Understanding traceability - Designed in France

In this series of articles, we'll take a look at the various terms that refer to notions of traceability, and what these notions imply from an environmental point of view:

• Designed in France
• Made in France
• Origine France Garantie
• European Ecolabel

Before we begin, we'd like to remind you of the importance of traceability, and re-explain the different stages in the manufacture of a product.

Why is traceability important?

Traceability is essential on 3 levels: transparency, social issues and environmental issues.

Transparency

Virtually total traceability ensures that consumers have access to all product information, and that nothing is concealed from them.

Social issues

The closer the stages are to your home, the greater the chance that the product will support the local economy (it's up to you to define local!).

Environmental impact

Stages close to each other reduce the impact of transport. What's more, most European energy mixes are less impactful than those of the Middle East or Asia, which are based much more on fossil fuels (note that this rule cannot be generalized).

💡 What's more, with precise traceability information, we can have more accurate impact results, on Waro for example.

Product manufacturing stages

Generally speaking, a product is built up in multiple stages, with semi-finished products and intermediate manufacturing stages taking place in many different countries.

Example of a t-shirt

The diagram below shows the main stages in the manufacture of a classic t-shirt:

An example from the furniture sector

In the furniture industry, production methods vary enormously depending on the type of furniture and materials used. The most common pattern is: raw materials → raw material processing → semi-finished products → finished product assembly.

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Granted, this may seem complex at first glance, and having information on everything is virtually impossible. Brand and manufacturer communication therefore focuses on 3 types of information:

• Traceability of raw materials → where do raw materials come from?
• Traceability of the last stage of production → often garment making in textiles, assembly in furniture.
• Traceability of intermediate production stages ("mapping of tier 1, 2, 3 suppliers, etc.) → the most complex and the most interesting!

Designed in France" or "Thought out in France

In our series of articles, we start with the words "Designed in France":

This simply means that the teams who create the products (in the sense of theoretical design) are based in France.

💡 This can include product design, product development, R&D, engineering or even Purchasing & Sourcing teams.

These references are often found in companies that do not industrialize their products themselves, but develop specifications for suppliers:

• Most textile brands
• Furniture publishers
• The own ranges of certain furniture or textile distributors

Environmental impact

The location of design teams has no impact on a product's environmental footprint: it has an impact on team travel, head office consumption, etc., which are taken into account in a corporate carbon footprint but not in LCA(see our article on LCA and carbon footprint). In fact, only the actual production of the garment is taken into account, not its design.

💡 However, around 80% of a product's impact is decided at the design stage. So these teams still have a major role to play through their design choices, regardless of where they are located!

To find out more about Waro and how we help companies use their traceability efforts to measure precise environmental impacts, you can visit our website here or make an appointment.

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