The invite is gone. So far, no response. The textile sector, still very present in Lyon and Rhône-Alpes, invited Grégory Doucet, Mayor of Lyon, to visit the garment workshops in his city.
Reason: in early January, the green town hall of Lyon ordered 450 down jackets to equip its agents. Except that these are pieces sewn in Bangladesh, a symbol of the exploitation of its workers following the Rana Plaza disaster in 2013. The SUD union first reacted by pointing to “contradictions” between the commitment of the municipality, which has voted for a responsible purchasing plan, and this order without any social or environmental guarantee. “We don’t want to spend 250 euros for a down jacket made in France,” defended Audrey Hénocque, 1st deputy in charge of finance.
Disastrous carbon footprint, no social guarantee
After the political reactions, the industrial sector, represented by the professional union Unitex, is getting annoyed. It represents more than 17,000 jobs in the region. “They would have taken down jackets in Europe, even in the Maghreb, we could have accepted. But in Bangladesh, 8,000 km away, with a disastrous carbon footprint, and without any social guarantee, it’s nonsense,” laments Audrey Zucchi, co-founder of Maison Ma Bille, a clothing workshop in Lyon, which employs a about thirty employees, half of whom are in integration.
The young leader wrote to Mayor Grégory Doucet to invite him to visit her new workshops in the fabric museum. “This episode above all illustrates a lack of knowledge of our sector. 250 euros is the price of a down jacket sold in stores. We are able to provide public buyers with down jackets between 50 and 80 euros,” compares Audrey Zucchi, who has just delivered workwear made in France to a large construction group.