The French family company Tissus Gisèle Lingerie is a weaving and garment manufacturing operation with a rich tradition located in La Bresse at the heart of the Vosges mountains. The history of the company began over 150 years ago, in the year 1856 to be precise.
Today Tissus Gisèle is one of Europe's leading manufacturers of bed linen, mainly due to the fully automated production process. Beyond the quality of its products which are all certified to OEKO-TEX Standard 100, the company is also known for its commitment to the compliance with socially acceptable and environmentally friendly production conditions.
In 2012, Tissus Gisèle Lingerie made a turnover of around 30 million Euro with 93 employees at the production facility in La Bresse. In addition to the weaving mill which produces more than 5,000,000 metres of fabric each year, the facility also includes a fully automated tailoring department where more than 10,000,000 items are manufactured annually.
The product range mainly includes bed sheets, pillow cases, duvet covers, towels and table linen. Tissus Gisèle supply numerous customers primarily from the areas of hotels and restaurants, hospitals, institutions such as boarding schools and day nurseries, camp sites and holiday accommodation, trade and industrial facilities, clinics, care homes and wellness facilities. Outside France the company export these products mainly to Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
Eugène Jeangeorge founded an enterprise for textile accessories in La Bresse in 1856. He supplied the weavers in the valley with items such as cords, frames, combs and all materials they required for this task. In the following years Eugène Jeangeorge and later his wife and children invested in the construction of further factories and weaving machines for producing fabrics.
The company flourished until the year 1944 when the factories were completely destroyed by the military actions of World War II. After the war the factories were rebuilt and work recommenced. In 1987 the Jeangeorge family sold the company to M. Vandamme. It then became a branch of the INCOPAR group.
Today Tissus Gisèle works in close cooperation with two other textile companies in the Vosges region: Filature Tissage de Saulxures and Tissage Mouline Thillot who both have their own spinning mills. They supply the three affiliated weaving mills of the group with high-quality yarn. The group covers almost the entire production chain, from cotton bales to the finished product. It is only the textile finishing that is carried out by local suppliers in Gérardmer.
All processes meet the requirements of the quality management system ISO 9001:2008. This ensures continuous monitoring of all production steps and products. Tissage Mouline Thillot additionally work in accordance with the environmental management system ISO 14001:2004.
An important quality feature for Tissus Gisèle is that its products pose no risk to health. In this respect the company have had all their items independently certified according to the strict criteria of product category I (baby items) of the OEKO-TEX Standard 100 since 1998 in order to guarantee the highest possible product safety for their customers. The products of the two partner companies of the group have also been certified to OEKO-TEX Standard 100 since 2008 and 2013, respectively.
In the framework of the second French environment summit ‘Grenelle’ for environmental and climate protection, Tissus Gisèle have additionally volunteered to participate in an experiment for environmental advertising with some of their products.
The aim of the project is to disclose the influence of the manufactured products on the environment to customers. Beyond this, Tissus Gisèle products carry the trademark ‘VOSGES TERRE TEXTILE’.
Many textile companies in the Vosges region have formed a union with the aim of preserving their know-how and protecting respected professions.
The trademark guarantees the origin of the products, which are proven to be produced with the required professional care, as well as the support of the entrepreneurs who are consistently pursuing the concept of quality. This logo can be used to mark and protect regionally manufactured products.
Another proof of the far-reaching commitment in the field of environmental protection is the trademark for the ecological concept of the bed sheets from Tissus Gisèle. The certification is provided by the Association Française de Normalisation (AFNOR). Tissus Gisèle is currently the only company to hold this label.
