At Lelièvre, we believe in a more responsible and more human approach to decoration. Through this manifesto, we wish to share the values that we defend as well as the initiatives that we have put in place.
Lelièvre is an independent family-owned business, a socially responsible company and a monument of French heritage.
From generation to generation, it has cultivated the values that today form its strength and reputation. Our first promises are to perpetuate the rare textile professions and to restore their beauty to the skills of our artisans, all guardians of age-old know-how, enhanced in a healthy working environment.
In addition, the Company takes great care to preserve and bring to life its precious archives and finally, for several years, has been committed to a sustainable development policy based around the "Made in France".
Professions, people and actions
Train, transmit and innovate: for more than a hundred years, our Company has ensured the continuity of the key professions in this French textile industry. France is, through its history of decoration, the cradle of silk-weaving; we want to maintain and develop this formidable heritage by combining both tradition and modernity.
We have a particular interest in sharing and passing on rare and precious weaving techniques to younger generations.
It is in our human-sized workshop in Croix-Rousse and our Panissières weaving mill that we perpetuate the jobs of our employees and apprentices, all driven by this common passion for weaving.
Learning the weaving skills with both hand and power looms, due to their complexity, requires a great deal of knowledge and know-how. This is why we make sure that the most experienced pass on their knowledge, their techniques and their very specific gestures to the youngest.
In addition, we have set up textile training so that all our employees, regardless of their profession (customer service, purchasing, accounting, etc.) who are less familiar with the industry in which they operate, can better understand it and feel proud to work in a niche decoration universe with a strong know-how.
As some textile professions suggest a great deal of hardship, Lelièvre always is vigilant in order to preserve the well-being of its employees. Among other things, for the handling of heavy loads, we invest in the best support equipment within reach to relieve the health of people performing these physical tasks.
In addition, to ensure that the people involved in the manufacture of Lelièvre fabrics work in optimal conditions and with respect for human rights, we favour the production of almost all of our fabrics in Europe.
Introduced by the Law “for the freedom to choose one's professional future”, the Professional Equality Index between Women and Men was designed to limit and erase pay inequalities between genders in France.
This score must be at least 75.
For the year 2023, our gender equality index is 81/100.
- Gender pay gap: 29/40
- Gap in the number of annual salary increases for women and men: 35/35
- Number of increases upon return from maternity leave: not calculable
- Distribution of men and women in the 10 highest salaries: 5/10
Preservation of our Heritage
Maison Lelièvre owns one of the world’s most remarkable textile archives with more than 100,000 documents of mostly woven rather than printed textiles, some tricentenaries, which it carefully preserves and catalogues.
The example of Tassinari & Chatel, a Lyon manufacture tracing back to 1680 at the height of Louis XIV and acquired by Maison Lelièvre in 1997 perfectly illustrates this preservation of French heritage, by obtaining in 2006 the coveted by the French State as EPV - Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant label, or Living Heritage Company for its role in preserving skills and know-how in woven textiles.
« It is our duty to preserve these precious archival documents and borrowings from history. »
Emmanuel Lelièvre
An ecologically responsible
commitment
Today more than 50% of our fabrics are made in France in our own factories.
We are keen to develop a short supply chain logic in order to minimize our carbon footprint, by reducing as much as possible the distance between each stage of production: European raw materials, suppliers and subcontractors bordering our Panissières plant located in the same county in France (Loire department).
Thus, Maison Lelièvre is proud to have two production tools in the Lyon region, the cradle of the silk trades: one of the last hand-weaving workshops located in the La Croix Rousse district in Lyon and the weaving mill of Panissières. It is in these French workshops that a large part of our creations see the light of day.
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Since the fine fabrics is at the heart of our business, Maison Lelièvre, through its high-end brand positioning, is keen to work with noble fabrics with less ecological impact. This questioning constantly guides our research towards new materials, more respectful of the environment. We are committed to a constant search for quality and durability in the manufacture of our fabrics.
The Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant (EPV) label - or Living Heritage Company - is the only distinction awarded by the French government in recognition of exceptional know-how, and aims to promote and protect companies preserving French excellence in traditional craft and artisanship. Tassinari & Chatel was awarded the EPV label in 2006.
Lelièvre Paris has also been awarded the ‘Go For Good’ label, Galeries Lafayette's commitment to responsible consumption.
In July 2024, Maison Lelièvre joined the Comité Colbert to uphold the values of excellence of French know-how and the international influence of our country’s art of living.
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Lelièvre has implemented an anti-waste policy for many years by donating its fabric scraps, cups, samples, old bundles to schools or associations, thus creating a virtuous circle.
This effort continues in the donation of fabrics from our old collections to design publishing houses or upcycling partner distributors. We are proud to be behind a collaboration with Selency which uses linen fabrics to create a fully upcycled table linen collection. Human and supportive, this collection was made by a French occupational integration NGO specializing in soft furnishing making.
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This green ambition is consolidated by the use of recycled packaging and shipping boxes certified PEFC and FSC (certification which ensures the sustainable management of forests and guarantees the legality of the exploitation, the absence of link to deforestation, the management sustainability and biodiversity conservation).
This initiative allows the Maison to assert its desire to integrate more eco-responsible methods and materials into its logistics. It is also delighted to eliminate the daily use of plastics from its production units, showrooms and offices, and to practice recycling.
Read moreToday, Maison Lelièvre is committed more than ever to the future.