Inflation and a growing awareness of ecological issues are having an increasing impact on our buying behavior. Consumer habits are evolving and all sectors, including lingerie, need to find solutions to offer more sustainable products. The Fédération de la Maille, de la Lingerie et du Balnéaire was at the Salon International de la Lingerie to discuss these issues with Margaux Plus, co-founder of Abracadabra Lingerie.

Consumption patterns are evolving

“In a difficult economic climate, people are saving more and spending less.” Says federation member Olena Kokov. “These habits are likely to last overtime, so we need to think about the durability of products, and about what new services and technological innovations the sector can offer.” According to an Institut Français de la Mode study, 68% of consumers have already seen their habits impacted by inflation, now turning to cheaper products or simply reducing their purchases. In this context, how can a virtuous and circular economy be fostered, while benefiting both the sector and its consumers ?

Mending for longevity

For Margaux Plus, mending was an obvious choice. She co-founded Abracadabra Lingerie, the first platform dedicated to this type of service, which also offers second-hand lingerie. “It’s a responsible alternative, she says, because we don’t produce new materials and we offer quality at affordable prices.” With seamstresses trained both in repairing and refurbishing second-hand products, the platform guarantees a long life for the products that it handles.

The idea was born of a simple observation: “We all have damaged bras, or ones that are too small and that we don’t know what to do with. Many women also have a favorite bra that they don’t want to throw away once it starts to age.” Abracadabra offers to collect and repair them, and to put back into circulation the ones that consumers no longer want. Everything is monitored and appraised to ensure that the repaired lingerie offers as good a support as a new product would. Abracadabra also offers B2B services to repair flawed brand stocks – a way of extending its approach to the entire industry.

A shift in the market

« Mending is not just a service trend, it’s a real CSR approach.” Says Sterenn Lerède of the Fédaration de la Maille, de la Lingerie et du Balnéaire. “Each mended piece can extend its lifespan while reducing its carbon footprint and limiting the use of new resources. This also benefits the legal conformity guarantee, which can be extended by two years.”

This is also a significant advance on the road to eco-design, that allows a better identification of a product’s flows and how to tackle them in the future. A virtuous circle that, in time, could well transform the market. The “Repair Bonus” is a good example of that. A program created by eco-organization Re-Fashion, it finances part of consumer’s clothes reparation via a network of certified professionals. Considered too technically complex, lingerie was first excluded from the program, but should soon be included, further broadening the sector’s prospects for a more virtuous system. One that could benefit its players as well as consumers.