Paris Ethical Shopping Guide: Sap's and Co

I've been meaning to post about this shop for a long time now, having first visited last summer. Sap's and Co, located in the trendy Batignolles area of Paris, is filled with ethical clothing delights. The stock has been carefully curated and includes some of the best fashion-forward ethical clothing labels, whether it is organic jeans by Kuyichi, ethical accessories by Deux Filles en fil, silly organic t-shirts by Monsieur Poulet or eco trainers by FYE, amongst many other brands. Oh, and they also stock People Tree, which made me really happy!

Rather excitingly, they also stock loads of menswear, so this is a boyfriend-friendly zone. There is also a quality second-hand section, featuring silk shirts and branded jeans.

Worth a special mention are their Keep Company trainers, which I am currently considering purchasing (can't decide between those, or Veja, hmm), as well as their Nat Mad clutches, purses and bags, which are some of the finest examples of recycled-material accessories that I have seen.

In short, you've definitely got to pop in if you're visiting Paris!

The service is brilliant - I spent a good 15 minutes having a chat before revealing that I'd quite like to take some photos!

Address:
37 rue la Condamine
75017 Paris

Like Sap's and Co on Facebook

Sadie xxx

A porridge-themed t-shirt by Howies

I really must get in to the habit of sharing random amazing things that I find when browsing the internet. Oddly, I came across this porridge-themed t-shirt when reading an academic article for my dissertation, which pointed towards Howies.co.uk as an example of an ethical fashion brand. Naturally, seeking a little distraction, I googled them, and before long I was on their company blog, where I spotted the t-shirt.

I'm considering buying it for when I get back to uni this year. Appropriate, because I can occasionally be found wandering down the street with a bowl of porridge and a spoon, if I am running particularly late (actually a necessity rather than a silly stunt, so I don't keep my friends waiting).

The excellent news is that it is 100% organic cotton, rather than 73% cotton (explained on the site), and is screenprinted by hand in Cardigan, Wales. It also comes in a men's version.

Sadie xxx

P.S. Just realised that if you order one this weekend, you get a FREE BOX OF PORRIDGE by the luxury cereals brand, Dorset Cereals...!

Silly trousers

My blog has been somewhat lacking in the whole 'Sadie's Wardrobe' department lately, mainly due to the ridiculously long winter, a shortage of space, and a shortage of time (and a shortage of chocolate-based incentives). However, here in France, May is basically ALL bank holiday, giving me a chance to a) move the furniture around in the flat so I have a place to do my best posing and b) don silly outfits without the risk of The Metro Stare.

On reflection, this outfit isn't even that silly, and I'd put it on in England without batting an eyelid. As for the top half - well, who actually does their hair and make up on a bank holiday? Not me, that's for sure! So I will leave my giant spot and bright-orange-towel-wrapped hair to the imagination.

But outfit photos aren't all lies, don't worry... I do plan to face the commute AND the office in this attire next week.

I bought the trousers for just €5 at 'Vintage Desire' in Montmartre, just around the corner from Abbesses and Tudo Bom. According to the shopping bag, there are actually two in Paris (I think I have been to the other one as well without realising it!).

Addresses:
28 rue Yvonne le Tac
75018

32 rue des Rosiers (right next to loads of amazing falafel places!)
75004

Sadie xxx

P.s. I must confess that my sandals are a new purchase and are not ethical. However, I have made sure that they are excellent quality and built to last, as a sort of justification - and they are my only pair of sandals.

Ethical bags: Elephant Branded

I love the idea of social enterprises - just a fantastic way to empower people who would otherwise face poverty. Elephant Branded is an inspiring social enterprise founded by two students not much older than me (yikes) aiming to help out communities in Africa and Asia, first by providing essential school items to children, and secondly by providing work and training to the adult villagers who are then paid a fair wage. The ultimate aim is to bring about positive, sustainable change in the communities.

As well as being very attractive pieces, the bags have the added advantage of being made with recycled materials, which gives them their distinctive look. So they have pretty much ticked all of the boxes there!

Pictured above is my favourite item from the site, the large EB Clipper (the perfect weekend/gym bag, that is, if you like going to the gym, haha), and I am also a massive fan of the smaller version. With the purchase of one of these, a school bag is donated to a child. They also have wallets, purses, laptop cases and rucksacks... check out the shop here. Oh, and the prices are rather amazing, too.

Here is a quick video from the site...



Sadie xxx

Little video on 'The Business of Fast Fashion'

I just had to share this little video on 'The Business of Fast Fashion'. It's a concise little introduction to fast fashion, giving some quick facts about environmental impact and finishing by talking about the Sustainable Clothing Action Plan, which aims to improve the sustainability of clothing over its lifespan.

There are obviously lots of issues that the video doesn't touch on, but that's the idea - it's a quick introduction to the topic! And it has pretty illustrations...

Sadie xxx

Paris Ethical Shopping Guide: Hippy Market

I stumbled upon Hippy Market when getting rather desperately lost on my way to a vintage fair, and I'm glad I did. I knew there must be some sort of shop like this somewhere, so it was great to finally locate one - it's the sort of vintage shop where everything is neatly organised by theme, has a general price scheme, and where skirts and dresses come pre-shortened. A bit like COW vintage in England, I suppose.

I like how they decided to make '100% ethique, 100% récyclé' a selling point, too. Which it is! Along with the trendy merchandising, a clever little room just for menswear and a corner entirely dedicated to leopard print.

Definitely worth a visit, and it's very close to Hotel de Ville, so you can even throw in some touristy bits at the end of your shop for good measure!

There are actually two Hippy Markets in Paris (and in other big French cities)...

Addresses:
21 rue du Temple

75004 le Marais

3 rue de Turbigo

75001 Paris

Sadie xxx

Le Café des 2 Moulins (Amélie's Café!)

I visited Paris with my family a few years ago, and we spent an afternoon looking for 'The Amélie Café' using directions given to us by the man behind the desk at the hotel, which turned out to be completely wrong. Woops! We left without having found it, and everyone was rather disgruntled and achey after rambling around the steep hills of Montmartre for just a little bit too long.

So since moving here, it was an absolute priority to find the café, and indulge in a crème brûlée, à la Amélie Poulin herself (complete with gleeful cracking of the burnt sugar crust, obviously). It was my first ever crème brûlée, and was definitely not what I had expected. Who'd have thought it would be cold?! Anyway... I soon went back for my second, in the company of a friend who came to visit. 

Perfectly Parisian, with its mirrored walls, polished bar and wooden stools, I'd definitely recommend the café if you're visiting Paris. There are only a few hints of it being one of the main locations in the film: a couple of posters, an 'Amélie' menu option (crème brûlée plus a hot drink for around €8), and a little display of film memerobilia in the toilets. In fact, one of my colleagues said she used to hang out there on weekends - so it must be good, if the locals go there!

 

Contrary to what my family thought, the café is actually extremely easy to find. It's about half way up the road just to the right of the Moulin Rouge, right by the Blanche metro stop. There is another bar called Lux Bar just opposite, which is also well worth stopping at - cool art nouveau interiors, a shaped wooden bar and a lively playlist all day!

Address:
15 Rue Lepic, 75018 Paris

Sadie xxx

Paris (and online!) ethical shopping guide: Tudo Bom

It was when searching for 'sarouel molleton bio' on Google that I came across Tudo Bom, an ethical brand that has one foot planted in colourful Brazil and the other foot in chic Paris. Tudo Bom has masterfully fused these two rather different styles together to create one unusual and exciting brand, which can be found online and in its two boutiques right in the heart of Paris.

The clothes are produced in Brazil through a vertically-integrated supply chain, starting off with organic cotton and environmentally-friendly dyes. They are then sewn together in disadvantaged parts of Petropolis, by 35 skilled workers in small workshops, providing much needed employment with fair pay. Sounds good to me!

I paid a visit to the shop in Abbesses (home to the film 'Amélie'!) to have a look at the new Spring/Summer collection, as well as to try on the drop-crotch jogging bottoms that I found in my original Google search! The boutique was incredibly beautifully presented, and was a fantastic burst of colour (just what Paris needs).

I also have some good news for men - they have menswear too :D.

One of the coolest things I have ever seen is that the name of the person who made your exact garment is hand-written on the tag! It's a great way to connect with their supply chain, and is just about as transparent as you can get.

I wouldn't be a proper blogger unless I photographed their peter-pan collar dress, part of the Parisian side of the collection!

(mmmm geometric prints)

 

 

 

 

I was hugely impressed with the high level of customer service - the trousers were actually taken all the way to the store for me to try when I expressed an interest in them. And when I found myself pulling them all the way up to my waist, the shop manager Caroline was helpful in pointing out the error of my ways ;). After wearing high-waisted things for so long, I don't think harem pants are for me, haha. But there are several dresses I now have my eye on...

Addresses:

8, rue des Abbesses
75018 Paris

19, rue Pavée
75004 Paris

Sadie xxx


P.S. Why 'sarouel molleton bio?'... because it's a lot easier than 'drop-crotch-organic-sweatshirt-fabric-jogging-bottoms'. Sometimes French is just more precise.

Fashion Compassion Guest Blogger of the Month

I am very honoured to be Fashion Compassion's guest blogger of the month for March. Founded by Ayesha Mustafa, Fashion Compassion is a great site selling beautiful artisan pieces from emerging ethical fashion brands, offering small companies based in developing countries a platform to sell to the European market. Part of the company mission is to help empower women, and the brands that are selected have been especially chosen in order to work towards this. I didn't realise it until reading in more detail, but many of the products are actually made by hand, to order!

Click here to read my little interview about sustainable fashion, including ethical shopping tips, who I admire the most, and my top picks from the site (retro yellow sun dress, anyone?).

Sadie xxx

'Ethical-sportswear-casual-chic'

As with my last post, sometimes I just have a weird day where my personal tastes seem to flip to something completely different. For a while now, I've been hunting for some... wait for it... jogging bottoms, mainly because I spend most of my time as a student shivering in the cold, and let's face it, who wants to be wearing a high-waisted skirt all day when you are writing an essay and need to eat an actual whole packet of digestives just to get through it. Stretchy waistbands are a winner for days like those. There is also just something rather cool about them (the tailored fash-un ones, not the sporty ones).

I found this pair of organic, fairtrade-cotton jogging bottoms the other day from the OKAY collection at Storm, and they're just my cup of tea, and actually rather smart. I couldn't resist completing the look with this silly organic cotton t-shirt by Omy, and, dreaming of warmer days, these cool shoes from that famous social enterprise, Toms.

Now, can you imagine me ever wearing this?

Sadie (/where did Sadie go?!) xxx


P.S. I apologise for the tongue-in-cheek '#firstworldproblems'. I am genuinely grateful to have a roof over my head and the option of heating, and education, and enough free time to write a blog, amongst many many other things.