Luxury and sustainable development: A closeup of the new responsible materials

If luxury houses seek to, in essence, offer pieces capable of transcending style through their quality and timelessness, the environmental challenges, like the management of waste, pollution and water, endure. It's therefore natural that for the last few years, the sector has been oriented towards sustainable materials, trying to find alternatives to cotton, leather and synthetic materials. Zoom in on several of these brands.

Biopolymers, or textiles components made from renewable organic material, are biodegradable alternatives to classic fossil components. Used as a half-synthetic, half-biodegradable (mixed) raw material or as a component of other new materials, they represent a real advancement in the management of textile waste.

Cotton, while a natural fibre, requires a lot of water as well as chemical agents in order to be cultivated. The consumption of water and the pollution of soil are two black marks against the classic production of this material. However, certain organic-labelled cottons are made without chemicals and with a reduction in water usage during cultivation.

Another very promising alternative to classic cotton is plant fibre. It requires a technology that allows agricultural waste product to be turned into textile fibre. This innovation repurposes agricultural by-products like banana, pineapple or bamboo leaves. The real plus of this textile fibre, compared to traditional cotton, is that it does not require pesticides, fertilisers or irrigation.

And then, there's Lyocell! It's a material made from ground wood pulp that is chemically transformed. The advantages of this material are that it's 100% biodegradable; and that the water and chemicals used in its processing can be extracted and reused.

Recycling is a simple gesture for the environment that allows us to revalorise a material that was destined to be thrown out, to diminish pollution and to preserve natural resources. Synthetic materials like polyester are the materials most often recycled, but they're not the only ones! We can easily recycle natural materials like cork for the soles of shoes, for example! Extracted from the cork oak, it's a renewable and 100% organic material. The advantage of organic material is that it limits the spread of microplastics in our waste water.

At Printemps, our shoes are on the right foot! Recycled rubber, polyester and cork...there's something for everyone!

The material of our favourite it-bags, animal leather is a real subject of debate. Here again there are multiple alternatives. For mixed materials, we have AppleSkin and cactus leather. AppleSkin is a material made from industrial apple waste product! The waste is turned into powder and then mixed with synthetic materials. Cactus leather, another mixed faux leather, is made of cactus skin and synthetic materials. These leather alternatives allow for the production for a material with the same characteristics as leather.

But progress in terms of vegan leather goes even further! Mylo, made of mycelium, produced by fungi, is the first 100% biodegradable vegan leather. Totally vegan, it's cultivated in conditions that reproduce the ecosystems of the forest floor. Once harvested, the material is read to be tanned, dyed and finished just like a classic leather.

Tomorrow's materials are yesterday's. To revalorise existing fabrics, we can upcycle them! Upcycling, in fashion, is to give value to fabric scraps, dormant stock or old clothing!

partner brands Salut beauté and Marine Serre, precursors of upcycling, show how the future of fashion is not based only in new materials, but also in the reconditioning of existing materials.