Sustainable start-up Nona Source created by LVMH opens in the UK

The digital platform has seen its success grow over time. Created by LVMH, it develops a b2b business to sell, at a reduced price, textiles and exceptional materials unused by the group's fashion and leather goods houses.

The start-up is inspired by the principles of the circular economy to improve the sustainability of the production chain and boost the environmental strategy of Bernard Arnault's company. Nona Source is thus a winning compromise between sustainability and business.  The prices of the fabrics are generally competitive: about 70% less than the wholesale cost.

Its name comes from Roman mythology and is inspired by the youngest of the goddesses Parques who weaves the thread of life and symbolises destiny and change. The desire to bring about this famous change in the management of high-end materials was born of the intuition of four LVMH employees: Marie Falguera, Romain Brabo, Anne Prieur du Perray and Nicolas Forge. The start-up is the fruit of their encounter.

The realization that materials of exceptional quality remained unused in the stocks of the group's major fashion houses generated the idea of giving them a new life while at the same time allowing young designers on the market to find a solution to supply difficulties and to take advantage of high quality fabrics to launch their new collections.

A committee of textile experts selects the most suitable fabrics, laces, patterns and leathers from the laboratories of the luxury group's fashion and leather goods houses to be offered on the platform.

This green bet follows LVMH's environmental policy and the sustainability programme already launched by the company called Life 360, which is based on four pillars around the product: protection of biodiversity, the fight against climate change, the circular economy and transparency about the origin of materials and their treatment.

While it is true that brands are tending to reduce stocks more and more, with the risk of one day making the platform concept obsolete, many suppliers still require a minimum quantity of fabrics to fulfil orders, which makes the quantity of materials stored still important.

Nona Source still has a long way to go.  

Prior to the opening of the London showroom, the start-up had already opened a showroom in Paris, in the 10th arrondissement, last December.