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Pénélope CHAPUIS, a young entrepreneur and graduate of the Master in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at IÉSEG, has taken over the reins of Binette, an ethical fashion accessories brand founded in 2021. Passionate about sewing and motivated by the fight against textile waste, she has redefined Binette’s mission to align with her values: sustainability, sharing, positive impact… and she shares her experience with us.

Binette… in a few words?

Binette is a fashion accessories brand, founded in 2021 by a young entrepreneur, Alice BELLE, whom I had the opportunity to meet in 2023 when she was looking for someone to take over her brand. She had created Binette with a sense of adventure, travel, and, above all, with the desire to create ethical products. At that time, I was still a student and was very interested in positive impact initiatives. After finishing my studies, I was eager to start my own business, while incorporating one of my passions: sewing, and the cause I fight for—textile waste. Binette was the perfect opportunity for me to venture into entrepreneurship, already having a foundation: a small community on social media, a contact list for newsletters, patterns, and production workshops… If I had to create everything from scratch, it would have taken me much longer. So, I bought 100% of the shares in February 2023, and by March, I had placed my first fabric order, which was sent to the workshop. By April, I had received my first production. But even with this head start, entrepreneurship is not easy!

How did you make Binette your own?

I redefined the mission to reflect my personal vision. The original mission was more focused on freedom and adventure, with the idea of “freeing the hands to enjoy life.” It was an important aspect that I kept, but I added a strong focus: the fight against textile waste. I want Binette to contribute to reducing waste in the industry while maintaining optimism and the notion of pleasure. Today, our mission is to improve daily life with practical accessories (like our flagship product, the fanny pack), while fighting against waste.

The values remain close to Alice’s, as we were aligned on many points: sharing, optimism, action, and adventure. Sharing is essential for me because Binette is also a community. Optimism is key because even though topics like waste and environmental impact can be depressing, we must “keep the banana” (a French expression meaning to stay positive)! Adventure reflects the life I want to instill in this brand, and it’s also a nod to the products themselves, which are designed for adventure.

How are the products designed?

Binette’s flagship product is the fanny pack, which represents about 80% of sales. Then, there are the totes, pouches, wallets, and eyeglass cases, which complement the fanny pack. I am also launching some new products soon, such as bucket hats, and each product is designed with sustainability in mind.

For the raw materials, I try to go further in upcycling. Initially, Binette products were made from fabric scraps—leftover rolls of industrial fabric that were destined to be thrown away. But I also wanted to work with finished products meant to be burned, to transform them and give them a second life. This is a more technical branch because it requires deconstructing products, cutting them, adding linings and fastenings, which takes time and demands a particular skillset, which I have been able to find in workshops in France.

I work with a workshop in Tunisia and three workshops in France. The first French workshop is an adapted company that employs people with mild disabilities, and the other two are ESAT (workshops for people with disabilities) and associations. I chose to work with solidarity-based workshops to have a local positive impact, even though it involves production constraints. For example, people in the insertion workshops often work fewer hours per week, and the process can sometimes be slower, but it aligns with Binette’s values, so I am committed to working with them.

Since you took over Binette, how has it been going?

Honestly, it’s a real challenge every day. Last year, I managed to reach, in just 10 months, the same turnover that Alice achieved over 18 months. This year, I even aim to double that amount, although it is still small enough that I can’t pay myself a salary. So, Binette is doing pretty well, but it’s certainly a long-term effort. I am diversifying my activities by giving talks in schools to raise awareness about responsible fashion issues. This allows me to have other sources of income for better financial stability.

You studied the Master in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, did it inspire you?

We were a small group in Lille, just about twenty students, but all passionate about entrepreneurship, and I really enjoyed that year. It was probably my favorite year at IÉSEG. We had a lot of courses that immersed us directly in the world of entrepreneurship, especially the CRÉENSO program, where we support social entrepreneurs for a year. It allowed me to fully immerse myself in social entrepreneurship, and I learned a lot.

At IÉSEG, I really took advantage of all the opportunities. I even created an environmental-focused association, “Act,” which still exists today. In 2019, with three very committed friends, we realized that something was missing at the school to raise awareness and take action on environmental issues. It was my first entrepreneurial experience, and we worked hard to structure and launch the association, in collaboration with Maria Castillo, Director of Social and Environmental Impact at IÉSEG.

I also took a gap year, with six months at Impulso, a social sector organization, and then six months in Ethiopia with an eco-responsible textile company. All of this allowed me to touch on different aspects of social entrepreneurship and environmental impact. During this master’s program, I also discovered the IÉSEG incubator. Once I took over Binette, I thought it would be a great opportunity to join the Incubator.

What has been the most rewarding part of your journey with Binette so far?

One of my greatest prides has been being able to hire an apprentice for a year, pay her every month, train her, and offer her this experience. I am also proud of having managed to relocate part of the production to France and to release products 100% designed by myself.

For me, the biggest challenge in entrepreneurship is the financial aspect. You have to find the balance to keep each product affordable while making it profitable. Then, sourcing is complicated: finding high-quality fabrics that are beautiful, affordable, and available in sufficient quantities is difficult. Sometimes I come across a great fabric, but there are only 6 meters of it, so I produce a limited series, which makes continuity difficult.

Finally, there’s also the challenge of upcycling my own products. Sometimes, a product doesn’t work immediately, so I have to figure out how to improve it while staying creative. I always try to maintain a balance between production, creation, and brand development…