[Reportage] The "ReCréateurs", an insertion workshop that cuts standardized fashion into pieces

How far are these assembly line factories producing standardized clothing, in social and environmental conditions that we would not accept here. In the 19^th arrondissement of Paris, in the heart of a bright workshop in the Centquatre cultural space, women make by hand (and by machine) accessories and clothing from salvaged fabrics. Pockets in wax, patchwork shirts, blouses and jackets with colored inserts: the employees in integration show creativity to give a second life to textiles which, without it, would surely end up in the incinerator.

The “ReCréateurs” is a social innovation project led by the Emmaüs Défi association since 2017. In addition to a wood workshop which also employs five people, five women come here to train in sewing. Previously homeless, having mostly known the street, they are employed by the Emmaüs Défi association. Paid at the hourly minimum wage, in particular thanks to public funding from the DIRECCTE (Regional Directorate for Business, Competition, Consumption, Labor and Employment), they spend an average of two and a half years here.

12 women beneficiaries of the project

Oriented by social workers and supported in particular in terms of health and housing by advisers from the association, they begin by a first contract of six months, the time that their situation stabilizes. If all goes well, they continue their work in the workshop and benefit from courses and training, particularly in French. Sometimes with the assistance of partner companies: the Chanel Foundation, which has supported the project to the tune of 200,000 euros over three years, has thus organized self-presentation, sales or even sewing workshops, thanks to the mobilization of its own employees.

@Carol_Stephen @CreativeWoodVT @sandyconnolly Why wood is better than plastic. How to clean and preserve the product… https://t.co/aFV9wKcjjh

— Teodora Ema Pirciu Tue Jun 15 21:04:24 +0000 2021

Since the launch of the workshop, 12 women have benefited from this project. None have yet found a stable job at the end of the training, but some have then been able to join other integration projects or degree courses.

A way to regain self-esteem

For these women who have experienced particularly difficult life trials, and who have lived on the street for an average of six months, the challenge is already to regain self-esteem and a form of stability. For Sophie Elmosino, the workshop supervisor, creative work is a way to achieve this: “Of course, employees are paid to come and work here, but I observe that this activity fulfills them. Sewing can be a real moment of meditation”. This trained tailor must constantly adapt to different profiles: “for some who have not been to elementary school, holding a pair of straight scissors is not so easy. I also make sure to always use the same vocabulary when I refer to technical gestures so as not to lose them. »

Paty, 52, is one of the oldest members of the workshop. “I like what I do here a lot. People who buy our parts love and come to congratulate us. It encourages, “she says, unsewing a wax pocket. Arrived from Guinea Conakry in 2002 in poor health, she attended a residential center before being referred to Emmaüs Défi. “The association has helped me a lot. Before, I only found short contracts. Today, I have colleagues and I have just moved into a studio, ”she says, with a smile on her face.

Schedules and instructions to be respected

ReCréateurs employees are required to respect the timetables, to comply with the safety instructions and not to show violence. "Each can go at their own pace, but we still have deadlines, especially when it comes to responding to orders," adds Sophie Elmosino. In addition to sales in the adjoining shop, the RéCréateurs sometimes respond to requests from businesses. This is the case of the Lamazuna brand, which had ordered pouches to slip its cosmetics into. However, the association must decline certain requests, says Federica Morbelli, project manager at Emmaüs Défi: “Some companies want us to produce 100 identical bags in one week. We must then explain to them that here, it is the work that adapts to the person, and not the other way around.”

Although the productivity of the workers is not a criterion in the workshop, the requirement is no less high: "It is not because we are doing reintegration that the products must be less beautiful . We want to transmit the culture of a job well done,” explains Federica Morbelli. According to a questionnaire conducted with Emmaüs customers, the act of purchase is above all motivated by the crush caused by the object, the environmental component coming in second then the social in third place of the motivations .

The ReCréateurs are part of a circular economy approach. The association has indeed observed that it is overflowing with raw materials of all kinds. Thus, after having worked on the upcycling of furniture, she embarked on textile creation. The outlet is huge: in the Emmaüs Défi integration project dedicated to the collection and sorting of textiles located in the same district, one to two tonnes of clothing and fabrics are received every day. After sorting by the 150 employees, around 20% of the clothes are sold as is, while the rest is donated to the Relais association. The loop of the circular economy is therefore not ready to close.

Helene Fargues