Outsider go sustainable fabric sourcing in Paris
Posted on February 18, 2015 by Noorin Khamisani | 0 commentsLast Tuesday morning we were up bright and early for the trip to Paris for two important overlapping events in the fabric buying calendar - Texworld and Premiere Vision.
Both shows represent a great chance to identify and meet the textile producers we would like to work with over the coming year.
Texworld
Texworld. It’s the smaller of the two, about 100 stands in one football-pitch sized hall at Le Bourget on the north-eastern edge of the city.
Our lives were made a bit easier by the fact that each company with sustainable or ecological credentials had a green leaf printed on their stand sign. Texworld provided some great leads and we left feeling that the trip would have been worth making for this event alone.
Premier Vision
The next day we made the short trip to Charles De Gaulle airport for Premier Vision. Walking in the main entrance took our breath away as it’s about 10 times the size of Texworld with what seemed like 20 times the number of people.
We had a shopping list of around two dozen stands to visit but we also stumbled across another four or five that we liked and will probably order from.
For companies that we have dealt with in the past, we knew we would order before we entered the stand. On other occasions we were swayed as we were sitting at a table touching the fabric, while the mill owner enthusiastically described how the fabric was made, while also stating their environmental credentials. We were invited to a few mills to see for ourselves which we will also follow up on.
Premier Vision left us elated, overwhelmed and exhausted. We would have liked to stay for longer but our feet weren’t up to the task. An extra day there would have been perfect but we have more than enough to be getting on with for this year.
The main result of the trip was that it's focused our attention on the next collection. We found an exciting array of sustainable fabric options, including organic cottons, organic linen, modal, cupro and tencel/lyocell blends. The fabrics we touched and fell in love with will arrive in sample form in the coming days. We will then decide which ones to order.
Our new designs are taking shape. Watch this space as new pieces will start appearing on the website and in shops near you from April.
Outsider. The home of sustainable and ethical fashion since 2009.
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