Dream tomorrow

DREAM TOMORROW

We picture the future by looking ahead and around us.

We picture the future by looking ahead and around us.
It’s a matter of rethinking the materials we use, the ways we create and spoiling you. Changing our transport and logistics practices. Managing to reduce our impact throughout a product’s entire life cycle.

It is an approach that we are gradually developing and that we wanted to share with you from the outset, season after season.

In Product , Planet and People, you will find the concrete progress we're making in 2022 in all of these areas.

PRODUCT

WHAT DOES ECO-FRIENDLY MEAN?

What exactly does it mean to be eco-friendly? Natural, organic, biodegradable, recycled or upcycled materials, manufacturing conditions which produce less pollution, the limitation or elimination of toxic products, reduction of the carbon footprint, local production, zero waste design, or products made to last...

These are all areas in which we try to make improvements each season.

We should point out that, today, an item of clothing can be considered eco-friendly even if its composition includes very few certified eco-friendly elements.

We have decided to go even further. At Maje, an item of clothing is only considered eco-friendly if at least 50% of its composition is actually certified eco-friendly.

THE PROGRESS OF THE SUMMER 2022 COLLECTION

Today, our efforts are focused on the six most-used materials in ready-to-wear: denim, viscose, polyester, cotton, wool and leather. Each of these materials have their own eco friendly certifications, depending on the environmental challenges they create.

For the Summer 2022 collection, 44% of our ready-to-wear & accessories collection meets our eco-friendly criteria. Last season, we were at 43%. Our goal is to reach 50% by winter 2022 and be above 60% in 2025.

For three seasons, more than 90% of our denims are eco-wash certified.

As of 2020, all of our labels are now made from recycled polyester. For linings and fusible components that we occasionally use, we have achieved our goal of using 80% eco friendly materials. We want to reach 100% in the years to come.

For information: LWG Gold or Silver LWG Leather Working Group: a label that guarantees more eco-friendly processes. There are different levels of certification: Audited, Bronze, Silver and Gold. Gold is the highest level of certification (and therefore has the most demanding criteria).

Denims 96% are eco-wash certified

IEM score below 50.

Leather 100% of ready-to-wear collection is made from LWG Gold certified leather

For our leather products, we prioritize LWG Gold certified tanneries. 50% of our accessories are made from LWG Gold or Silver certified.

Cotton 44% were made of organic materials (GOTS or OCS) or recycled

Our alternative to cotton is recycled cotton or organic cotton. Whenever possible, we prioritize these 2 options.

Viscose 77% is FSC-certified

In the AW21 collection, 65% of our viscose met FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) standards and came from sustainably managed forests.

Polyester 53% of our polyester is recycled and GRS or RCS-certified

Our alternative to polyester is recycled polyester.

For AW21, 38% of our polyester was recycled.

We no longer use real animal fur in our collections, and all our fiber content labels have been made of recycled polyester for several seasons already.

Wool 30% of our wool products are made from recycled wool

Our alternative to wool is recycled wool.

WHAT ABOUT TRACEABILITY?

We are currently working with Fairly Made, a green tech start-up in France, on a traceability project which will be launched with the Summer 202 collection. From March, traceability information will be available on about 40 items on our e-Shops. By 2025 it will be extended to 100% of our collections in store.

This advance will allow our customers to have more information about the origins of our products, how they are manufactured and their impact on the environment. It will also be a valuable tool for analysing and improving our sourcing around the world.

AND OUR MANUFACTURERS?

The challenge here is to accelerate change by all of our partners. We work with them each season to develop their eco-friendly textile approach, to go over and above legal standards.

We make the most of the experience acquired by our most-advanced partners to develop good practices, in the tailoring and weaving workshops. The goal is to bring everyone together to focus on our effort to respect all of the strictest environmental standards in this regard: ISO 14001*, Bluesign*, OeKo Tex Step*.

*ISO 14001: ISO 14001 standard applies to any body that wishes to implement a system which respects the environment. Said body will be required to update its environmental policy in order to improve its performance in this regard and ensure compliance with the standard.

*Bluesign: an international label for textiles. It guarantees that no toxic substance has been used during production and fixes restrictive criteria regarding energy and water consumption.

*OeKo Tex Step: this certification is awarded to players in the textile industry who implement environmentally-friendly manufacturing processes and safe and socially-responsible working conditions.

PLANET

Together is better

In 2018, we launched a major systemic review of our carbon footprint. It was important to specifically identify our carbon emissions and how we could reduce them in each area.

A new study of our carbon footprint is currently underway and will enable us to gain some perspective on our progress over the past 4 years and to establish specific areas of progress for the coming years.

Each season, Maje is an actor for change, involving all its teams in this initiative. Here, everyone feels concerned. This commitment and collaboration drives us to go even further.

Progress in Summer 2022

We made a lot of progress in accelerating change in the Summer 2022 season.

We made progress with the collections but also everything surrounding the product, how it is shipped, how it is designed, the store environment. There are also new ways of contemplating the life cycle of a piece of clothing.

To finally eliminate single-use plastic

We have finally managed it! Starting from this season, the polybag packaging (the plastic which protects the clothes) is made from 100% recycled plastic.

For our hangers, there is still work to be done. Those in our stores are made from wood from eco-certified forests. As for the plastic hangers in our warehouses, we are looking for better alternatives and hope to have good news to share for next season. The e-shop packaging is also an issue. We are assessing new collections, contacting new partners to make quicker progress in achieving more eco-friendly packaging. Our recyclable shopping bags are made without plastic lamination and from wood from FSC-certified forests.

Fewer planes each season

This year, Covid has had a big impact on transport and has led to many delays in delivery. That is why, exceptionally, in some cases air transport has been favoured. Maje continues to do everything possible to achieve its objectives: fewer planes each season.

In 2021, we used 52% air transport, 27% maritime, 19% road and, finally, 1% rail.

In order to have a better understanding, you need to know that, on average, 600 grams of CO2 are emitted per tonne and per kilometre travelled. Trains only emit 22 grams and boats 3 grams.

The challenge, each season, is therefore to reduce the proportion of transport by plane in the era of fast fashion.

Each season, we have to optimise the timing of our deliveries, better anticipate our needs, in order to gradually reduce our dependence on planes.

There is no need for wastage, everything can be transformed. Let’s get frugal!

This season, we have developed our model, by making it a priority to anticipate the amount of fabric required and be responsive regarding manufactures in an effort to give you exactly what you want without wasting.

If certain already-created materials turn out not to be as popular as we had hoped, we either gift them to charities and fashion schools, or turn them into goodies and small, practical accessories. A way to give materials we don’t use a second life.

Spaces and stores: we are making progress here too

Redesigned stores

A lot of effort went into developing our store concepts while focusing on standards and environmentally friendly, certified, recycled and locally-sourced materials. This transformation of sales spaces is gradual. In this approach, we have recently inaugurated a new flagship store on rue Montmartre in Paris where we have chosen to manufacture less furniture and favor vintage furniture to encourage more responsible consumption.

In all of our stores, we opt for LED lighting which consumes much less energy. We are also replacing all of our air-conditioning systems so that they no longer use water running to waste and we are establishing partnerships so that our carbon emissions can be reprocessed effectively. All of our cleaning products are also eco-certified.

We are also reviewing the conditions in which our employees work in order to offer them workspaces adapted to new requirements.

In the heart of Paris, in the heart of Maje

This year, a new partnership with the waste management company Cèdre will enable us to recycle waste generated at the headquarters with greater solidarity by collaborating with a specialised company whose staff includes 65% of people with disabilities, but also by investing in a more circular economy, as the industries in charge of recycling waste are entirely French.

Our new Parisian headquarters have been granted the HQE (High Quality Environment Standard) label, having been awarded level 3 for “Excellent”. The design as well as the management of the renovation of the historical building in which we set up shop are all part of a sustainable development approach and effort to offer our employees improved comfort.

Let’s take things even further

Once you get a taste for commitment, you always want to do more. In 21 years of existence, Maje has played a major role in promoting causes close to its heart, along with the men and women fighting for them. This human commitment is continuing and being developed this season. New collaborations and new ways of contemplating the future are driving us to take action. All of our progress is detailed here: Maje People.

PEOPLE

Our discussions with our friends “Un cadeau pour la vie” helped us understand that the hands and faces of our healthcare workers were suffering from irritation related to use of masks and hydroalcoholic gel. We naturally though about Absolution, a French organic cosmetics brand with whom we had already collaborated at the start of the year, to offer healthcare workers natural and high quality skincare products.

In recent seasons, we have established multiple collaborations combining fashion and commitment with Jump, Absolution, 24Bottles, Vestiaire Collective. Various and varied projects, all related to our desire to go even further with our eco friendly actions.

An entire community

It is in our nature to get involved in causes that affect us. Sometimes far removed from the fashion world, in contact with several associations like Mécénat pour la chirurgie cardiaque, Women for Women International, The Red Cross and Amnesty International.

Because they are relentlessly working for causes that we deem to be essential, we have been following and supporting them for several years.

Dealing with Covid-19

In the emergency situation, it was necessary to take action quickly to find out how to help by leaning on our network and the people we have encountered.

As of January 2021, we have donated 100,000 euros of profits to two projects supported by Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

• A paediatric unit in Zahlé, Lebanon, where MSF is providing free emergency treatment and surgical care to children aged 28 days to 1 years, of any nationality.

• An oncology programme in Mali designed to improve access to care for women suffering from cervical and breast cancer.

We have increased our donations of clothing to the Red Cross, who have been our partners for many years, and to other international associations working in particular to promote the reintegration of women in the workplace and provide accommodation and support to abused women. We contacted the association “un cadeau pour la vie” to continue our work with them and distribute, with their help, games and toys to hospitalised children, particularly isolated during lockdown.

We also wanted to help healthcare workers. We supplied them with comfortable clothes and 23,000 mob caps made using our fabric stocks. We also joined forces with Lainière Santé, specialised in the manufacture of technical textiles, in order to produce 27,000 washable UNS1 masks for our sales teams and to be sold in our stores, with 100% of the profits going to charity.

After the manufacture of 12,000 FFP1 masks for care homes and other structures, we joined the “Masque solidaire” initiative and donated fabric for the manufacture of 15,000 masks intended for distribution free of charge at the tills in large supermarkets. We also had our teams manufacture 4 UFN masks internally for the “L’Elan Retrouvé” foundation’s psychiatric day hospital, which welcomes adults and children with psychiatric problems from difficult social backgrounds.

DREAM TOMORROW

We picture the future by looking ahead and around us.

PRODUCT

WHAT DOES ECO-FRIENDLY MEAN?

THE PROGRESS OF THE SUMMER 2022 COLLECTION

WHAT ABOUT TRACEABILITY?

PLANET

Together is better

Let’s take things even further

PEOPLE

An entire community

Dealing with Covid-19

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