According to a study* carried out by France’s National Ecodesign Center together with the French Agency for Ecological Transition (ADEME), 34% of the 394 companies surveyed boosted their volume of sales after applying ecodesign principles, while 30% observed an increase in their profit margin. The study also found that 40% of companies surveyed view ecodesign as helpful to compliance efforts.
In another study** involving 28 companies located across continental France, ADEME found that adopting ecodesign principles resulted in a significant increase in customer satisfaction and enables companies to reduce the cost of production by up to 20% without affecting product performance.
* Baromètre Ecoconception 2020 - Pratiques et positionnement des entreprises françaises, November 2020
** "Analyse des bénéfices économiques de l’écoconception pour les entreprises", January 2023
A concrete example at Lectra with an advanced fabric cutter
The starting point of the ecodesign methodology is the lifecycle assessment of environmental impact. Lectra has already applied this principle throughout every stage of the lifecycle of an advanced-technology fabric cutter.
The chief finding was that the greatest environmental impact occurs at the equipment usage phase—specifically customer fabric consumption, including the generation of scrap and waste. Lectra solutions have always focused on maximizing waste reduction. The study findings will allow the group to make further advances to support customers in this area.
In textile-based production models, fabric consumption accounts for more than 90% of the CO2 emissions produced throughout the entire lifecycle of a fabric cutter. In the fashion industry, scrap and waste also account for 20-25% of fabric consumption.
By helping customers achieve significant material savings during the design and production phases, and by providing solutions to ensure traceability throughout the sustainable textile supply chain, Lectra can help them substantially minimize environmental impact.
Lifecycle assessment findings have also enabled Lectra to apply ecodesign guidelines to improve cutting equipment design and optimize usage:
- Power consumption: sourcing of energy-efficient components that reduce power consumption
- Weight and dimensions: more compact frame design that reduces total machine weight by more than 300 kg while optimizing container shipping volumes, lowering carbon emissions at the manufacturing and transport stages
- Assembly time: redesign of fabric cutter sub-units resulting in fewer parts and the elimination of up to 6 hours of assembly in production
- Maintenance: responsible sourcing for more robust assembly requiring fewer, less frequent maintenance operations, minimizing the need for field technician visits (86% of maintenance operations are conducted remotely on Lectra-brand equipment)
