Why Sustainable Fashion Matters
Earth Conscious Clothing
An interview with the founder of une forme
“To me, sustainability means that the present does not compromise the future. For this to be the case with a fashion brand, you have to produce lasting pieces, that have little to no waste, and support your community.”
When making the decision to be more earth-conscious and sustainable in everyday life. One of the first places we can start is our closet. As consumers, it’s up to us to choose how we want the future of fashion to look. It's in our dollar that contributes to ethical labor practices. To earth-conscious fabrics. And supporting small businesses in our local community.
It's in this shift of how we opt to shop that we're impacting the future of our planet. Along with the future of consumerism.
I had the wonderful opportunity to chat with Jennifer—the founder of the Los Angeles-based clothing brand Une Forme. She’s also a supportive member of the Coincide Community and I could not be more excited to share more about her brand.
It's companies like Une Forme paving the way for a different kind of closet. Her sustainable linen clothing collection is minimalist and inspires a thoughtful capsule wardrobe. Below she shares her thoughts on sustainability and the future of Une Forme.
To begin, I would love to hear the story and learn about your inspiration for starting Une Forme?
I’ve always had a love for the arts, fashion, architecture, so it was difficult to decide what I wanted to be when I “grew up”, I mean, do we ever grow up? Nonetheless, I became an interior designer, and for nearly twenty years, I never stopped working, creating, building, and then… I had my son. Suddenly my busy world stopped. I breathed.
My life became about him, and how to simplify every day in order to have more time. I wanted effortless style and comfort, pieces that just went together. As my search returned with no results, I thought, is this my next thing? I had made my own clothes by mixing patterns in the past, but this was a bit more complicated, so I found a seamstress, and we went to work.
During the process, I realized how detrimental fashion is to the environment. Knowing I wanted to create the best future for my son, I decided I must do everything I could to make the brand better for the earth.
As it turned out, sustainable linen worked beautifully for the styles, and the idea of mixing and matching was already an eco-concept.
“During the process, I realized how detrimental fashion is to the environment. Knowing I wanted to create the best future for my son, I decided I must do everything I could to make the brand better for the earth. ”
Then I made the pieces reverse and have multiple purposes, and the first collection was born — eight pieces, two colors, that combined for over twenty-five looks. Of course, I have edited it a bit since then, but the concept still remains, and Une Forme continues to grow with that focus.
Can you share more about how linen is made and why it’s a more sustainable fabric?
Linen is actually made from flax — and the beauty of flax is it not only grows in drier climates, but it also takes little to no excess water to grow. In addition, the process of turning flax to linen uses only the flax, and its entirety, so it is biodegradable and there is no waste. It’s also a very strong fiber, so it will last a long time.
I always ask sustainable brands to define sustainability—can you share how you describe it in your own words?
To me, sustainability means that the present does not compromise the future. For this to be the case with a fashion brand, you have to produce lasting pieces, that have little to no waste, and support your community.
Une Forme’s pieces are timeless silhouettes made from long-lasting, biodegradable linen. Our pieces are produced in small batches, to better control supply and demand, and either handmade or factory produced ethically in Los Angeles, California.
What challenges have you faced in creating sustainable clothing?
Creating sustainable clothing is more expensive. Not only the fabric but also the labor to produce it.
Producing sustainably also means locally and ethically, and in the end, that is what the customer is paying for. It’s challenging to exist in a world of fast and inexpensive fashion, but the consumer is changing, and understanding that they can not only feel good in, but also about what they wear.
You have some wonderful waste-reducing initiatives for recycling your clothing, what does that process look like?
We all love new clothes, and I am in the business of selling them, so I would be lying if I said I didn’t want you to shop! However, we want to make that process less wasteful. We have created the reNEW collection — it takes pieces that didn’t sell as well as we had hoped, and turns them into new styles.
We also intentionally add new styles and colors to the collection that coordinate with the previous collections, so that you can breathe new life into your older pieces and continue building your wardrobe.
As a way to reduce your carbon footprint your customers go through a unique return process, can you share more about how that program works?
Yes! It is so exciting. Last year, we partnered with greenlist™, a first-of-its-kind approach to returns. Greenlist reduces carbon emissions, packaging materials, and warehousing space and energy needed to process each return.
Basically, if a customer would like to return a Une Forme item that you wanted to purchase, we send it directly to you and discount you the savings. On our site, you can click on the link in the footer, fill out the Typeform with the item you are interested in, and then you will be notified when the piece is available.
Are there any notably rewarding moments you can share since starting Une Forme?
When you create something, you never know what the reaction will be. That is exciting, but also terrifying! I will never forget the first time I saw someone in Une Forme, and now, every time. It always surprises me how clothing takes on the personality of the individual. It could be the minimalist style, but it really allows you to focus on the person wearing it. I love that. It was really surprising — and also the most rewarding.
What plans do you have for continuing to spread the word of sustainable fashion and the future of Une Forme?
Well, we love collaborating with sustainability advocates like you, Courtney! I can’t thank you enough for your support and this opportunity to share with your community.
I’m also starting to collaborate with other sustainable brands that offer accessories or home goods that are aligned with our style to bring our communities together and live a more sustainable lifestyle. I also look forward to entering the retail space either through more pop-ups or wholesale.
Because we are a small business and not able to market ourselves like the big brands, I encourage the community to share the Une Forme story and products with their friends, family, favorite publications, and boutiques.
Spread the word to spread the love.
