“Designed in France”, “Made in France”, “Manufactured in France”, “Produced in France”, etc. It’s confusing! Our advice to recognize a 100% French product. Don’t be fooled anymore! Your wishes to buy in France are surely numerous and legitimate: quality, local employment, reduction of emissions, sensible purchasing, sustainable consumption and many other reasons.
Professionals and representatives of the industry in France, we wish to promote the authenticity of who produces in our beautiful country. Through this case study on the identification of 100% French products, we will see that when you buy your window displays for your real estate agency from Vitrinemedia, that their products are neither manufactured or designed in France. Unfortunately, this is far from where you live, contrary to what you may think.
How to recognize a “Made in France” product?
The “Fait en France” and not “Made in France” if you respect the language, what is it? Well, first, you have to get closer to the French customs code to have a more precise and especially legal definition. This allows us to define the nationality of a product, especially if you have several countries participating in the chain of manufacture of this product.
This “Fait en France” designation is based on the rules relating to the preferential origin of goods defined by the Customs.
Therefore, to be allowed to use the expression “Fait en France“, a manufactured product must have either :
- Several significant stages of manufacture located in France
- Or, have undergone a considerable final transformation of the product carried out in France
However, Vitrinemedia doesn’t mention on its products the products as “Made in France” since it does not have the
objectively entitled to do so if its products are not manufactured in France. On the other hand, it does mention the
“Designed in France“. This is not at all the same meaning and doesn’t mean that the production is French. We therefore deduce that its products are not manufactured in France but
that it would perhaps try to make believe that they are.
As an inference, we could say that any company using the expression “Designed in France”
could be a form of high-risk strategy, as it would expose itself to prosecution for deception
by misleading the customer.
See Article 39 of the Customs Code, which penalizes contentious statements that may mislead consumers into that a third-party product is of French origin when it does not meet the rules of preferential origin.
Only the mentions “Made in France”, “Product in France”, “Manufactured in France” are authorized and guarantee a French production, even if some of its components come from abroad.
On the other hand, “Designed in France”, “Imagined in France”, Invented in France” and why not “Seen in France” one day, etc., are just tricks to hide the origin of the goods when you buy them. As we have just seen, these companies could be prosecuted by the DGCRF (Direction générale de la concurrence, de la consommation et de la répression des fraudes). Not all brands are transparent with their customers, and sometimes they tend to hide things from them that they don’t want their consumers to know.
Where does Vitrinemedia manufacture its products?
In order to best inform you about your next real estate sign holder purchase, we were looking to find out where VitrineMedia products are produced and assembled. Well, to say the least we can say is that the level of transparency of the company and inversely
proportional to the number of kilometers we have traveled! We did not expect such a great and beautiful trip. After many hours of flights, we finally landed in China! And we breathed the fresh air of the many factories in the huge southwestern industrial region where the industrial city of Huizhou in the Guangdong province.
It is there in front of this huge building of the Vitrinemedia factory that we arrived. See photo below. This factory is composed of a large majority of Chinese employees and the proof that the company is not able to mention the “Made in France” because as we saw before
previously :
- NO MANUFACTURING STEP is carried out in France
- NO FINAL PROCESSING is carried out in France
In addition, we can see from the Vitrine media label above that often manufacturers use the acronym PRC in the “Made in PRC” in order to hide the origin of manufacture. PRC stands for “People’s Republic of China“, in other words it is like saying “Made in China” but without knowing it.
Vitrinemedia address in China:
Huizhou Vitrinemedia Optoelectronic
Technology Co, Ltd
4th building, Desheng Industrial Park,
Changbu Village, Xinxu Town,
Huiyang District
Huizhou City, Guangdong province
China
This Vitrinemedia factory has existed for a long time in China. It was established in 2010 and has up to 200 employees including a research, development and design department that realizes the famous “Designed in France“, but in China! Quite an original for a geographical designation, don’t you think! We didn’t know that China was in France and allows Vitrinemedia to add the mention “Designed in France” on its products.
But good news, you can apply for this job offer for a Research and Development Engineer at Vitrinemedia, see below the ad on Wizbii. Thus, you will be able to carry out the “Designed in France”, but from China!
You can find the official page of Vitrinemedia’s manufacturing center in China, on
LinkedIn page here :https://www.linkedin.com/company/vitrinemedia-manufacturing
How do you know if a product was really made in France?
The first indication for the buyer is to look at the packaging. If you find the mention of the words “Manufactured in France” or “Made in France“, it means that it has been manufactured and produced in French territory in its majority. Remember, this is simply a mention of origin but not a label, issued by an official body. There is no way to answer a schedule of conditions. It is only the will of the manufacturer to indicate it or not. Because there is no obligation to indicate that a product is made in France.
Remember that in general, if the origin of the product is not indicated on it, it is very likely that this product is not made in France, or in Europe. Because there is also the mention “Made in Europe” which works with the same criteria as the marking “Made in France“. And generally the European manufacturers are proud to say it because it allows them to promote their products in other countries of the European Union and to increase their sales and turnover.
A new logo for “Made in France”!
In recent years, manufacturers have noticed more and more
the growing interest of
customers for “Made in France” products.
These customers like to be able to identify
such products and decided to make
a more intelligent and partisan purchase.
This is why a new tricolored logo has been launched under the aegis of France Industry, a new tricolor logo
easily recognizable by consumers.
You can see this logo here on the France Industrie website: https://www.franceindustrie.org/valorisation-des-produits-fabriques-en-france/
What are the advantages of manufacturing in China?
One of the main advantages for a company to have its products manufactured in China is obviously the cost of the very cheap labor. You should know that the minimum wage in China is €220 against €1.709.28 in 2023 in France. A difference of almost 10 times. In addition, the recruitment method in China is very simple. Several thousands of workers are always available and often immediately. This is not the least advantageous. But on the other side, the working conditions are extremely difficult, employees are overexploited and often underpaid.
Another advantage of producing in China is the phenomenal logistics network. Logistic centers roads and highways, railroads, new and very connected airports. The China is one of the most dynamic countries in industrial production, with great skills in cutting-edge technologies.
There, now we have shown you how to recognize products really made in France. You will be able to make your next purchases with full knowledge. You won’t be able to say
that you didn’t know. You are now informed of the practices of the manufacturers.
