Le t-shirt Propre : Create your brand by promoting French know-how, without large volumes at the launch of the activity

On the occasion of the release of the GreenyBirdDress Textile Strategic Watch (if you are not yet a member, it’s free and here), we will propose a series of ITWs of actors of the textile sector, who are struggling every day to accelerate the ecological transition of this industry. The objective is twofold: to help each other with questions about textiles, sourcing and ecology. And also a source of motivation, because as you will see in the interviews (ITW), everything is possible with determination and perseverance.

ITW #1 Le t-shirt Propre X Greeny Bird Dress – JUNE 2020

The first ITW will be with Fabien, co-founder of the brand Le t-shirt Propre since 2016. He gave us a moment to learn a bit more about the major difficulties he encountered during the rise of his brand, and how he was able to rise above these difficulties. The angles of quality, sustainability and traceability will be discussed.

[Greeny Bird Dress]: How do you recognise the quality of a fabric when you are starting out?

[The Clean T-Shirt]: At the beginning, creating the brand with these sustainable ambitions was about learning a lot about the materials and the product and that’s the biggest difficulty. You have to educate yourself, to understand and know the different qualities possible, so you know what you want. Going into negotiations with suppliers without knowing what you are looking for will not lead to anything.

[GBD] : What were the major obstacles in creating the brand?

[Le t-shirt Propre] : When you try to create a fashion brand, without technical skills and without a network, the mission becomes a real challenge ! But then, finding experts is not an easy task, the suppliers don’t necessarily have websites, and there are few of them in Aveyron (region of our friends of the brand Le t-shirt Propre).And the matter is even more complicated when the language between the manufacturers and the creators of the brand is not the same.

1. Indeed, one (the supplier) talks about market price, quality/price ratio, comparison to Asian and low cost fabric on the market.
2. The other (The Clean T-shirt) talks about quality, product performance, eco-responsibility.

It took some time to find suppliers who were sensitive to the ethical and sustainable discourse of the brand and its approach. Once these partnerships were found, MOQs were never a real problem, although this is a frequent problem in sourcing. As soon as the supplier accepted the challenge of increasing the life span of the T-shirt with the brand, the challenge was taken up as well as the sustainable partnership, for a more ecological and environmentally friendly World.

[GBD] : What book would you recommend to readers ?

[The Clean Shirt] : The Blue Economy 3.0 by the economist Gunter Pauli

Gunter Pauli, creator of the “blue economy” concept, which draws inspiration from natural ecosystems to solve the economic, social and ecological crises. For entrepreneur Gunter Pauli, it is possible to revolutionise our consumption and production methods while protecting nature. His business model? Nature itself! Observing natural phenomena, understanding how they work and imitating them in order to learn to better cultivate and consume what our planet already produces are indeed the key to our future. And it works! Creator of the innovative concept of “blue economy”, Gunter Pauli gives hundreds of examples of initiatives that create without waste, generate jobs, and go beyond preservation or conservation, because the blue economy does not recycle, it regenerates.

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We’re testing the Clean T-shirt’s linen shirt!

Known for its organic cotton tee-shirt, it has developed a new linen tee-shirt for men, women and children. We decided to test it and we tell you more!

The linen T-shirt made in Europe :

The raw material is linen. Linen is cultivated in France, more specifically in Normandy and in the Hauts de France, which allows an eco-responsible culture thanks to its climate. There is no artificial irrigation or chemical fertilizers. The next step is scutching, which is an operation that separates the fibres from the wood. The particularity of flax is that nothing is thrown away. This stage is also done in France, more precisely in the Somme. After scutching comes the spinning, currently in France, there is no spinning. The Clean T-shirt has chosen to go as close as possible to limit its environmental impact due to transport. It is therefore in Poland that the linen thread is made. After spinning, the next step is knitting, which takes place less than 30 km from the flax fields to the knitter. The dyeing is done in the Loire with Oeko-Tex certification, which proves that no harmful chemicals are used. Finally, the garments are made in Aveyron with 6 seamstresses who work in an artisanal way and not on a production line.

What’s more, their label is made in France. It is an imitation leather label made from recycled paper. Their label is therefore 100% Vegan and recycled.

The next step :

The next project of the brand Le T-Shirt Propre is the polo shirt. They are currently working on it to be able to offer it in September/October.

Our opinion on the linen t-shirt :

At Greeny Bird Dress, we tested the Kaki Linen T-shirt for women. Laurine’s opinion, our sales assistant: “I think the cut is feminine, it’s a basic piece but thanks to the shape of the collar and the way it falls, it’s immediately more dressy. The linen material is light, fresh and very comfortable to wear. The fabric is light, fresh and very comfortable to wear. After several washes and wears, there is no pilling or other inconveniences, I recommend it!”

And the opinion of Caroline, director of Greeny Bird Dress: “The material is very soft and fluffy. The colour is quite bright. The finishing touches are good and the little LTP logo is very discreet. Finally, the cut is very modern for a classic of our wardrobe, the chic effect is nice, especially for the comfort that the T-shirt brings: it regulates when I’m cold and evacuates the heat on the contrary, when I’m hot (linen 🙂 ). Finally, linen does not retain odours, and therefore allows me to limit machine washing. Thank you LTP for this product.”

If you are tempted by the brand, you should know that they offer prices when you buy two t-shirts you with -10% and three you have -15%. The advantage is that you can treat yourself but also the whole family because the offer goes for all categories. The brand is offering this deal because it saves money on delivery and order preparation and wants you to benefit from it.

If you want to see how this brand communicates its work, it’s here

If you want to visit the e-shop of the brand and promote French know-how, by having a quality product: Le t-shirt Propre

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