Sézane

Quick verdict

Sézane is best for style-conscious shoppers who want an elevated Parisian aesthetic with genuine sustainability credentials, but who should go in with eyes open. The brand stands out for its B Corp certification (score 96.2), 77% eco-friendly materials, and the exceptional DEMAIN charitable programme (over 7M euros raised). However, there are legitimate concerns: no evidence of living wages across its supply chain, no public Code of Ethics, and the still-lingering 2022 Oaxaca cultural exploitation scandal. View Sézane as "better than most mainstream fashion" rather than a sustainability leader.

What they do well

• Robust material certifications. Over 80% of ready-to-wear carries independent certifications (GOTS, OEKO-TEX, RWS, FSC, LWG), with the brand rejecting BCI cotton as insufficient and banning cotton from Xinjiang, Syria, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan
• DEMAIN philanthropic programme. Since 2018, raised over 7M euros for organisations supporting children's education, culture, and equal opportunity, with 10% of global sales on the 21st of every month plus 100% of net profits from a dedicated design going to DEMAIN
• B Corp certification since 2021, with a score of 96.2 (vs. 50.9 median). One of the first French fashion brands to achieve this, requiring rigorous assessment across 250+ questions
• Anti-overproduction model with limited-batch monthly drops, no traditional sales cycle (only biannual "Archives" of past-season pieces), and a DTC model that keeps prices lower than traditional wholesale
• Item-level traceability. Each product on sezane.com includes a "Behind the Label" page showing material composition, certifications, country of manufacture, and care details

Room for improvement

• Labour practices fall short of the green marketing. There is no evidence of living wages across the supply chain, no hazardous chemical elimination commitment, no biodiversity action, and only partial supply chain tracing, raising legitimate greenwashing concerns.
• Opacity on labour and the 2022 Mexico incident. The Code of Ethics remains secret. The Oaxaca photo shoot scandal, where the brand's team dressed an elderly Indigenous Zapotec woman in Sézane clothing without compensating her, drew investigation from Mexico's INPI and condemnation from multiple government agencies.
• Vague environmental reporting. Carbon reduction claims use hedging language: "on average, over the last few seasons, we have reduced the average carbon footprint of a Sézane garment by up to 20%." Has SBTi-aligned targets but not SBTi-approved targets, with no published progress data against a disclosed baseline.

About Sézane

Product highlights