Eco Fashion World

As a marathon runner, fashion lover and eco-citizen, Loic Pollet dreamed of creating a new breed of sporstwear brand that was stylish, ecological and brimming with technical features. He decided to launch Sébola and sketched out the brand in his head whilst running one day: endorphins working overtime! Sébola immediately won an award when Loic launched it during the Ethical Fashion Show 2008 and this gave the brand a headstart.

The Sébola style is characterized by a retro sportswear look combined with witty graphic designs. Two fashion designers and graphic artists from Lille worked on the first collection that consisted of t-shirts, polo shirts, sweatshirts, shorts, and trousers. The style was "old school" with primary coulours teamed with chine grey for casual wear and with whites/blacks for the sportswear range. Knapfla, the first artist invited to contribute to the collection, introduced both graphic simplicity and more riotous, freehand styles into the designs that were introduced as limited editions. Loic and his team celebrated and showcased this new line at the legendary Roubaix Velodrome!

The lifeblood of Sébola is a global ecological approach that aims to reduce the environmental impact of a product throughout its life cycle. Everything from the raw materials, manufacturing methods and transportation through to its intended use is scientifically analysed by design offices. Impacts calculated include consumption of natural resources, energy consumption, water consumption, ozone layer depletion and air toxicity. Sébola's ecological footprint is measured by carrying out life cycle assessments in accordance with ISO standards 14040 and 14044, the aim being to leave as small a footprint as possible.

Sébola plays an active role in maintaining local expertise and providing employment. All the sportswear is made in Roubaix, France which is the birthplace of the textile used and a guarantee of quality in itself. All technical garments have been designed with sporting types in mind and feature high tech "green" fibres (Ecosensor), "Fast Absorption and Dry" ultra lightweight and breathable fabrics and flat seams for extra comfort. Each garment undergoes testing during marathons in all weather conditions.

Shorts and trousers are made from Tencel based fabrics which contain lyocell fibres derived from wood pulp. T-shirts, polo shirts and sports tops are manufactured using fabric derived from recycled polyester fibre which is produced by being re-polymerised. This innovative recycling method first extracts the fibre from the product - such as a plastic bottle - and then transforms its complex molecules into simple molecules. After this depolymerisation process, the molecules are purified before being reassembled to form a pure polyester. This environmental friendly process makes it possible not only to recycle the same product over and over again, but also to produce a top quality textile that fulfils the specific technical criteria that people look for in their sportswear, such as breathability.

Sébola shows impressive figures in reducing their footprint. Air pollution is reduced with 23% through the use of recycled polyester, water pollution is reduced with 32% and air pollution with 50% through the use of organically grown cotton. The consumption of natural resources is brought down with 20% and Sébola leverages 40% fewer greenhouse gases by choosing sea transportation to import its technical fabrics from Asia. In addition, Sébola's customers support the cause by washing at 30°C as opposed to 40°C, thereby consuming 20% less energy.

Altogether, Sébola is definitely a runner-up in eco-logical sportswear!

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