this capacity of companies to contribute to solving social and environmental problems, the B Corp certification was created, the most demanding and rigorous distinction that Chloé has just obtained.
The company headed by Gabriela Hearst has become the first luxury brand to achieve this certification, which highlights its efforts to reduce its environmental impact when manufacturing the different collections it produces each year.
Chloé was in fact the first luxury fashion brand to receive this recognition. To earn the distinction, brands must answer 300 questions and score at least 80 points. Of the 100,000 brands assessed, only 3,500 have passed the cut-off.
The B Corp requires firms to answer 300 questions related to their social and environmental impact. The answers are graded by a score and to achieve the distinction, at least 80 points must be obtained. It should be noted that of the 100,000 brands that have been assessed, only 3,500 have made the cut.
To receive certification, businesses have to achieve a verified score on the B Impact Assessment, which evaluates the brands’ impact on their workers, customers, community, and environment. B Corporation’s ranking system allows for brands to improve their ethical standards, however, it’s worth mentioning that carrying this certification alone doesn’t mean that a clothing brand is “sustainable”.
To do so, it uses the B Impact Assessment: an online, free and confidential tool that evaluates the positive impact that companies generate on workers, the community, the environment, and customers. To ensure that this impact is real and to establish incentives for continuous improvement, B Corp companies meet rigorous transparency and legal accountability requirements and undergo a re-evaluation every three years.