PROFILE OF STAFF MEMBERS – HABITUDES ASSOCIATION

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My name is Caroline, and I am the president and founder of the HABITUDES nonprofit organization, established in late 2021 in Fontenay-sous-Bois. Our mission is to combat textile waste by selling secondhand clothing and raising awareness about the challenges facing the textile industry.

In practice, we collect clothing donations, which our volunteers carefully sort before putting them up for sale in our store, which is presented like a brand-new clothing store: everything is neatly arranged and well-displayed. We have a wonderful team of volunteers who support us in all of the association’s activities.

When clothes aren’t in good enough condition to be sold, we make them available to other partner organizations (such as Restos du Cœur in Fontenay-sous-Bois, for example) that redistribute them as donations. And for textiles that are truly too damaged, we work with organizations specializing in textile reuse and recycling, such as Le Relais.

We also raise awareness through workshops where we discuss the impacts of the textile industry, in the form of interactive talks or hands-on activities. These workshops take place in middle and high schools, in collaboration with the city, with other organizations, in priority neighborhoods, and at the intergenerational center in Fontenay.

Our interest in being at Les Bains Douches is threefold:

Being part of a comprehensive project open to the city’s residents.
Having the opportunity to create synergies with other residents: we feel less alone, less focused on our own activities, and we gain perspective with a more collective vision.
It’s also appealing to volunteers who have access to this community life and feel they’re contributing to something bigger than just the organization. This makes the organization more vibrant and less insular.

Right now, we’re developing our workshops for businesses, an initiative that’s particularly close to our hearts as we aim to reach increasingly diverse audiences. Everything related to the store—from sourcing to stocking the shelves—is now well-established, so we’re focusing our efforts on creating new formats, new partnerships, and new outreach initiatives. Our mission isn’t limited to selling clothes: we want to change consumption habits and build relationships with local stakeholders. Local partnerships are essential to us, including with Restos du Cœur and many other organizations in the city.