Is it possible to put the Made in France label on your website?
Admit it, you've thought about it: is it possible to indicate the famous "Made in France" on your shop?
You have certainly already asked yourself if you had the right to put the mention Made in France on your shop. It is indeed an interesting question and it deserves a small blog post.
As your print shop, we'll try to shed some light on the subject and give you some direction on what you can and can't show on your site.
We'll start by telling you about us, our products and where they come from, and then give you some ideas on how to communicate your brand.
Where is TPOP located?
The whole team works in a happy and cheerful atmosphere from a village called Barjac, in the heart of the Gard garrigue (in the Gard department, in the east of Occitanie).
In France, therefore, you will have understood.
We are very lucky, it's a preserved natural environment, very sunny and often exposed to the mistral.
In this village, your beautiful visuals are printed by a team with multiple origins.
A Gardoise, French, European impression. What more could you ask for?
European wholesalers
Our suppliers are all located in Europe.
We try to have the smallest possible ecological footprint, so we always favour European companies.
India: the main country of origin of our (organic) cotton
As you know, French cotton (and even European cotton in general) is extremely rare and only available in very small quantities. The United States, India, China and Turkey are the main suppliers of cotton on the planet. The organic cotton in the products offered by TPOP comes from India.
Bangladesh: "the world's textile factory
You will see it (or you have already seen it): your t-shirts, sweatshirts contain a label with the words Made in Bangladesh.
Our suppliers work with a small number of factories and have full control over the manufacturing processes and working conditions through the presence of in-country employees and contact persons.
These state-of-the-art factories employ real experts in textile manufacturing and the workers are highly skilled. These factories have also obtained labels that oblige them to respect rules imposing good working conditions (safety and protection of the worker, minimum legal age, working hours, paid holidays, decent wages).
Bangladesh, an Asian country with a population of 165 million, is now the world's second largest textile exporter after China.
Between 1980 and 2018, the textile industry boosted the country's GDP from 18 billion to 274 billion dollars. An incredible evolution of figures that shows the importance of this industry for the evolution of the country today. Thanks to the 4,500 factories throughout Bangladesh, 4 million Bangladeshis (80% of whom are women) can now be financially independent.
We are very proud to offer t-shirts and sweatshirts produced for the most part in Bangladesh, in accordance with the ethical rules of the Fair Wear Foundation and / or BSCI, certified GOTS: the most demanding certification for organic textiles.
What about Made in France then?
TPOP: print on demand in France
The rules of Made in France in the field of textiles are rather vague.
For garments that have been designed in at least two countries - which is the case for our products - the Made in France label can only be applied in two cases:
- That of garments for which the last substantial transformation, i.e. leading to the creation of a new product, was carried out in France,
- That of garments in which at least 45% of the value added has been achieved in France.
If you are a French company, you should check whether the printing of your visuals on the products corresponds to 45% of the added value of the final product.
As far as our print on demand service is concerned, we have chosen not to communicate on Made in France: this would also imply removing the labels already present inside the clothes we offer.
Moreover, as displaying Made in France products can be considered as deception, we decided not to take any risks: this legal uncertainty should therefore be handled with care.
In conclusion
We advise you to avoid talking about "Made in France" on your website, this will avoid you having to deal with a whole bunch of sensitive issues and you will be able to answer your customers clearly.
On the other hand, you are completely free to focus your communication on the fact that the printing of your products is French (or European, depending on your location) and that the products offered are made in a fair manner, using ecological and environmentally friendly materials, while being of excellent quality and at a very affordable price.
There is nothing to be ashamed of, in short, you offer really top products.