Rachel Camara-Michaux is co-founder and president of the ORBE NOVO brand. After more than twenty years spent in the marketing departments of international luxury and sports brands, she decided to change horizons, to give more meaning to her professional life with a more personal project closer to her values and convictions. In 2019, with 3 associates, Jean Leclercq, Joachim Camara and Rémi Bouhaniche, she is launching the ORBE NOVO brand, which creates high-end travel bags and accessories from upcycled technical textiles, such as hot-air balloon fabric.
What triggered your desire to get involved?
Faced with the growing social and environmental crises, the chance meetings and my personal reflections, I was convinced that a paradigm shift was needed and that we had to act even on a small scale to develop another economy, more circular and more responsible than the traditional one. linear historical model of produce, consume and dispose.
What are ORBE NOVO’s sustainability commitments?
ORBE NOVO is looking for hard-wearing technical textiles steeped in history. Using existing sources, the brand hunts down unused textiles from manufacturers and end-users. These exceptional materials are destined for incineration or landfill, and it would be a shame to sacrifice them even though they may have new uses and new functionalities. ORBE NOVO then reinjects this precious material into a new creative cycle.
ORBE NOVO makes high-quality designer bags and accessories made to last. Seams are precision-sewn to the nearest half-millimeter, and no thread is taken up. Our meticulous manufacturing is carried out by workshops certified as Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant or ISO 9100.
“ORBE NOVO literally means new circular trajectory”.
What’s the story behind the name ORBE NOVO?
ORBE NOVO literally means “new circular trajectory”. This is precisely the leitmotiv of our approach: rethinking materials and giving new life to textiles that excelled in their previous life. It’s also the name of a river, the ORBE, which rises near Besançon, the brand’s headquarters, and flows through the Orbe Valley in Switzerland.
What are the biggest challenges you face in your business?
Our society is facing major economic and ecological challenges. ORBE NOVO has deliberately chosen the start-up status, a short and agile structure to develop its business of manufacturing upcycled bags and accessories in circular circuits. short. A new value chain that had to be rethought from A to Z, from raw material to finished product, in a new ecosystem. The major challenge is to secure a long-term supply of high-quality technical textiles with high value in use. We also need to convince the garment workshops, which are often approached by major customers, to join us in this adventure. This is a tricky equation to solve in a highly competitive environment, with the aim of developing a high-quality, affordable offering that responds to major societal challenges.
Is it possible to change things in a sector with deep-rooted traditions?
It’s true that change is never easy; there’s reluctance, and it takes time to adapt to change, especially in a sector with deep-rooted traditions. But we’re entering a new world where climate, energy and social crises are no longer hypothetical. There’s no Planet B, so everything’s moving faster than expected. It’s a positive development in which both the consumer and the brand can contribute.
What can we do as individuals to make a difference?
Get informed as a consumer. Consume differently, less but better.
And on a collective level?
By encouraging politicians and brands to take action too. We’ll get results together. Problems are complex, and there is no one-size-fits-all solution. All initiatives are therefore worth taking.
What would you have to change to go faster?
The legislative framework can accelerate this change by supporting companies in the energy transition and moving towards a circular economy.
What three things do you think are essential for changing the world?
Tolérance – Culture – Creation
What do you think tomorrow’s world should look like?
A better distribution of wealth. More altruism and benevolence in human relations.
What anti-green habit do you find hard to break?
Car use in cities at the expense of cycling and public transport.
Thanks Rachel!
