3 questions for ... Clément Maulavé
In 2016 he cofounded the Hopaal brand with Mathieu Couacault. Created as an alternative to fast fashion, Hopaal develops collections using recycled fabrics and produced within a 1,000 km radius of Biarritz, where the company’s headquarters are located. Clément Maulavé has become one of the ambassadors for fashion that’s sustainable, conscientious, useful, and local with reasonable production methods. And he – and Hopaal – are going even further with the launch of the DemocraTee, an eco-responsible T-shirt sold at cost price. More than a piece of clothing, the DemocraTee is also a real awareness-building project. What follows is a committed conversation.
Why launch a T-shirt at cost price? How do you make such a project a success?
DemocraTee is the result of lengthy reflection. Our brand, Hopaal, has been committed to responsible fashion since its inception in 2016. We present clothing made with recycled fabrics and manufactured in France and sometimes in Portugal, but always within 1,000 km of our Biarritz headquarters. This process, which is the opposite of fast fashion, has a price; we sell our T-shirts for around €45. That’s not expensive for this product, but nevertheless it’s still a significant amount for some people. In fact, we regularly get messages from people who are interested in the brand but who tell us they’re waiting to have more money to treat themselves to one of our pieces. There’s no mystery, price matters! So we decided to launch the DemocraTee so that people with more modest resources could acquire an eco-responsible wardrobe basic, but also to convince those who have the means but aren’t yet ready to pay a fair price for a piece of clothing. It’s a way to raise awareness.
To meet this challenge, we studied all the costs involved in a T-shirt. Then we contacted all our partners at every step of the manufacturing chain to find out if they’d be willing to make a financial effort, meaning set a price that covers their costs while giving up their margin. For our part, we didn’t pass on the expenses tied to communication and marketing. All the players joined in the game: one where nobody loses but nobody wins. And the T-shirt costs €24. The project was possible because we sell other products that compensate for and back this initiative. We’re pre-selling the T-shirts on the Ulule platform until 5 March 2020 to finance manufacturing and make just the right quantity. DemocraTee isn’t just a T-shirt, it’s a true campaign for more sustainable fashion. It’s an opportunity to explain what the price of a T-shirt represents and to show that if it’s sold for €10, questions need to be asked.
How did Hopaal, the ultimate anti-fast fashion brand, begin? Is such a strategy economically viable?
Hopaal was preceded by a desire to be independent entrepreneurs. Mathieu and I met at the Toulouse Business School and we quickly knew that we would develop something together. In what sector? The inspiration came during my gap year in Annecy where I got training in technical textiles and then during an internship in a manufacturing workshop in Bangalore, India. I became aware of the fashion industry’s environmental struggles. The path was clear: we would put together an eco-responsible fashion project. To find inspiration, we studied all kinds of models, including Patagonia. In the beginning we thought about creating an association to defend the anti-fast fashion movement. But we finally told ourselves that a business was more seductive for transmitting messages efficiently.
We started with nothing. When we sent to see the banker with our dossier he laughed in our faces …
So we really had to think hard about our financing. By putting our positioning up against the buying act, we found the solution. Hopaal is the opposite of impulse buying. So we decided to offer a certain number of garments as pre-orders. It’s an excellent way to manage stock – there isn’t any – and cash flow. But it’s also a complex organisation via the website and questionnaires and for a client service department that has to be clear and quick to react. We also carry some items in stock like knit caps, socks, sweatshirts, and T-shirts – all inexpensive items we easily sell. In addition, we offer new designs in limited editions. Our objective has always been to avoid manufacturing without a good reason. These three sales methods make up an economic model in themselves – and without this component we can’t do anything – and are also part of a responsible, sustainable economy. These circles overlap and mean that we’re credible and the business grows; above all the only thing that interests us is balance. Mathieu and I are the only investors and we reinvest all the profits into Hopaal operations. And this system works since we now have six employees.
Recycled materials and the made in France concept are two essential elements for Hopaal.
From the beginning, even with our humble, modest positioning, we insisted on having a strong identity and a very radical commitment. So we decided to work with recycled materials. Why use virgin resources when alternatives are already available? The recycled materials come from textiles that are normally throw away, but if they are retrieved, treated, and shredded, they produce new fibres that can be woven. These recycled fibres drastically reduce a garment’s impact, but they are shorter than classic fibres. Therefore they’re theoretically more fragile, even if it’s impossible to tell the difference between them. Hopaal is concerned about this topic, since sustainable fashion happens through clothing that is supposed to last. So, to guarantee good quality we sometimes use blends of recycled cotton and organic cotton. We’re not perfect but we try to stay on track and we continue to support the recycled materials industry so that research progresses. It’s a virtuous circle. In fact, over the last four years we’ve seen some wonderful advancements. It’s the same approach for the made in France concept; we want to support sectors that are disappearing. Letting ateliers close means losing expertise, needing to go find it outside of France, and, undoubtedly, one day having to relearn it. Of course, we’re ready to go to Portugal or Spain if the ateliers meet our requirements. We are very transparent about all our choices. Our website communicates them as well as our difficulties. We don’t have anything to hide from our clients. These commitments go along with a relatively flexible management style. In-house, each person organises their week and time as they want. What’s important is that the work is done well. We want our colleagues to be happy! We can’t have a beautiful shop window and a dirty backroom …