EarthX Website: https://earthxmedia.com/
Founded in 1987, Jouffre is one of the most sustainable upholstery and furniture companies, utilizing water-based glue, FSC-certified wood, & recyclable foam in its designs.
About Chez Laurence:
Designer Laurence Carr meets manufacturers and brands who are employing circular, regenerative, and sustainable practices. See how they're seeking to change the end-of-life concept with eco-friendly techniques.
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EarthX is a media company dedicated to inspiring people to care about the planet. We take an omni channel approach to reach audiences of every age through its robust 24/7 linear channel distributed across cable and FAST outlets, along with dynamic, solution oriented short form content on social and digital platforms. EarthX is home to original series, documentaries and snackable content that offer sustainable solutions to environmental challenges. EarthX is the only network that delivers entertaining and inspiring topics that impact and inspire our lives on climate and sustainability.
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Founded in 1987, Jouffre is one of the most sustainable upholstery and furniture companies, utilizing water-based glue, FSC-certified wood, & recyclable foam in its designs.
About Chez Laurence:
Designer Laurence Carr meets manufacturers and brands who are employing circular, regenerative, and sustainable practices. See how they're seeking to change the end-of-life concept with eco-friendly techniques.
EarthX
Love Our Planet.
The Official Network of Earth Day.
About Us:
At EarthX, we believe our planet is a pretty special place. The people, landscapes, and critters are likely unique to the entire universe, so we consider ourselves lucky to be here. We are committed to protecting the environment by inspiring conservation and sustainability, and our programming along with our range of expert hosts support this mission. We’re glad you’re with us.
EarthX is a media company dedicated to inspiring people to care about the planet. We take an omni channel approach to reach audiences of every age through its robust 24/7 linear channel distributed across cable and FAST outlets, along with dynamic, solution oriented short form content on social and digital platforms. EarthX is home to original series, documentaries and snackable content that offer sustainable solutions to environmental challenges. EarthX is the only network that delivers entertaining and inspiring topics that impact and inspire our lives on climate and sustainability.
EarthX Website: https://earthxmedia.com/
Follow Us:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/earthxmedia/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/earthxmedia
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EarthXMedia/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@earthxmedia
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EarthXMedia
How to watch:
United States:
- Spectrum
- AT&T U-verse (1267)
- DIRECTV (267)
- Philo
- FuboTV
- Plex
- Fire TV
#EarthDay #Environment #Sustainability #Ecofriendly #Conservation #EarthX
Category
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TVTranscript
00:00🎵
00:30Jouffre Upholstery has always been on the cutting edge of the industry.
00:35Founded in France in 1987, they soon expanded to the U.S. and have been known as one of the
00:42most impeccable upholstery and furniture companies around. But their commitment to
00:48sustainability sets them apart from other high performers in the industry. At the urging of their
00:54teams, Charles and Romain Jouffre started reinventing the way they produce, moving to
01:01sustainable solutions such as water-based glue, FSC-certified wood, and recyclable forms.
01:09Let's talk with them further about their circular initiatives and see where they see
01:14this trend moving in the future. Bonjour Charles and Romain, welcome. It's great to have you here.
01:22Thank you. Thank you, welcome. Charles, please introduce yourself and your company.
01:52I was 22 years old, so very young, when I joined a large decoration company, which allowed me to
01:57discover another side of this profession, rather than very high-end international construction sites.
02:04And so in 1987, five years later, I made the decision to create my own structure,
02:12and to settle on my own, with this desire to address interior architects and designers
02:21to offer them our services. And Romain, can you introduce yourself? My name is Romain,
02:26I'm the son of Charles, I'm 33 years old, and I was born in Lyon, where my dad created the company
02:33in 1987. I live in New York since six years now, where I am the general manager of Jouffre USA,
02:41a workroom that does exactly the same kind of work that our colleagues in Lyon, and mainly
02:48for residential projects on very high-end upholstery, wall upholstery and window treatments.
02:53What inspired you to get into the upholstery industry?
03:18I was very interested in the smell, in the different harmonies that were created through these different structures,
03:24and then, little by little, I discovered another universe, which was really high-end decoration,
03:31with always more spectacular projects, and so to enter homes that were
03:41very atypical, with extremely sophisticated decorations, and which precisely called for
03:48know-how in the different art professions of carpentry, painting, bronze, etc.,
03:58and so to tell me that this profession, which was our upholstery profession,
04:02actually fit wonderfully into the realization of these decorations, all more sumptuous,
04:10each one than the others. And how has it evolved? It was first of all a real motivation to learn
04:17this profession traditionally, then all of a sudden to discover this universe that was new,
04:23so almost a new passion, and then, little by little, the animation of a whole team,
04:31the meeting of exceptional clients, who are always in demand for
04:38more and more sophisticated, more and more sought-after creations, and so, ultimately,
04:46a motivation which is both to serve these exceptional clients, and at the same time to
04:51animate a team in the service of these clients, and so to arrive, finally, to draw all this little
04:58world towards what could be called exceptional creations. As a French luxury company,
05:07how was the experience of branching out to the U.S. market? We initially created the company in
05:122001. For a long time, the fabrication was still happening completely in France, 100% in Lyon,
05:19and we were exporting to the U.S., so it was, of course, not our main market. It was an important
05:25market for us, but when I moved to the U.S. in 2014, my dad, Charles, had done all the amazing
05:32work of getting in touch with designers in the U.S., some of the most famous ones, some of the
05:37most talented ones, so when I moved here with my wife back in 2014, he introduced me to all those
05:45fantastic designers at that time, Franck de Biasi, Robert Couturier, and many more.
05:50They were extremely excited to know that we were opening a real workroom in the U.S. to fabricate
05:55the projects from the U.S. with American artisans and an American team. We went from a team of
06:02four people, two seamstresses, one installer, and myself, to a team of 30 people six years later,
06:08and 100% of our American projects are now being manufactured from our Long Island City
06:14workroom where I sit right now. Can you tell me more about your
06:18company's commitment to sustainability? Sustainability, of course, is very important
06:23to us. We've always been trying to implement improvements in the workroom, both in France
06:28and in the U.S., but without having really a team dedicated to that until maybe four or five years
06:35ago when we were pushed by our team internally. More and more, the younger generation, it's so
06:41important to them. They've been pushing us, and some of them were raising their hands, basically,
06:46and saying, we are willing to take on that challenge and maybe be the leaders on that
06:51challenge, and that's how we really started going one step further when it comes to sustainability.
06:57We transitioned completely to 100% water glue instead of a neoprene glue, which we are not
07:04using any longer, both in France and in the U.S. Of course, we started recycling, both in France
07:10and in the U.S. as well, recycling glass, metal, plastic on one side, paper and carbon on the other
07:16side. We are also recycling foam, so we have, of course, foam scraps when we fabricate a poster
07:24so we give them back to the people who are providing us with this foam, and they are
07:30turning it into ribbon foam, for instance, which can then be reused for other types of products,
07:37including our sofa. We are extremely aware of where we want to go, and we have a clear plan,
07:43and we're going to go there step by step. To support our initiatives in terms of sustainability,
07:48we joined the Sustainable Furnishing Council about a year and a half ago, I believe.
07:53We, I think, needed some help also to find new suppliers, new materials that would
07:59enable us to produce a more sustainable piece of furniture and window treatments.
08:05For your upholstery, what materials do you use and where are they sourced?
08:09When you are doing a window treatment, a decor, for instance, the main materials are fabric,
08:15which we are sourcing basically all over the world. There are fabric houses everywhere. America
08:21has some fantastic textile designers, but also France and Italy have a very long history in
08:27weaving fabrics. Lyon was actually very famous about a hundred years ago for the silk industry
08:33and weaving of the silk. When it comes to upholstery, of course, there is much more material
08:39involved. The first material is wood. We are working with Lenovo, a company located here in
08:45Long Island City. They are FSC35, which is the Forest Stewardship Council. It's a way for us to
08:52be sure that the wood we are using to build our frame comes from sustainable suppliers, and it's
08:58very important to us. Then on top of the sofa, of course, you get all sorts of material. As of now,
09:04we are still using a lot of synthetic materials, just like foam and Dacron. The project for us in
09:09the future is to go to more natural fibers, horsehair, organic wool, and cotton. We use,
09:15of course, a lot of down and feather, which is also coming from sustainable companies. I think
09:22that's mainly it. And then, of course, the fabric, which, just like for the winter treatments, comes
09:26from all over the world. We work in the very high-end industry, so most of the fabric that
09:31clients are sending our way are natural fibers. We use a lot of silk, cotton, and wool, and rarely
09:38work with synthetic material. I think that nowadays more and more people are extremely
09:44careful about that, and they are always asking also the fabric house to target them towards
09:51more natural fibers when it comes to fabric. Let's talk about finishing process. What
09:56sustainable options do you use for your finishes, for indoor air quality, and for human health?
10:03One of the most important changes we've made, and which we started actually about 10 years ago in
10:08France, was transitioning from neoprene glue to water-based glue. Charles started with his team
10:16in Lyon about 10 years ago, but it was a very long process to first convince our imposter that it was
10:22the right way to go, even though, of course, the neoprene has some advantages over the water-glue
10:29base. It goes a little bit faster, it's a little bit easier to work with, but that was really our
10:34deep feeling that we needed to transition. When I came to the US six years ago, our main supplier
10:40was not even selling us water glue. It was not part of his catalog, but one day we went to see
10:46him, and we realized that he himself was working with water-based glue in his facility, and we
10:53asked him, wouldn't you be able to sell that glue to us? And he said, no, that's not part of my
10:57catalog, but you feel free to be in touch with my supplier. And that's when we transitioned in the
11:02US because our workroom manager at that time was really concerned about environment. She really
11:09wanted us to go towards more sustainability in the workplace. And then we explained to our
11:15colleagues in Lyon how well it was working and how the imposter here in New York were able to
11:20change their habits and the way they were working in order to use only the water-based glue. And so,
11:26of course, that's the interest of having a workroom both in the US and in France, is that then
11:31we motivated our colleagues in France who are now also working only with water-based glue.
11:37In terms of finishing, we also have, of course, the finishes of the wood for the base, the legs of
11:43the sofa. We are working with finishers that are one to two person small companies. They don't
11:50really work with spray booths, etc. They work at a much lower scale, mainly with water-based
11:58products. So, once again here, I think we are on the right path to implement more sustainability
12:04in the way we fabricate furniture. What should consumers look for when shopping for eco-friendly
12:10upholstery? When they are ordering custom-made pieces just like we are fabricating, they can
12:15have a strong impact on the way we produce because, of course, if our clients are coming to us
12:21demanding sustainability and materials, we have to adapt and we have to change the way we work. So,
12:27I would say the advice is don't hesitate to push your posters towards innovative materials and
12:34sustainable materials. I really think that today there is a real desire on the part of our
12:41customers to come to sustainable products, to products that can be recycled. A real desire
12:51to see a real quality work of artisans who will be respectful of the environment themselves.
13:01So, today, I think there is really a turn that is taking place and just like in the United States,
13:07we can see that when we address our customers, there is an interest. There is an interest,
13:14perhaps even to go and pay a little more if necessary, but being a little reassured,
13:21in the end, that they will be able to benefit from a product that they can be proud of themselves.
13:28And I think that it also pushes us to question ourselves, to tell us that we also need to
13:35invent on these subjects. And so, today, what I could say is that there is really a real dynamic,
13:40of course, at the level of our workshops in New York, but also of our workshops in Lyon,
13:46where finally our collaborators have finally managed to take this challenge for themselves
13:53and therefore a real desire to move forward to be able to achieve, in the end, products
14:03that we would be proud of ourselves, but which our own customers will be proud of themselves.
14:09Beyond sustainability, let's talk about circularity.
14:13What's the Druve approach to waste management and designing waste out of your processes?
14:19We are, of course, trying to see what are the ways that we have in our workrooms.
14:26Since we are in the custom bespoke business, we don't have that much
14:31waste because we always order for specific projects. So, we don't really stock a lot of
14:39inventory. The wood can be easily recycled. Scrap can be reused for some other smaller products
14:47that we are working on. The foam can also be recycled and sent back to our foam suppliers.
14:54We can turn it into another material, which can then be reused by a posturing company like us,
15:01but also so many different other crafts and industries. But, of course, we need to go
15:07further. It would be very interesting for us at some point to try to see how we could,
15:14when manufacturing a new sofa, for instance, maybe upcycle an old sofa that the client would
15:21be basically exchanging. But we are not there yet. Our main goal is to reduce our waste,
15:27reduce our energy consumption, and try to see how we can intelligently recycle the waste that
15:33we have or send them back to people who can upcycle those wastes.
15:38What other circular practices are you hoping to adopt in the future?
15:42Something that we really would like to implement in the future would be
15:47getting rid completely of the foam. I mean, foam is important to us because it brings a fantastic
15:53level of comfort to our client. But, of course, it's a synthetic material. We are right now
15:59working on fabricating furnitures that are completely made with natural materials. And
16:06that's something that we are able to do, of course, for one particular collection right now with one
16:11particular client, which is Maison Jean Royer. The goal is to see how we can use those materials
16:18on a regular basis in the future for 100% of our production. So, it's a challenge. We're not
16:24there yet. But the idea is really our target is like within 10 years, we will almost not be using
16:31foam anymore. What is a circular challenge you are facing in your business?
16:36We have the possibility today to radically question our trades,
16:42the art trades in their entirety, by the way, because today these trades allow us to
16:49produce products that are truly sustainable. I mean, these are high-quality products
16:57that ultimately allow our clients to be able to hope to keep them for a generation,
17:04two generations, or even more, and to be able to come back to them to restore them,
17:11to put them back in value. But the very basis is preserved. At a time, in the end, when we are
17:18a bit of a throw-away, where for decades we were explained that we bought to be able to
17:25throw away and change, I think that precisely the notion of an art trade is also to make
17:33products that will last over time. What are some applications at Jouffre
17:37Upholstery that you feel most proud of? What I feel most proud of is to see that my team
17:44is willing to change its habit, its technique, adapt its skills to be able to build a furniture
17:51that will be more sustainable in the future. It's not a project that you can carry on by yourself.
17:57You need the support of a team. You need your team to believe in what you are doing. You need
18:00your team to actually push you even further. And that's what's happening right now with our team
18:04in both France and in the US. Of course, the team was a little scared at the beginning to
18:10completely reinvent the way we are working with upholstery, but they actually turned that
18:17challenge into a great success. And seeing that my team is willing and ready for a change
18:23is what's making me the most proud. What trends do you foresee in the industry?
18:29As we move into the future, I think people are going to be much more careful about the way they
18:34purchase furniture. I think clients are going to be inquiring how it's being built. And I think
18:40they'll have the ambition to keep their furniture for a much longer time. So they will be probably
18:47sourcing furniture more locally. They'll be conscious about where it's coming from and
18:53what is it made of. Charles, what do you foresee Vujoof Legacy to be?
18:59What is most important to me is that this company is lasting.
19:05It was really a great will from me. And in recent years, I have worked a lot on this.
19:11And I was incredibly lucky that Romain joined me and that we get along well,
19:16that we share the same values, the same ambitions as well. And to realize that
19:24finally, what I had managed to build up to today could last in time. And to tell myself that
19:33at the same time, this approach that I took to make this job grow could be still relevant,
19:42or even last and even continue to move forward. See also that finally, all the collaborators
19:51who still surround me today will be able to continue to exist themselves within this company,
20:00but also in this profession that is dear to me. And so to tell myself that finally,
20:07this know-how that is ours will continue to last in time. My dearest wish is to tell myself that
20:14this company will continue to grow, but quietly. That is, we will continue to
20:22ensure what has already been built and to continue to question ourselves every day to
20:31continue to grow, especially on all these societal issues.
20:37Romain, do you have anything to add?
20:39What I wish the legacy of the company could be is really the fact that we've always been
20:44at the edge of using new techniques and materials. Charles was one of the first
20:51upholsterers to really transition into form for high-end upholstery about 30 years ago,
20:58because he had the conviction that that was the right path for making modern, comfortable
21:04furnitures. And now we are again, we want to be the first one to transition into innovative
21:10materials that will allow us to fabricate more sustainable furniture. That's what I want people
21:15to remember is that we were constantly challenging the status quo, trying to reinvent almost
21:24yearly the way we see our craft, the way we think about our craft and the way we
21:29just practice that craft and get better and better.
21:33Charles and Romain, thank you for this insightful conversation.
21:37Thank you very much. It was a pleasure also for us.
21:41Thank you very much, Laurence. It was a pleasure as well. And thank you very much for inviting us.
21:56There's something so exciting about the Jouffre story. Knowing that these impactful changes
22:03came about because concerned employees felt compelled and comfortable enough to push their
22:10management toward more sustainable solutions is wonderful. And all the more wonderful
22:16that Charles and Romain have made it part of their personal missions as well.
22:23Moving to FSC certified wood, sustainable down, water-based glues and finishes,
22:30working in small batch, bespoke production, recycling and upcycling whenever possible,
22:37Jouffre continues to be at the forefront of circularity in the upholstery industry.