FRANÇOIS GIRBAUD

(01) CO-FOUNDER AND OWNER, MARITHÉ + FRANÇOIS GIRBAUD

Jeans are the most popular item of clothing in the modern history of fashion: 6 billion pairs are produced worldwide annually. It takes 5,678 liters of water to grow the cotton to make a single pair of jeans + 70 liters to wash each pair. Let’s not forget the insecticides – 25% of worldwide production is used by cotton growers. And the chemicals used to wash and artificially age the jeans are some of the most toxic […] Do we want to create a continent of plastic floating on the ever-rising tides or add to the mountains of indestructible, throwaway clothing? No. So, what are the alternatives? What resources can replace cotton or be integrated into the existing supply chain: beans, stones, nuts, plants, minerals? […]

Jeans have undergone numerous transformations, from workwear to streetwear to luxury wear. I would like to come full circle and make workwear for today, adapted to urban lifestyles. […] I believe my responsibility as a designer is to create garments with long-lasting appeal that will stand the test of time […] I’ve developed environmentally friendly methods such as the ‘Watt Wash’ to reduce the negative impact on the planet and the people working in the denim treatment industry. We now have revolutionary laser technology to allow us to transform denim without destroying the planet; the only limitation is our creativity […]