Translations

DECATHLON's eco-design approach to its product line

4. Environment

Green design

Sector Business / Distribution

Year 2016

Country France

Transmitter

Context

Decathlon is a network of retail firms specialized in sports and leisure items; it encompasses the entire product life cycle, from research and development through retail sale, including design, aesthetics, production and logistics. The articles produced by its own labels (b'Twin, Quechua, etc.) are marketed through stores belonging to the network (e.g. Decathlon, Koodza).

More and more, Decathlon is adopting an eco-design approach that can be summarised in three steps: “Measure in order to know, know in order to act, and act in order to reduce”.

Objectives

The notion of eco-design at Decathlon consists of "designing or re-designing a product by reducing the product’s environmental impact throughout its life cycle whilst conserving the qualities of its performance and its functions.”

APPROACH

This approach is intended to identify, as of the product design phase and applicable throughout all stages of a product’s life cycle, the most effective action levers for mitigating environmental impacts.

An internal eco-design aid, called the "eco-tool", has been devised to assess the environmental impact of the components as well as the finished products according to the 4 following criteria:

Air pollution (Kg eq. CO2 emitted)
Water management (Water consumption in m3)
Waste disposal management (Integration of recycling)
Management of non-renewable resources (In kWh of energy consumed)

The main principle: When starting a project, don’t target perfection but adopt a notion of perpetual progression.

The approach is firmly integrated into the company’s Vision, with internal trainings and all staff encouraged to get involved.

Examples of eco-designed products include:

This approach was used to make the Quechua Forclaz 50 fleece. The ‘eco-tool’ helped measure the benefits of using a material made from recycled polyester in product manufacturing, with this fabric being made from plastic bottles and industrial waste.
The Solognac Steppe 100 shoe was initially designed for hunting and contains 25% recycled components. Both the materials and processes were selected according to an eco-design approach; the exterior fabric is composed of 100% recycled polyester derived from plastic bottles, while the thermoplastic sole is composed of 15% recycled oyster shell powder.

A Best Practice identified in 2010 and updated in 2013