Façon Jacmin

The denim used in their collections comes from Italy or Japan. The Japanese denim is made in a factory which is very respectful of its employees. According to Façon Jacmin, this is something that is typical of Japanese culture. 

The clothes are assembled by a small family business in Bulgaria. Due to the production taking place in Europe, the business will have to comply with strict European labour laws and regulations. We therefore assume that the clothes are ethically made.

The autumn/​winter collections also feature knitwear, which is produced in Belgium.

Façon Jacmin works with Japanese denim, which is a very high quality type of denim. That’s because the fabric is very tightly woven using special Japanese techniques, making the denim strong and longer lasting. 

In the 1940s, America wanted to simplify and speed up its production of denim. To do so, they bought new machines and sold their ones to Japanese manufacturers. Although Japanese manufacturers are now working with newer machines, they have retained the high quality of pre-1940s denim.

The denim is dyed using indigo and efforts are made to ensure none of the dye ends up in rivers. The Japanese manufacturers have a very sophisticated water purification system which prevents water contamination. This means that it makes no difference whether they use natural or synthetic indigo to dye the denim because the dye is in a closed-loop and the factory does not dump polluted water.

This denim brand will soon be using GOTS-certified cotton for the first time. Initially, their collections will be composed of 25% organic cotton but they want to increase this over time. A step in the right direction! 

Do you have pairs of old jeans lying around? Give them a second life by dropping them off at Façon Jacmin! The brand upcycles old jeans into fun accessories, but also wants to replace their paper bags and packaging using them. Every year they release a capsule collection of upcycled designs, hand made in their ateliers in Antwerp and Paris. 

Part of the Façon Jacmin collection has a fairly short supply chain. Indeed, the design stage happens in Belgium, the denim is then produced in Italy while other collections are produced in Bulgaria. The chain is therefore entirely European, other than the pieces that are made from Japanese denim, which has obviously covered greater distances. 

A small part of the collection uses wool. Unfortunately we cannot assess whether animal welfare is taken into account here due to a lack of information about the origins of the wool. 

Façon Jacmin clothes are timeless and the colours do not fade. Every item of clothing comes out of the washing machine looking as glorious as it did on day 1. The quality of the denim also ensures their long life.

Façon Jacmin scores reasonably well in terms of transparency. The brand provides information about their production locations and the materials they use. Unfortunately, this information is not always very specific. When a brand discloses their manufacturers (and not just the country), or has obtained certain certifications, then it’s easier to assess how ethical and sustainable that brand really is.