France produced about 326 million tons of waste in 2017, according to the latest figures from the Environmental Transformation Agency, a total equivalent to 4.9 tons per capita.

However, a group of innovators and entrepreneurs are moving to revive it and benefit from it.

From hats, upholstery and radios, French designers are giving new life to some products by "upcycling them" to make them "untouchable", drawing the interest of big brands.

Dido and Joanna Eichbery, aged 37 and 35, respectively, won the Grand Jury Prize for fashion accessories attached to a collaboration project with Chanel, at the 35th International Fashion Festival in Ayr (southeast) in October, Thanks to hats made of flower pots, plastic containers, rubber shoes, and an air chamber.

These two brothers - both graduates of fine arts, Joanna studied for a while at the Syndicate of Design in Paris, and Dido pursued classes at the Ecole Superieure de Saint-Luc in Belgium - also received the "Hermes" award for their bracelet.

"We are making the outcast desirable," says Dido Eichbery at their shop in their grandmother's old shop in Odierpe (southwest), where 500 people live in the French Basque country.

In this store, they created their own brand: Oanchozy, a Basque word for exclamation and admiration, and designed hats that sell for between 70 and 150 euros ($70 and $178) made of materials assembled within a 50-kilometre radius.

"This project can only be done here," says the young man. "If we were on the coast, we would have created a different kind of hat."

"Wearing a hat of waste on one's head was a challenge, as we raise the waste high," he added.

His sister admits, "We are committed to restoration. Our people work in the field of restoration (in construction) and we have grown up on this principle, as the use of any piece can be modified to be reused elsewhere."

100 years later

The brothers do not hide their joy "to work with the artists of the House of Chanel", and Joanna hopes to "produce a new collection with their techniques, know-how and materials".

Guillaume Alday, owner of Bordeaux-based startup Lee Doyan that is restoring old Bluetooth radios, stresses that "the appearance is very important."

He points out that the restoration process "is based on several factors, such as old-fashioned designs, interior designs, family values, feelings and the duty to respect the environment."

"We hope that these pieces will also live 100 years, thanks to their conversion," he says with a smile.

About 300 kilometers away in Saint-Medard-en-Galles, near Bordeaux, Thomas Peteau, 53, who previously practiced skateboarding, a hobby that is still reflected in his appearance, makes furniture from recycled materials.

For 6 years, in his small workshop located in the heart of his home garden, he has been designing fifties-style furniture, which he later sells on Instagram from old beds and cabinets.

And "upcycling" or "upcycling" isn't new to him, because he's always known about "turning parts".

“What I do is beautiful, desirable and meticulously designed. Every detail is thought out… I make sure that the piece is beautiful and not just functional furniture made of recycled materials,” says Toma Petto.

He sells his pieces under the "MachineModern" brand, at prices ranging between 150 and 400 euros (180 and 475 dollars) to a variety of customers "from worker to manager... between 20 and 45 years old", in Paris, Marseille, Lyon, as well as in Spain and Belgium, expressing his concern that his furnishings remain." Accessible to everyone".