Paris Good Fashion urges clearer sustainability claims, healthier clothing focus

The loudest message from Paris Good Fashion’s latest consultation was not about another green badge. It was about trust: shoppers want to know whether a garment is well made, durable and safe to wear, and too often the answer is buried under vague sustainability language.

Presented on June 10 at the Institut Français de la Mode in Paris’s 13th arrondissement, the second consultation asked one pointed question: How to inspire people to dress ethically and sustainably? Paris Good Fashion and Make.org said the exercise ran from February 18 to April 16 and drew 168,000 participants across four countries, with 480,000 votes on 1,449 validated proposals. Make.org’s results page listed 38,149 participants, 1,680 proposals and 481,156 votes. However the tally is sliced, the direction is hard to miss: consumers are not begging brands for more virtue signaling, they are asking for better proof at the point of purchase.

That proof is where fashion still looks sloppy. The consultation highlighted rising concern about PFAS, along with a demand for clearer definitions around fashion claims and better communication from both brands and policymakers. In plain terms, shoppers want to know what a label actually means, what a fabric is treated with, how long it will last, and whether it earns a place in a crowded wardrobe. A slogan about responsibility does nothing if the waistband twists after three washes or the waterproof finish raises fresh health questions.

The timing matters. France published Decree No. 2025-1376 on December 30, 2025, and industry summaries say the country’s PFAS restrictions entered into force at the start of 2026 for consumer textiles and related waterproofing applications, with some exceptions for industrial or critical uses. That gives the market a sharp new backdrop: if regulators are tightening on persistent chemicals, brands cannot keep leaning on vague “clean” language and hope shoppers will fill in the blanks themselves.

The coalition behind the consultation included Etam Groupe, Galeries Lafayette, Groupe Eram, Karla Otto, Kiabi, Lacoste, Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche, Printemps and SMCP, a roster that spans mass market, department store and luxury. Paris Good Fashion said its first consultation in 2020 brought in more than 107,000 participants, 3,319 proposals and 467,733 votes, and helped push secondhand, eco-design, hanger and polybag reuse, reusable parcel trials and stronger use of natural raw materials. This time, the ask feels tougher and more mature: stop selling sustainability as a mood, and start proving quality like it matters. A roadmap for companies will be unveiled on July 9, and the industry should expect the bar to be much more practical than poetic.