Nerdy or fashionable… In the midst of an epidemic, she tries to relaunch the handkerchief

“More than thirty billion paper handkerchiefs are thrown away each year in France”. This figure put forward by Adèle Loison is starting to date but it still hits the mark. According to our research, it would be based on statements from a member of the management of the Kleenex brand, which mentioned 90 million tissues sold per month by the entire profession in 2013. With the Covid epidemic- 19 and the insistence of the authorities to use a disposable handkerchief, we can imagine that this figure will explode in this year 2020 like no other. It is in this particular context that the young Rennaise launched her idea: to make washable and reusable fabric handkerchiefs. “You had to be crazy,” Adèle Loison slips, smirking.

This former Digitaleo employee quit her job less than a year ago to devote herself to her brand, La Fabrique du mouchoir, as a challenge unwittingly launched by her father. “I had invited two friends to my parents’ house when my father took out a huge old brown handkerchief to blow his nose. I was a little ashamed in front of my girlfriends and pointed out to her. He explained to me that he couldn’t find any and challenged me to find the nicer ones. He even bet me that it would come back into fashion one day ”. Adèle Loison conducted her little investigation on the Web to try to find her father pretty fabric models. ” I’ve found nothing “.

Before embarking on the making of prototypes with old sheets, the young woman conducted her little investigation on the Web and in her entourage. If the fabric handkerchief is not unanimous, it has the merit of making people talk. “There are people for whom this is clearly not possible. But it provides emotions by evoking memories of parents or grandparents. He makes people react ”.

100% French manufacturing

Convinced by her project, the 28-year-old entrepreneur, who had no knowledge of the textile industry, then struggled to make a 100% French handkerchief. A “premium” model made in linen and woven in Halluin (North) by Lemaitre Demeestere, one of the last French weavers, before being made in two workshops near Cholet (Maine et Loire), once the cradle of the fabric handkerchief.

Offered at 25 euros each, the La Fabrique du mouchoir model designed by Adèle Loison is a premium item. A choice assumed by the young entrepreneur. “The handkerchief is also a fashion accessory, it is not just there for colds. Can he wipe away a tear of joy or sorrow? I am aware that the first step is difficult to take. But it’s so sweet that afterwards, we can’t do without it ”. Are you ready to give in?