Le Made in France
Le Made in France

Made in France

The " made in France " is fashionable, is it the latest fad of brands to encourage us to buy more? Or is it a real social and solidarity approach with quality products at stake?

As you will have understood, at Le Vent à la Française it is the second option that interests us.
Alongside brands with dubious ethics, or even those that claim to be made in France with only a small part of the product that really is, we have chosen 100% made in France .
This is not a trivial position, we are convinced that we can change things, towards a more socially, economically and ecologically responsible fashion.
We are going to explain to you why French manufacturing is essential for us.

 

Quality First !

 

French know-how

 

We have chosen to manufacture in France because the French Fabriqué is synonymous with quality. But above all, we believe that working with geographically close workshops is beneficial for everyone.
And that's what we do!
For example, we are 10 minutes by car from our workshop for assembling and shipping our bracelets . This allows us to regularly visit the site to check that our quality standards are respected. It is also to exchange with Bernard, head of production at ESAT Pierre Doussinet, a medico-social establishment aimed at promoting the professional reintegration of people with disabilities .
The dialogue is uninterrupted between the workshop and our brand and this creates a climate of mutual trust.

Our employees are also partners, a healthy relationship is essential for a sustainable business. We care about the well-being of the workers, and they give it back to us.

We benefit from century-old French know-how in the production of textiles and accessories. Even if the latter is becoming scarce, it is still possible to support the fashion economy in France and contribute to its growth.

 

Made in France - Photo from our video on the production of our bronze medals - Le Vent à la Française

 
Photo from our video on the production of our bronze medals

 

 

We are coming to an interesting turning point between tradition and modernity. The new generation of producers brings with it new manufacturing techniques while the old perpetuates the ancestral knowledge of French manufacturing .

 

 

Diagram from the idea to the final product, at Le Vent à la Française:

 

Made in France - diagram from idea to product - Le Vent à la Francaise (1)

 

 

A gesture for the environment

 

In the era of global warming, abusive exploitation of resources and pollution of the oceans, made in France and local consumption are an excellent remedy for the greatest contemporary problems.

With French manufacturing , no boats criss-crossing the seas releasing heavy metals into the atmosphere.
Fewer airplanes burning tons of kerosene, because the end product doesn't fly around the world before it gets to you.
More transparency on the origin of raw materials.

But all is not perfect, there are very few cotton crops in France . The production made in France integral from the raw material to the product is not an end. Indeed, there are climatic constraints and certain know-how that other countries master better than us.
There is a happy medium to be found, at Le Vent à la Française , we are not extremists. We simply want a return to a fairer valuation of products, which is a step in the right direction, that of fairness.

 

Rethinking the business model

 

Most brands producing abroad send their products thousands of miles away. The finished products are sold and resold to wholesalers who take an important place in the value chain. In the end, it is you, the consumer, who pays the price for this industry that is going upside down.

Local economy, short circuits, fair prices, these are concepts that mean concrete actions.
It is not tomorrow that France will become one of the major producing countries of avocados, oil or even smartphones. Because we have climatic, surface, resource and know-how constraints.
But this is not the case with textile manufacturing, France is a historic producer of the sector, inventor of denim, the ancestor of denim as we know it, and an illustrious silk spinner.
Even if the prosperity of these industries is no longer relevant, French know-how remains and only asks to be supported.


The French clothing industry: (figures from INSEE)

Made in France - The French clothing industry (INSEE) - Le Vent à la Francaise

 

By buying products made in France , you reduce the loss of value caused by long circuits. You support people who will consume the value produced in France and feed the local economy : it's a virtuous circle.

You are also very numerous to be in solidarity with the French economy according to this survey of the guide to the marking of origin of the general management of companies (DGE). Mentalities are changing and we are moving in the right direction.

Made in France - survey from the DGE's Origin Marking Guide - Le Vent à la Francaise

If we take the example of Le Vent à la Française , we employ 10 trades and 42 people on average on each family of products. This is a welcome dynamic in towns and villages that have suffered from relocation.
On our graph below (data from INSEE) we can clearly see the effects of offshoring thanks to the curve of salaried employees (in blue) and the increasing quantities of imports (in red).

Made in France - textiles in France since 1990 - Le Vent à la Francaise

We do not have the Origine France Garantie label because it is too permissive. Anyone can claim the label as long as they demonstrate 51% added value in France . It's a good start, but we prefer to approach 100% and do not want to leave any vagueness or inaccuracies on this percentage. 

 

Respect human rights

 

A real commitment

 

After ecology and the economy, it is the working condition of human beings that is improved thanks to made in France . We are lucky to have health standards, a decent minimum wage, paid holidays, which some Asian countries in particular do not have or do not respect.
We can cite as an example the Rana Plaza in Bangladesh in 2013, a textile factory with deplorable working conditions which caused 1,130 deaths when it collapsed, the instructions to evacuate the premises not having been respected.

 

 

The bracelet guide - Photo of the collapse of Rana Plaza, regrouping several textile production factories in Bangladesh - Le Vent à la Française

Photo of the collapse of Rana Plaza, grouping several textile production factories in Bangladesh

 

This kind of event is unacceptable, and the big brands are responsible for this negligence.
But the consumer is not there for nothing.
Coluche (famous French humorist) said “When you think that it would be enough for people to stop buying for it not to sell”.

In conclusion, we have chosen and are proud to produce in France . This allows us to access formidable know-how and to have a close relationship with our workshops.

It is a step towards respecting the environment , by reducing transport.
It is a gesture of solidarity for our local economy .
It is a sign of commitment to respecting workers' rights.

We hope you now know more about made in France and why we defend it so fervently.