Podcast: Laure Betsch of Fairly Made unpacks sustainable fashion challenges

By

Emma RUFFENACH

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Feb 3, 2023

Laure Betsch, the latest guest in the LuxurynsightXFashionNetwork podcast series, is the co-founder of Fairly Made, a Parisian start-up founded in May 2018 which helps fashion companies become more sustainable and environmentally friendly. Talking (in French) to Olivier Guyot, editor-in-chief France of FashionNetwork.com, Betsch assesses the contemporary fashion landscape and the challenges labels are faced with to become more sustainable and responsible. 

Betsch, a graduate of Parisian management school IESEG, teamed up with high-school friend Camille Le Gal to jointly set up Fairly Made, with the goal of “helping labels create collections that are both attractive and sustainable.” Fairly Made is based in Paris in sustainable fashion incubator La Caserne, and is a green tech company that advocates a more environmentally friendly fashion, with sustainability its driving principle.

“Gradually, we realised that we ought to be able to scale up [our] methodology and help brands measure the impact of their products, so that they in turn could be able to tap this methodology and produce less polluting clothes,” said Betsch. 

Traceability, fashion’s future goal

The software-as-a-service platform developed by Fairly Made, which ​last October raised €5 million from investors ETF Partners and Le Fonds by French Founders, enables textile companies and fashion labels to measure their products’ environmental and social impact, helping them develop more virtuous alternatives to improve their supply chain. 

A solution that chimes with the new anti-waste law in force in France since January 1 2023, which requires major brands (those with a revenue in excess of €50 million) to indicate on their labels in which country the various stages of their products’ manufacturing process have taken place.

Fairly Made has adopted ‘benefit corporation’ status and is currently working with some 40 clients, including fashion labels like Des Petits Hauts and groups like SMCP and LVMH, helping them transition towards more sustainable fashion collections.

According to Betsch, value chain traceability, transparency in sourcing practices and establishing a relationship of trust with suppliers are the key steps that will allow labels to avoid blurry notions of sustainability verging on greenwashing.