Ecodesign in the textile industry

Since the 1990s, eco-design has been gaining ground in many sectors. Through eco-design, environmental impacts are assessed and taken into account in the design and development of a product, throughout its life cycle (from raw material to end-of-life). This global, multi-criteria assessment makes it possible to identify, act upon and reduce the environmental impact of a product or service.

The textile sector is also taking a close interest in concepts linked to the eco-design of products and services. Numerous initiatives have taken place, and new concepts have been developed to bring eco-designed textiles to market. As consumer demand for textiles incorporating sustainable development concepts continues to grow, manufacturers are adapting through innovation. This growing demand pushes them to develop new materials, new assemblies and new ways of manufacturing and using textiles. Ecodesign thus appears to be a strategic tool, and therefore a factor of competitive differentiation in a globalized economy.

This has given rise to new constraints. Some of these are still holding back the development of eco-design in the textile industry, and consequently the expansion of the range of eco-designed textile products on the French and world markets. Today, the textile industry has the capacity to cope with the technological and scientific innovations it faces. But changing attitudes at all levels of the value chain is the challenge for the years ahead. The development of new models of consumer behavior on the one hand, but also on the part of principals and distributors, will enable wider acceptance of eco-designed textile products.

This article sheds light on current eco-design practices in the textile industry, through a few examples and initiatives, but also through a focus on the different axes to be developed to eco-design a textile product. All this is put into perspective with the current limits and obstacles facing the textile industry.