French sustainability start-up Fairly Made raises five million euros

Translated by

Cassidy STEPHENS

“I’ve seen customers react when they see the number of kilometres a pair of jeans has travelled on the label. They really start thinking. I believe that there is a real awareness in our sector, with an impact on the act of buying.” Last Thursday, in front of the BIG audience, the major entrepreneurial event of the year in Paris, Isabelle Guichot, CEO of SMCP

The giant of accessible fashion, owner of the brands SandroMajeClaudie Pierlot

Camille Le Gal and Laure Betsch, founders of Fairly Made – Fairly Made

The start-up, founded in 2018 by Laure Betsch and Camille Le Gal, based in the trendy La Caserne in the 10th arrondissement of Paris, has just raised five million euros. The founders, who remain majority shareholders, have completed their first round of financing led by the ETF Capital fund (for Environmental Technology Fund), in which Le Fonds by French Founders, another fund, is also involved.

ETF Capital, which is based in London and has been active since 2006, has a mantra of “sustainability through innovation” and invests in companies in the fields of responsible consumption, such as eLeather and the French company Phenix, as well as soft mobility and energy transition.

For the young company, which benefits from the urgency felt by the fashion sector due to the implementation of increasingly important regulations, concerning the textile industry and production, this financial contribution should enable it to strengthen its teams and to deploy on new markets.

Le QR code gives important information on where a garment has come from – Fairly Made

“We were quickly convinced that the ETF fund, with its values focused on a responsible transformation of the industry, matched our vision,” explained Laure Betsch to FashionNetwork.com

The company has been growing rapidly in recent months, particularly seeing as from January 1 2023, brands with a turnover of more than €50 million will be required to communicate to consumers the traceability of their supply chain, the presence of plastic microfibres and recycled materials in their products, as well as the level of recyclability.

“The fashion industry is in desperate need of sustainable solutions,” says the ETF team in a statement. “We believe that Laure and Camille, along with the entire Fairly Made team, can have a significant and tangible impact on the industry. Our support and investment will enable Fairly Made to begin a new chapter in its history to make their solution a global pioneer.”

The start-up, whose clients include LVMHBa&sh