“Are you making made-in-France 1945?” - This was the way I was addressed in the store last week by a customer. My first instinct was to tell him that I didn't understand his question and ask him to rephrase it. She repeated the same question to me knowingly without further explanation.
I then wondered if, inadvertently, an object recalling the dark hours of our history had been hung in the shop - but no!
I told myself that since she was talking about 1945, evoking the liberation, it must be positive.
I told him that our production was indeed made-in-France in 2019 and that I did not understand his implications.
Fortunately, this kind of mishap only happened to us twice, but twice too many.
When we buy American products, are we supporting Trump's policies? When we buy Chinese products, are we supporting the policies of the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China? Would this mean that the entire world population supports Xi Jinping?! A global conspiracy! A disaster !
So why associate made-in-France with nationalism?
It is time to say it loud and clear: encouraging, producing, selling, shaping, loving made-in-France is in no way a secret nationalist project and in no way responds to the populist speeches of some.
Consuming made-in-France is a philosophy: consuming less, but better.
- Consume less - take care of the planet: The fast fashion industry is destroying a large part of the planet by polluting the soil, deforesting and excessively exploiting natural resources. Made-in-France favors short circuits and is subject to strict environmental standards.
- Consume better - take care of people: Consuming locally guarantees that products are manufactured in compliance with social standards. This helps maintain and create jobs in our regions.
We like made-in-France open to the world. To grow, it sometimes needs raw materials from elsewhere.
Finally, made-in-France does not mean denigrating the know-how of other countries. Each has its own specificities, which forms the culture of each country.
In short, dear Madam, I tried to answer you, to question you, you weren't listening to me, I hope you will read me. I kiss you :)
Article written by David