To continue receiving eco-design news and resources

Gate

Your registration has been processed

Thank you for your confidence
Try it
January 9, 2020

Accompanying the consumer to extend textile product life duration

Project developers: Product development / Quality / Communication Partners: Consumers / Clothing alterations specialists

Context and description

Product life duration depends on numerous parameters such as the choice of the materials used, the quality of blends, the sustainability of finishes, but also how the product is cared for by the consumer.

In order to extend product life duration, organisations can play a role in raising awareness and informing consumers on the importance of best product care and the solutions available to them.

IMPLEMENTATION

Simple

Complexity of implementation

Average

Estimated economic gain

High

Human means

6 months 1 season

Implementation timeframes

STAGES OF IMPLEMENTATION

Try it! : Follow the sheet step by step and have a go!

1

Organise an internal meeting to define a strategy in order to raise awareness among consumers with respect to product care. To be effective, it is important that awareness-raising passes via varied communication channels (labels on the product, communication operations in shops, partnerships...).

2

Use figured data to allow consumers to understand the impacts of the use and care stages on their textiles.

Example : 14 000 litres of water per year are consumed by washing machines in French households, equating to the equivalent of what we drink over 12 years (Source : ADEME).

3

Affix care instructions deposited by the COFREET (Comité Français de l'Etiquetage pour l'Entretien des Textiles) as well as the Clevercare logo on the fabric composition label in order to best guide the consumer with respect to product care.

Product care symbols and clevercare.info logo are trademarks, GINETEX and COFREET co-ownership. Their use is reserved for COFREET members, who can put them on their textile products labels and on their communication supports.

4

On the brand's website, create a space dedicated to product care in order to extend product life duration (wash items less often at lower temperatures, reduce tumble-drying and ironing for example).

5

On the brand's website, create a shared space where consumers can post their care, repair and upcycling tips. Manage this space (organise challenges for example).

6

On the brand's website (and on social media), propose repair, upcycling or personalisation tips which are easy to implement.

7

Create a partnership with a clothing alterations specialist or propose repair workshops in shops to enable consumers to repair or transform their damaged products. Focus on one product per workshop (shirts for example: how to repair them, sew a button back on, personalise them from offcuts …).

8

Begin putting these workshops in place with a test session. If it is successful, the organisation can propose workshops on a more frequent basis, train personnel to oversee them, invest in sewing equipment etc.

9

Conduct a customer survey to understand which are the most frequent points of wear and tear during product use.

10

Orient repair advice according to customer survey feedback on brand products.

Key indicators

  • Number of care recommendations shared on the brand's website.
  • Implementation of a partnership with a clothing alterations specialist.
  • Introduction of workshops in shops.

Watch point

Informing and raising awareness among consumers is not one of the objectives of the brand.

The brand may however use this support as a means of communicating on its eco-design commitments.

They’ve done it !