ENSAD x DÉCATHLON: ECO-DESIGN

The result of a unique partnership between the École des Arts Décoratifs and DÉCATHLON, the new Chair in Research, Creation and Production will run for four years, from 2022 to 2025.

The partnership programme includes a series of meetings, study trips, workshops, interdisciplinary workshops, creative studios, a post-doctoral research project, an exhibition and final publications.

Its ambition is to use design

in all its forms,

to the major challenges of ecological transition.

As a platform for training, creation and research, the Chair offers students from the School’s undergraduate to EnsadLab research cycle a fertile working environment, in collaboration with DÉCATHLON designers, on major ecodesign topics, including ‘reparability’.

On Tuesday 11 April 2023, 3rd year students from the School’s Object Design department presented the projects they had carried out as part of this Chair on the theme of “reparability”.

In fact, over the course of 2022/2023, students at the École des Arts Décoratifs have been invited, through their approaches and proposals, to contribute to the representations and projections of a repairable and desirable material environment.

The aim was not to improve an existing product or service to make it repairable, but rather to imagine how this notion, considered at the very genesis of a design project, can give rise to new concepts in which sport becomes a way of life in its own right, while taking account of the challenges of social and environmental sustainability.

Deployed over four years

three key themes

Born out of DÉCATHLON’s commitment to innovation and eco-design and the École des Arts Décoratifs’ commitment to creation and transition, the Chair works to develop sustainable solutions to ecological challenges in the fields of leisure, sport and care.

Spread over four years, the students explore all the avenues of eco-design, on different themes, with concrete projects as part of their course.

Jérôme Meudic, Head of Partnerships & Development at the École des Arts Décoratifs, explains:

There are 3 themes, one annual theme. This year, it was really the question of attachment to objects. The aim is not to renew our objects. But to question how we can become attached to objects. How can we make them live longer? How can we turn the notion of wear and tear into the creation of values of attachment and emotion? How can reparability be at the heart of new objects that are not destined to be thrown away?

Year 2 will focus on production issues. How can we produce and manufacture with bio-materials? What are the production spaces and architectures that enable new forms to be generated in a closed circuit?

And the 3rd year will focus on the question of ‘care’. So care and the attention paid to others, health, sport, obviously all these questions…

For a more habitable world

The Chair is working closely with DÉCATHLON’s design teams to develop innovative prototypes that can potentially be developed by DÉCATHLON.

Sébastien Haquet ,

Director of Advanced Design at Décathlon.

He explains this partnership to us.

Why did you set up this partnership with ENSAD?

DÉCATHLON is proud to support this chair. Working with the next generation to imagine the future also enables us to integrate tomorrow’s new challenges into DÉCATHLON’s creative strategies. As a designer of sports products, the eco-design approach is one of the major challenges we face in reducing the environmental impact of our activities. It also allows us to open up to new collaborations and pass on our know-how.

Is sustainable development important to the Decathlon group?

Since it was founded in 1976, DÉCATHLON’s aim has been to make sport accessible to as many people as possible over the long term. Today, the world is a playground for sportsmen and women. DÉCATHLON is aware that the production, transport, use and distribution of products have an impact on the planet.

That’s why DÉCATHLON wants to be part of the change by committing to reducing its impact on the climate and biodiversity through actions throughout its value chain, from product design to end-of-life.

To achieve this, a number of initiatives have been launched:

– Reducing the use of fossil fuels at our production sites, by supporting our partners in the use of renewable energies.

– developing the circular economy, which today includes second life, repair and rental to offer an alternative to the sale of new products.

– promoting eco-design to reduce the carbon impact of products, in particular by using sustainable materials and extending the lifespan of products by making them more durable and repairable. By 2026, DÉCATHLON is committed to ensuring that 100% of its sports and technical products benefit from an eco-design approach.

In this way, we can work to reduce our impact on the environment, improve the quality of life of our athletes and employees, and strengthen the resilience of our company in the face of environmental challenges. This is a major issue for all companies wishing to continue to grow in the years ahead.

Airs de Paris in Kiosk

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Numbers 07 2023