Boardsport clothes and accessories in the circular economy

Project details

  • Main leader : Picture Organic Clothing
  • Type of initiative : Individual initiative (company, etc.)
  • Périmètre : International
  • Localisation : 5012, Boulevard de l’Europe, 63360 GERZAT
  • Date de début : novembre 2008

Economy circular topics

  • Extending useful service life
  • Recycling
  • Eco-design
  • Sustainable procurement
  • Responsible consumption
  • Functional service economy
  • Industrial and regional ecology
Description

The three founders of Picture Organic Clothing, originally from Auvergne and passionate about boardsports, wanted to give an environmental dimension to their brand right from the start.

To this end, sustainable development commitments covering the entire product life cycle have been set:

  • Eco-designed products
  • Monitoring and optimization of the carbon footprint: use of measurement tools to guide the choice of materials, means of transport of goods, etc. according to their impact
  • Use of recycled, organic or bio-sourced materials for 100% of products 
  • “Fair Wear Foundation” labelled factories: improved working conditions
  • Certain products banished: for example perfluorocarbons because of their toxicity 
  • Reusing production offcuts to make the linings of ski jackets
  • Extended service life and second life for products: maintenance tips, repair service, upcycling, etc.
  • Transparency: communication about the factories and how the clothes are manufactured

Today, the focus is on design methods, especially the question of dyes and additives. There are many issues arise on the subject of chemicals and water.

Qualitative benefits

Commitments to sustainable development are sources of innovation, both in terms of production methods and product characteristics.

The brand is recognized for its initiatives and has received several awards.

Stages of the initiative

  • 2008: Creation of the Picture Organic Clothing brand by Jérémy, Julien and Vincent.
  • 2009: Launch of the first Outerwear recycled polyester line.
  • 2010: Launch of the first recycled polyester boardshort line.
  • 2011: Offcuts of fabrics from production plants are used for technical jacket liners instead of being destroyed.
  • 2012: Setting up “Picture your impact”, a carbon calculation tool to understand and optimize the carbon footprint at each stage of the product life cycle.
  • 2013: Picture receives the “Environmental Excellence” award for all its activities and the “Welcome” 100% recyclable jacket wins an ISPO Award at the international boardsport and outdoor industry trade show.
  • 2014: Launch of the “Rethink Bag”, a unique backpack concept. When the backpack is no longer of any use, it can be cut up to become two small storage pockets, a computer case and a toiletry bag.
  • 2015: Launch of the first ski/snowboard helmet to be made entirely of recycled and bio-based materials. This innovation won an ISPO Award.
  • 2016: Opening of the first two stores entirely dedicated to the brand (Annecy and Lyon).
  • 2017: Launch of the first surf suits with no neoprene, a material that is hard to recycle, replaced by natural rubber.

The materials used are materials of the future but sometimes the solutions do not exist because there is no sector. To respect its commitments (recycled, organic or biosourced matter), Picture must then seek to create the necessary sectors.

Innovation is a central need because not being able to launch a product leads to losses of market share. In addition, innovation must be industry-wide, so it must be affordable and able to be generalized.

Each new product represents a challenge both for the textile engineer and for the factory that will be manufacturing it. Picture maintains long-term relationships with its partners, especially design factories. This makes it possible to find solutions with them and to apply the innovations more easily.

Textile innovations sometimes come from parallel industries such as the army, aviation and sea-related sectors. It is then a question of knowing how to get them.

“Picture works on solutions, not on problems”.

Image credit: Picture Organic Clothing

Areas of activity

  • Trade

Resources

  • Plastic
  • Textiles
Implementation

Technical resources

  • 7 franchises in France
  • 700 points of sale in around 30 countries
  • After-sales services encouraging repair

Human resources

The founders of Picture have complementary profiles: management, marketing and design.

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