A Merry Caring Christmas

December 11, 2023 5 min read

With Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve just around the corner, the coming weeks are set to be festive. A time for warmth and togetherness, the holiday season sets the stage for meaningful moments and cherished memories—a bustling period in which brands can often be tempted to chime in.

For Hast, where honesty is the core value, this season always brings a paradox. On one hand, it feels natural to take part in the festivities by offering our designs to anyone wishing to treat themselves or others. On the other, we regret the consumer frenzy that takes over the final weeks of December, and find it disheartening to participate, even on our modest scale.

In this context, we take extra care to balance the strategic economic importance of this period with the principles we have championed since 2012.

While we fully embrace the commercial nature of our Christmas selection—which this year centres around responsible gift ideas for every budget—we ensure it is matched with meaningful, lasting charitable initiatives.

True to our commitments to fairness, transparency and eco-responsibility, we see the festive season less as a business opportunity and more as a chance to share our vision of clothing, as we will explore in this article.

Hast and the dream of an Honest Christmas

In all transparency, the festive season is a major milestone for any business. Despite the current climate and inflation, people in France continue to set aside a substantial budget for the year-end celebrations, which is why most clothing brands generate a significant portion of their annual turnover in December.

To capitalise on this period, many retailers ramp up commercial campaigns, Black Friday-style events and festive promotions. A foolproof and somewhat opportunistic way to boost figures as the financial year draws to a close. The flip side is that others pay the price at the other end of the supply chain—first and foremost, the planet and exploited garment workers.

At Hast, we refuse to fall into this trap. While this stance inevitably means missing out on revenue, we believe it remains true to our core values. Choosing means letting go.

Far from the commercial frenzy and overconsumption, we champion a restrained and responsible Christmas. For us, putting joy under the tree means gifting exceptional garments, made in Europe from natural and/or recycled materials. Steering clear of perpetual sales, we stand by a fair price 365 days a year. A wonderful way to bring lasting delight with clothes designed to stand the test of time.

Our charitable initiatives

Alongside our core mission, we nurture a genuinely caring approach, brought to life through brand-wide initiatives:

Donating new garments. As we do every year, we donate new pieces to the charity AIDES to help them raise funds during their annual Grande Braderie. We also supply "La Tie Solidaire", an organisation helping individuals in difficulty re-enter the workforce.

Supporting textile recycling. Thanks to collection points in our Paris and Lyon stores, we take back your worn-out clothes to ensure they are recycled.

Combating loneliness. Every year, between 10 and 20% of French people spend Christmas alone. In 2023, we decided to partner with "Une lettre un sourire", allowing our customers to send a letter to an isolated elderly person. We collect these notes in our stores and will send them in time for Christmas Eve, sharing a heartfelt thought with those unable to spend the holidays with family or friends.

The charity wardrobe clear-out. This is an upcoming project scheduled for early 2024. The concept is quite original: we plan to invite influencers to sell select pieces from their personal wardrobes during a one-day event, with all proceeds donated to a partner charity. Interested? Stay tuned.

Our Christmas wish list for an Honest festive season

Before signing off, we wanted to share our checklist for a holiday season that is as Honest as possible. Part survival guide, part handbook, this simple list offers a few modest tips to make Christmas as responsible as it is joyful.

With all humility, here are our recommendations:

Let’s make the most of the holidays to sort, recycle, resell or donate. Clothes, toys, toiletries, books: we all have dozens of unused items simply waiting for a second life (and sure to bring joy to someone else).

Let’s give Honest gifts. Echoing what we mentioned earlier, it can be tempting to take advantage of seasonal sales to pile up the parcels. Yet, true generosity lies in offering something of real value: a high-quality garment, a meaningful piece, or a durable present is worth infinitely more than a handful of disposable novelties—even if they seem fun or cute at the time (goodbye novelty llamas and desktop pool sets). Whatever we choose to buy, let’s keep longevity in mind, check the materials, and verify where items are made, so we can shop mindfully and responsibly.

Let’s opt for reusable wrapping. In France, single-use gift wrapping generates thousands of tonnes of waste each year, and that is a real issue. To wrap sustainably, we suggest two approaches: either invest in reusable wrapping to bring out year after year, or draw inspiration from the Japanese art of furoshiki. This traditional fabric-folding technique is used to wrap and carry gifts, food and other everyday items.

Let’s avoid overconsumption. Whether it comes to gifts, festive meals or decorations, there is no need to go overboard to have a wonderful time. In our view, "less is more" is always the best approach.

Let’s write a note to "Une lettre un sourire". It may be just a brief message to us, but it means the world to the recipient. To write one directly from your phone, the QR code is available here.

Never underestimate the power of a gift card. Out of ideas, unsure of the size, or torn between colours? The gift card takes the guesswork out of gifting. Simply choose an amount to get it right every time.

Let’s recycle as much as we can. Food leftovers, dining waste, various wrappings: let’s make an effort to recycle whatever we can, so the planet digests the festive period better than we digest that irresistible final slice of Yule log.