Le Briand in the Spotlight
Our distinctive know-how, commitment to others and determination to make bedding for ever-better sleep have earned us several distinctions.
We know that some of you see them as a sign that a brand, retailer and/or manufacturer can be trusted. That is why we do not hesitate to apply when the opportunity arises.
These awards and certifications recognize products, know-how, techniques, experience, values and commitments, but they are not an end in themselves.
In short, we are proud of this recognition for work well done, but we do not chase it.
It clearly helps bring recognition to our workshops and craftspeople.
We nevertheless keep these awards in perspective and maintain a natural distance from them because:
- We act on our own modest scale.
- Our thinking becomes more refined and effective over time.
- We prefer to spend more time making carefully finished products and looking after our customers.
Finally, these distinctions help sustain high-quality craftsmanship centered on people and their pursuit of more comfortable sleep.
Labels
Répar’acteur Label (Repairer Label)
Wool mattresses and box springs do not need to be thrown away; they can be refurbished. That is the great advantage of the traditional construction methods we use.
Refurbishing a wool mattress or repairing a box spring can extend its useful life beyond 60 years.
About the Repairer Label
The Repairer Label brings together businesses committed to sustainable development and the circular economy.
Members promote repair rather than equipment replacement and manage their operations in an environmentally responsible way.
Fabriqué à Paris (Made in Paris) Label – 2021
Our wool mattresses and box springs received the Made in Paris label in 2021.
About the Made in Paris label
The Made in Paris label was created to promote the diversity and richness of products made in Paris.
The City of Paris awarded the label to 386 products made in Paris as part of the 2021–2022 cohort.
Created in November 2017, the label showcases products made in Paris and demonstrates the excellence and diversity of Parisian craftsmanship.
Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant (EPV; Living Heritage Company) Label
Le Briand, a maker of wool mattresses and traditional bedding, received the prestigious Living Heritage Company (EPV) label in 2005, the year the label was created.
About the EPV label
Living Heritage Company (EPV) is an official French label issued under the authority of the Ministry of the Economy and Finance to recognize French companies with exceptional craft and industrial expertise.
This distinction recognizes the enduring quality of careful local craftsmanship, French-made products and French materials, all with respect for the environment.
Awards
Trophée des Trésors Vivants de l’artisanat (Living Treasures of Craftsmanship Award)
Les Ateliers Le Briand received the Living Treasures of Craftsmanship Award in 2012. Watch the video.
About the Living Treasures of Craftsmanship Award
These awards honor people who preserve endangered French craft skills. They help protect that knowledge, bring the recipients’ businesses to wider attention and encourage these techniques to be passed on. Without that continuity, an entire part of the chain of knowledge would disappear.
Labels and Le Briand
Over the years, labels and awards have become increasingly prominent, whether by design or through market distortions.
They are presented as guarantees of virtue, particularly against excesses in the bedding industry, according to criteria subjectively defined by the issuing organizations.
We suggest taking a step back from certifications and awards rather than treating them as a compass, given both the subjective nature of these distinctions and the conditions for obtaining them.
Few mattresses are as recyclable as a wool mattress.
Few mattresses are as natural as a wool mattress.
Few mattresses are as durable as a wool mattress, helping avoid planned obsolescence and its negative environmental effects.
Across the value chain, few mattresses have fewer negative effects on the environment, people and local communities than a wool mattress.
Yet few makers of wool mattresses or box springs, and even fewer artisan mattress makers, hold environmental labels.
We are not seeking sympathy. We are simply stating the facts.
We work within this context and explain why the situation exists. There are three reasons:
1- The cost of certifying wool as organic raises the price of our products, while significantly reducing the quality of the wool available to us.
At an equivalent quality level, these certifications add substantially to raw-material costs. Combined with the labor required to make our products, that would push prices to prohibitive levels.
Our farmers raise Texel sheep entirely on pasture without seeking organic certification, providing us with excellent filling wool.
2- For cotton, we chose to work with the last spinning mill in the Vosges, which made the same choice as we did regarding certification.
3- For both wool and cotton, environmental certifications tend to favor long supply chains, while we have worked to shorten ours.
An environmental certification can act as a screen behind which sourcing, treatment and processing chains remain opaque and globalized.
In light of these three points, we have chosen to source as locally as possible.
This gives us the best balance between environmental impact, the price-to-quality ratio of our raw materials and a positive social effect on the communities involved.
This comes at the expense of a formal certification and labeling scheme. That is also why we provide greater transparency about the materials in our bedding:
- Le Briand wool
- Le Briand bed-fabric collections
The Strength of a Network
Les Ateliers Le Briand is a member of several professional organizations and platforms. Together, they strengthen collective action and bring recognition to our supply chains: