QUALITY OVER QUANTITY

We champion the idea of buying less and investing in high-quality pieces that last. We combine craftsmanship with unique and proprietary techniques to create a Signature style, designed to be seasonless and made to stand the test of time. The adjustability of Bordelle’s pieces guarantees an individual fit which can be altered to the wearer over time to further extend its life.

LESS IS MORE

We are a niche brand and like to remain that way. We produce our collections in small batches and our innovative adjustment feature across only five sizes keeps stock to a minimum, limiting over production across multiple sizes. Our low-waste approach to manufacturing means we avoid over production of materials and garment stock. We also believe in reducing waste at every step of the process; through intuitive design, sustainable production practices and re-usable packaging.

OUR OWN PRODUCTION

We are advocates of fair and ethical processes and only work with manufacturers who share our ethos. The quality and provenance of our product are of great importance to us, so much so that we have invested in our own production Atelier in Romania, the birth place of our founder.

Bordelle London team members spend a total of eight to ten weeks throughout the year at our manufacturers. Ahead of a production delivery, Bordelle’s technical team spend a week at our manufacturers, meticulously quality checking to ensure the highest standard. In between visits, Bordelle has daily contact and weekly skype calls with their manufacturers, promoting a strong partnership and guaranteeing that we can confidently deliver transparency for our customers.

At Atelier Bordelle Productions, every member of staff is paid fixed wages regardless of daily output and efficiency targets are incentivized with bonus schemes. Staff members are encouraged to adopt a proactive attitude and an entrepreneurial spirit with a focus on personal and professional development. Employees take part in regular team building activities, training sessions and annual reviews. The Atelier was fully renovated in January 2019. It is clean and spacious, flooded with natural light and fitted with air conditioning. The Atelier is equipped with new digital machinery to ensure the highest quality manufacture and avoid excessive electricity consumption associated with older machines.

Find out more about the production of Bordelle at Atelier Bordelle Productions via their website here.

RESTORE, REVIVE, RECYCLE

 “Extending the life of clothing by an extra nine months could reduce carbon, waste and water footprints by around 20–30% each.” *  

The quality and longevity of everything we produce is our first priority and we encourage customers to enjoy their Bordelle for as long as possible by following our care instructions to hand wash using mild detergent at 30 degrees.

Restore

To maximise the life-cycle of Bordelle items, we offer a repair service to restore products that have suffered general wear and tear, ensuring that our clients can continue to wear and love their favourite pieces. Please get in touch with us for more information on the repairs service and checkout terms & conditions.

Revive

We are proud to offer Bordelle Revived – limited edition ranges produced with the aim to revive a surplus material. We believe that the life of a fabric exceeds more than just one season. Despite careful forecasting to limit waste as much as possible, in modern manufacturing practices there is inevitably surplus fabric. This can be due to minimum length requirements from suppliers or a change in sales demand. The aim of Bordelle Revived is to breathe new life into materials that our customers loved the first time around, through innovative new designs.

To date, we have repurposed 380m of lace, 230m of fabric and 640m of elastic in our Bordelle Revived Collections.

Shop our Bordelle Revived Collection here

Recycle

We are dedicated to recycling across every area of the brand and are always striving to improve.

Packaging

Bordelle paper packaging is 100% recyclable, including the paper from our hang tags, our receipt holders and our gift boxes. Bordelle polybags are made from recycled LDPE and are 100% recyclable. The plastic seals on our swing tags are made from PLA. PLA is a plastic substitute produced from corn and is biodegradable in certain conditions. The main benefit of PLA is that it is made from a renewable resource (corn) rather than fossil fuel (oil used to make plastic). Bordelle’s newly developed mesh pouches are made from 100% recycled materials and are designed to be kept, they provide protection for Bordelle pieces whilst being stored and are also perfect for packing when travelling. Bordelle packaging straps are designed to be repurposed into wearable accessories.

We are currently developing a more environmentally friendly option for our online customers who would like to receive less packaging

Materials and Manufacture

The Bordelle London studio recycle all paper and plastic, re-use scrap paper and avoid shredding paper unless absolutely necessary. Cardboard delivery boxes and any packaging are kept and re-used. Scraps of fabric are kept for cutting training and any materials that cannot be used are donated to universities. Development samples are taken apart and gold components and zips are re-used. Our gold components are made from recycled zamak and any excess zamak is recycled after pouring into moulds, the components are then plated with 24k gold. At Atelier Bordelle Productions fabric is cut efficiently to avoid wastage, there are paper, plastic and fabric recycling points throughout. Smaller cuttings of materials are re-purposed for other uses such as loops.

GIVING BACK

Bordelle supports the charities CARE International and UNICEF.

CARE International

Each year in support of International Women’s Day, Bordelle donates a percentage of sales to CARE International UK. CARE is a global humanitarian and international development charity, fighting poverty and social injustice. CARE focus their efforts on girls and women because they are disproportionately affected by poverty. For more information, please visit www.careinternational.org.uk.

UNICEF

Bordelle donates annually to UNICEF who work in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, to defend their rights, and to help them fulfil their potential, from early childhood through adolescence. For more information, please visit www.unicef.org.

The Next Generation

Bordelle supports the next generation of lingerie professionals by partnering with London College of Fashion and De Montfort University, offering work placements and sponsoring graduate shows. We also donate surplus materials and components to universities.

PLASTIC NEUTRAL

Bordelle have committed to becoming plastic neutral starting from 2021. We have partnered with Cleanhub to help save non-recyclable plastic waste from reaching our oceans.

Whilst we have made great efforts to reduce plastic in our business, it’s a challenge to completely remove it from our processes. We have already taken positive steps - the polybags used to protect our products after manufacture, during transit and storage are made from recycled LDPE and are recyclable. The plastic seals on our swing tags are made from PLA, produced from corn. However, we think we can do more.

To tackle this issue and create positive change, we have partnered with Cleanhub who work with carefully chosen waste-management organisations to collect and repurpose plastic before it enters the ocean. This way, instead of wasting away in landfills or polluting the ocean, plastic waste gets recycled or used as an energy source while local communities are empowered.

Bordelle chose to work with Green Worms, a waste-management organisation and social enterprise from Kerala, India, who create critical employment opportunities for women.

For more information and to take a look at our progress, please visit our Cleanhub page here

OUR WORK IS ONE OF PROGRESS

Research and technology are always moving forward and whilst we are making changes, we recognise that sustainability is a work in progress.

We invite you to join us on our journey towards achieving our future sustainability goals:

  • Move away from virgin materials and switch to recycled options where possible
  • We only work with suppliers who adhere to Bordelle's ethical and environmental code of conduct, 95% of which are OEKO-TEX® certified
  • Local to local, we are working on sourcing materials as local to our manufacturing base as possible. Currently 77% of our suppliers are based in Europe, we are working to improve this.
  • Invest in sustainable material innovation
  • All of our labels are now made from recycled polyester
  • We are working towards only using organic gusset jersey that is, responsibly sourced cotton, knitted in the EU.
  • We have removed all animal leather products from our product offering
  • We have introduced a Conscious Packaging option for Bordelle Ecommerce
  • Introduce carbon neutral shipping for Bordelle ecommerce
  • We have switched to paper-based tape which is 100% recyclable for our online orders.
  • Reduce carbon emissions by selecting carbon neutral options on shipments and flights
  • Switch to renewable energy sources at our production Atelier
  • Research and develop sustainability and provide transparency on our progress

* WRAP, Valuing Our Clothes: the cost of UK fashion (July 2017)