What must the product do?
Function, user, context of use, expected performance, frequency of use, care and intended service life.
Expertise — Eco-design & product
Understand the product as a whole to identify where to act.
The impacts of a textile product do not result from a single choice.
They arise from a succession of interacting decisions — function, use, materials, construction, processes, suppliers, service life and end of life.
Understanding these interactions reveals the real levers for action, constraints and trade-offs that must be considered before deciding.
Read the product system
Four dimensions for understanding what truly shapes a product.
A product is the result of a system of choices. Changing one dimension can affect several others.
How is it constructed?
Materials, components, architecture, assemblies, finishes, repairability, disassembly and the technical choices that determine its characteristics.
How and where is it made?
Processes, substances, energy, water, waste, suppliers, production conditions, traceability and value-chain organisation.
How is it used and what happens to it?
Use, care, ageing, repair, reuse, service life, collection, recyclability and end-of-life scenarios.
Understand the interactions
Improving one criterion does not necessarily improve the product.
A change in material, construction or process may reduce certain impacts while changing durability, performance, care, repairability, recyclability, cost or other impacts.
The question is therefore not simply “is it better?”, but “better in what respect, under what conditions, and with what consequences elsewhere?”
Avoiding impact shifting requires decisions to be considered as part of a system, not in isolation.
Decisions that shape the product
The earlier a choice is made, the more it can determine what remains possible later.
Early intentions progressively define a range of possibilities. As the product takes shape, some options become harder, more costly or impossible to change.
IntentFunction & use
→
ArchitectureDesign & materials
→
ImplementationProcesses & value chain
→
TimeUse & end of life
Make decisions with sufficient knowledge
The quality of a trade-off also depends on the quality of the information available.
Material & component data
Technical characteristics
Supplier & process data
Traceability & evidence
Testing & performance
Comparative impacts & scenarios
Regulatory constraints
Standards & claims
The Loometic approach
Eco-design is not the pursuit of a theoretically perfect product.
It means understanding the product, its uses, impacts and constraints well enough to identify genuinely relevant opportunities for improvement.
Decisions must remain compatible with the product’s function, quality, industrial and economic feasibility, and the company’s ambitions.
The aim is to make trade-offs visible, informed and coherent — and then be able to stand behind them.
From expertise to action
Understanding the product system then makes it possible to act on it.
This expertise directly informs Loometic’s eco-design work: anticipating impacts, comparing options and making informed, committed choices from the earliest ideas through to end of life.
Discover the Eco-design solution →