2024-03-24 04:00:54
Jeans entirely made in France: that’s the challenge of 1083, a textile company that grows cotton in the south of the country before processing it in the Vosges… even if it means asking its customers for a little patience.
A local production from which the company name comes. She assures that before arriving at the customer, the jeans will not have traveled more than 1,083 kilometers, the longest distance to cross France diagonally.
In a few weeks, the first 800 100% French pants will be delivered after more than a year of waiting: the company produced them to order, a form of crowdfunding intended to launch the economic model.
A deadline which also aims to avoid overconsumption. “It prevents us from overproducing and therefore having unsold items,” explains Thomas Huriez, founder and director of 1083.
These jeans, sold at 160 euros, rub shoulders with the prices of certain major clothing brands.
Since 2013, the year of its founding, the company has made a place for itself in the “made in France” clothing sector.
The brand prides itself on having rebuilt the entire French denim industry, from weaving to finishing (dyeing) and cutting. It lacked the repatriation of cotton production. Something, in part, done with these new jeans.
– Next step, uniforms? –
Specializing in jeans, the brand also makes other pieces for women’s and men’s wardrobes. 90% of the collection is still made from organic cotton from a farm in Tanzania which “does not use pesticides or water irrigation”, argues the boss.
Today, the company employs 105 people, including nearly twenty in Rupt-sur-Moselle, where seamstresses assemble the pieces by hand. “A great example of success,” greets Olivier Ducatillion, president of the Union of Textile Industries (UIT). He estimates that “relocating 1% of the clothing purchased by the French would generate 4,000 jobs”.
Like other “made in France” players, 1083 expects the public authorities to set an example. “The Olympic Games were a missed opportunity,” regrets Olivier Ducatillion, the share reserved for French textiles being only 20% of all Games outfits.
The uniforms being tested in several schools could be another opportunity to reveal French know-how. “We offered to make the bottom of the uniforms. We are still waiting for answers,” confides Thomas Huriez.
Olivier Ducatillion, for his part, is calling for a national call for tenders which would allow companies in the sector to position themselves collectively.
– Decrease in consumption –
Of the 67 million jeans sold each year in France, only 100,000 are made in France. 1083 alone represents 50% of sales, selling nearly 50,000 pieces each year.
Made in France only represents “5% of the clothing market in France”, says Olivier Ducatillion.
“We launched at a time when made in France was not fashionable,” recalls Thomas Huriez.
The sector has benefited from renewed interest following the Covid-19 pandemic. As with medicines, “the French remembered that there were textiles in France,” smiles Olivier Ducatillion.
But the effect was short-lived, because since 2023 “made in France” has suffered. “We are seeing a general decline in consumption and we are suffering the full brunt of inflation,” underlines the president of the ITU.
“Our costs have increased by 20% compared to last year, while we have not increased our sales prices,” testifies Thomas Huriez.
Last year, Pierre Schmitt and his eponymous group bore the brunt of this unfavorable situation, when they had just launched, in the fall of 2022, 100% French linen jeans. Due to lack of financing, two of his companies were placed in liquidation last September.
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