by Samara Morris
Have you ever heard of a Climate Conscious Fashion House? Well, you’re in luck because I’m going to tell you about one. After finally taking the time to sit through the Netflix documentary Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy, written and directed by News and Documentary Emmy Award nominee Nic Stacey, I couldn’t help but think of LUEQ.
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Last spring, a group of friends and I traveled through Europe for two months in what was, singlehandedly, the most eye-opening and enthralling experience of my life. During this time, I came across a small fashion boutique called The LUEQ, located in Lyons, France, and owned and operated by Edmund Blanc. After browsing the store for a bit with my friends, we spent a few hundred American dollars, and to say I have no regrets is an understatement. The quality of the clothing was superb—wool, silk, cashmere.
Then it dawned on me that, despite having an enormous amount of space in the store, the owner did not pack it wall to wall with garments. So, I had to ask, “Why does the store appear…empty?” Mr. Blanc replied ever so kindly, “I am a family man. I want my grandkids to live to see the planet I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying for the last fifty-seven years.” In that moment, just being a girl on vacation, it didn’t really click with me. So, I paid for my things and asked for his website, to which he smiled and said, “No website.”
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I thought, well, that’s a bummer.
Once I returned and got back to work, we had our regularly scheduled Monday morning meeting with Lisa and the senior editors. Funny enough, we were discussing different fashion looks I could cover in a piece I was working on about tips for shopping on Shein for the fall season. It almost felt like fate when the Editor-in-Chief asked about my trip!
Oddly enough, despite all the wonderful places I had gone to and the sights I’d seen, I wanted more than anything to tell her about The LUEQ (pronounced "Look"). She was intrigued, and Lisa being Lisa (IYKYK), she asked for their address, sent Edmund a letter, traveled to the store, and two months later bought a share in the company. She is now listed as a co-founder.
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Lisa’s first task was to take the company online—e-commerce—and expand the publication into fashion with our VEGAN line. She’s SINGLE Magazine’s VEGAN x The LUEQ will be out this fall. Not only that, but Lisa has agreed to oversee the online store while Mr. Blanc continues to run his brick-and-mortar location in Lyons.
Fast forward to today, The LUEQ is labeled as one of the first Climate Conscious Fashion Houses. A CCFH means that each material for the online store is hand-selected to reduce waste and avoid health concerns associated with unsafe fabrics. Their commitment to sustainability also ensures that no item will be removed from the store until it is sold out—this guarantees that nothing will be wastefully discarded, burned, or ripped.
Restocking will take some time based on demand, but Lisa promised they will continuously introduce fresh designs to keep the collection exciting and relevant. Thanks for making it through my story… now onto the documentary. Capitalism is simple: we make it, you buy it, and when it breaks, you buy it again. It’s no different than the healthcare system in America—we make you sick, you pay for the cure.
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While watching the documentary, all I could think about was how much times have changed. As a millennial, I’ll admit that in my twenties, I needed to have the latest of everything—technology, clothes, etc. But now that I’m older, I’ve noticed that I couldn’t care less about having any of that. I prefer memories with good people and meeting hardworking boomers like Mr. Blanc while traveling abroad.