PARIS — “Come for Pangaia’s colorful wares, stay for the sustainable ideas behind them” is the overarching message of the material science company’s two-month pop-up at Galeries Lafayette Haussmann, running until Dec. 31.
In addition to a 810-square-foot retail space for the duration of the pop-up, Pangaia will also be given pride of place until Nov. 8, by being present at both entrances as well as in the footpath connecting these two spaces.
What’s more, all the windows along the Boulevard Haussmann have been turned over to the brand to showcase its innovative materials, amounting to an overall 1,615 square feet of visual impact — the first time the retailer is giving this much high-visibility space to a brand.
“And if customers don’t buy, it’s fine, too,” quipped corporate social responsibility director Damien Pellé, emphasizing the importance of educating visitors and passerbys on the topics driving its “Go for Good” sustainability program.
He added that Pangaia was the kind of label that slotted ideally into the Galeries Lafayette’s goal of “bringing to Paris brands that go the furthest in their quest [for innovation or sustainable practices] while encouraging local brands” throughout France to embrace those practices, in a bid to inspire clients and creators.
Among the highlights of the pop-up are three exclusive colorways used for bestselling loungewear styles: a lipstick red called Rouge Opera; the evergreen Vert Luxembourg that reminds of Parisian benches, and the Brun Marais, described as a “dachshund brown.” The label’s Flwrdwn plant-based down alternative will be among the innovations showcased in-store.
This is the second foray into physical retail for the direct-to-consumer label, as part of its new “Pangaia Pact, an initiative designed to highlight how we work with partners across three key pillars — carbon neutrality, circularity and purpose,” the collective wrote in an email.
In keeping with its mission of being an “Earth-positive business,” the company is offsetting the pop-up’s entire carbon footprint, with an additional 10 percent thrown in for good measure, having accounted for factors such as employee commuting, material use and transport, on-site electricity and heating.
In addition, both brand and retailer will be donating 1 percent each of net sales from the pop-up to the Bee the Change fund, an initiative started by Pangaia in 2020 to support grassroots NGOs working to preserve and protect species such as bees from extinction and supported by transparency-focused donations platform Milkywire.