Offering eco-friendly style that helps protect the environment isn't always simple, but it's been a central element of our strategy since the 1990s.

From ethics to environmental impact, we're aware of the role we play as participants in a highly polluting industry and lifestyle. That's why, years ago, we made the commitment to change our collections to bring you fashion that's chic, comfortable and increasingly sustainable.

Understanding our label

The Thinkfuture label is our way of thinking about fashion differently. It was created by our product teams to help you identify the most responsible pieces in our collections. We know that it is our duty not only to adopt a communication carrying committed messages but to go to the end of our approach by selecting materials that respect the environment and your health.

It is therefore our duty to be totally transparent, we have chosen to communicate to you the entire criteria of labeling of the pieces.

#THINKFUTURE

The origin of the fabric: a fabric sourced as close as possible is a fabric that has not traveled thousands of kilometers and ensures impeccable quality. They can come from France or Italy.

Fabric certification: Some of the materials used have been selected for their world-renowned label. These labels are a guarantee of a clean and environmentally friendly production and composition. 

The origin of the yarn: it can be of organic origin or made from recycled materials.


CERTIFICATIONS


Most of our fabrics are made from natural and/or recycled fibers, woven and printed in France or Italy. All of our prints are unique designs, created in our workshop in Aix-en-Provence. More and more often, we're using textiles that bear the OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 label, which certifies that they are free from toxic chemical substances, and we're doing our best to ensure that most of our materials are.

Our organic cotton is GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) certified, guaranteeing that over 95% of its fibers are organic. This also requires us to limit production, and adjust it to fit demand.

CHOOSING OUR MATIERIALS

The prototypes for our collections are conceived, created and developed in our design and manufacturing studios in Aix-en-Provence.

Our teams carefully select our fabrics from French or Italian sources whenever possible.

Technical Jersey, 

from Italy

70% of our products are now made from a material that our most loyal fans are already familiar with: technical jersey. It's a popular fabric known for being comfortable, durable and easy to care for. Technical jersey is run-resistant, stretchy, and extremely soft.

But did you know that beyond the fabric itself, we've set up an entire eco-friendly process over the years with our Italian supplier?

Wool is a noble natural material. It's delicate, highly prized, and long-lasting. Its quality varies according to the animal and its environment. Sheep come in a wide variety of species, and the characteristics of their wool vary..

We like to use wool for our sweaters, vests and coats to create collections that are naturally warm and high quality.

Cotton is a natural, plant-based material with a silky texture. It envelops the seed of the cotton plant, and is used as a textile. The quality of cotton comes partly from the length of its fibers, which determines the durability of the finished product. The longer the fibers, the more durable the fabric will be.

That's why it's one of our favorite materials, particularly for our jeans, jackets and tops.

Linen is a plant-based fabric primarily cultivated in temperate regions near the sea, such as Portugal. Woven linen is natural and eco-friendly, and provides remarkable comfort and thermoregulation. It's also one of the most environmentally friendly textiles. In warm climates the linen flower grows naturally, with no need for watering or pesticides. What's more, manufacturing linen consumes very little energy.

For all of these reasons, the linen we use in our collections has been certified by MASTERS OF LINEN, which guarantees that our linen is produced, woven and spun in Europe.

Eco-Friendly PRODUCTION

Our collections are primarily produced in Europe and the Mediterranean Basin (Bulgaria, France, Italy, Portugal, Tunisia, etc…), depending on the technical demands of each product and the expertise of our partner workshops.

Beyond the specific criteria required for each collection, we strive to choose suppliers and manufacturers that share our values and are actively committed to a policy of reducing their environmental impact.

INVOLVED PARTNERS

For example, our primary supplier responsible for manufacturing our technical jersey collections is one of the world's least polluting factories, and has been committed to eco-friendly processes for years:

Reusing cooling water as part of the production process

Continuing to reduce its carbon emissions by taking measures to improve energy efficiency

Reducing waste by optimizing its dyeing and printing techniques

ROAD RATHER THAN AIR TRANSPORT

We choose ground transport over air whenever possible to ship our collections.

It's slower, but it doesn't cause nearly as much pollution, and thanks ̂to our new team organizational structure, our collections always arrive on time!

DISTRIBUTING

OUR COLLECTIONS

Every day, we take action to preserve the ecosystem and fight climate change. Even little things can have a big impact.

That's why we use LED lighting in our stores, and have installed timers in our windows, so that the energy can be shut off at night as we slowly transition to new contracts with green energy suppliers.

To make our online sales more sustainable, we decided to use La Poste

to ship our packages. By choosing Colissimo, Indies has gained an environmentally responsible delivery partner, a top player in Europe's voluntary carbon offset program. Colissimo is committed to reducing its carbon footprint by focusing on three goals: measuring CO2 emissions; reducing them, primarily through delivery optimization; and offsetting residual emissions with support for projects in France and worldwide.

In 2022, Indies obtained the Colissimo carbon neutrality certificate, which certifies that 100% of the parcel services entrusted to La Poste Colissimo have been carbon-neutral.

THIS REPRESENTS 13 TONS OF CO2 EQUIVALENT OFFSET IN 2022

As for online sales, our orders are shipped in 70% recycled cardboard

packaging. We're also offering a more eco-friendly shipping solution with Hipli: a pouch that can be reused up to 100 times. It has less of an environmental impact than cardboard as of its second use, and generates around 25 kg less waste!

En savoir plus

80% of all returns are due to wrong sizes. In 2021, to limit returns as much as possible, we implemented a size recommendation tool. This tool helps our clients find the right size for their clothing orders quickly and easily, based on their age, weight, body type and shopping preferences.

Fewer errors = fewer returns to ship, and another win for the planet!

ORGANIZATIONS WE SUPPORT

In April 2020, our company decided to start helping women in France who are struggling to rejoin the workforce. We work with Reflet 31, an organization that helps women build self-confidence as an essential step in finding employment.
Twice a year we collect any Indies clothing that you're no longer wearing and donate it to Reflet 31. We feel very strongly about this commitment, and it wouldn't be possible without you.

Your donations have been extremely useful to us, of coursê, thanks to both the quantity and the quality of the clothing. We've also informed our financial backers — the Toulouse Town Hall and Prefecture — about your contributions, which has given our credibility a boost.


The high quality of your clothing makes those who receive it feel good about themselves and their appearance, and so does its source: knowing that stores care about job-seekers! In 2021 we welcomed 420 people, 80% of whom were women.
Your help is truly precious to us! Receiving around 1,400 items on our very first drive was incredible!

                                                                                                                                                                               CORINNE AADAM-COPPEE

                                                                                                                                                                               Directrice de l'association Reflet 31

For Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we decided to get actively involved with a cause that we care about on a local level. We are now supporting Resource Center Aix-en-Provence.

The Center works with cancer patients and their families, providing a variety of resources, from psychologists to beauticians, social workers and occupational physicians. They become an overall care team for the person, and the support of that team makes a real difference before and during treatment.

Like many organizations, the Center relies on external funding for its growth. For our 2021 contribution, we decided to donate 10% of our sales. We are currently discussing new ways to support the Center in 2022.

For more information: http://www.association-ressource.org/