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R&D MINUTE
ECO-DESIGN PROJECT FOR SAMAYA EQUIPMENT
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True to its DNA of innovation and excellence, Samaya is aware of the need to offer technical products that are both sustainable and have a low environmental impact, and aspires to the development of high-tech eco-designed equipment. The first step towards this bright future was to carry out an eco-design project for the luggage range, in partnership with Ademe and AirCoop.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a tool for identifying the stages in a product's life cycle that have the greatest environmental impact, in order to guide eco-design actions. The LCA results have enabled us to assess the environmental impact of our Samaya ULTRA35 backpack, and to specify our eco-design actions for all our equipment.
The first stage of the project involved training R&D teams in the concepts of LCA and eco-design. This led to a detailed understanding of a multi-criteria analysis for the environmental assessment of Samaya ULTRA35.
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An initial qualitative evaluation was carried out using an internal tool based on the assessment of various environmental criteria: simplicity, durability, repairability, eco-materials, materials production, chemical management, dyeing, social audit score, factory environmental impact, packaging and product end-of-life.
The quantitative assessment was carried out using LCA. The functional unit, i.e. the parameters chosen as reference terms for the study, is as follows: to enable a skier or mountaineer to carry 40L of equipment in extreme conditions for 10 years. This functional unit was defined taking into account the function performed by the Samaya ULTRA35 and similar backpacks on the market.
With these initial foundations laid and our supplier data compiled (material composition, mass, shaping processes, finishing, transport), we began the second part of the LCA, assessing the impacts of our backpack throughout its lifecycle on various indicators: global warming, eutrophication of fresh waters and use of fossil resources. From this second stage, we were able to see that raw materials account for the majority of impacts. Forming processes, packaging and distribution also present impacts to be taken into account, although they are less significant.
The third and final step was to use the results of the environmental assessment to identify possible courses of action, while taking care to ensure impact transfer. We therefore considered several product modifications to assess the associated gains: modification of the raw materials and the strap dyeing process, modification of the individual packaging and modification of the French energy mix.
These avenues of improvement promise significant reductions in impacts, without transfer:
- An 11% drop in acidification impact using a French energy mix.
- A 12% reduction in the impact on global warming by using a recycled polyester bag instead of individual cardboard, or even a 17% reduction by doing away with cardboard altogether, which we have done for all our backpacks for the 2024 season.
- An 11% drop in acidification impact using a French energy mix.
- A 12% reduction in the impact on global warming by using a recycled polyester bag instead of individual cardboard, or even a 17% reduction by doing away with cardboard altogether, which we have done for all our backpacks for the 2024 season.
From the outset, we have analyzed Bills of Materials (BOMs) to guide our choices. These list all the raw materials used in each product. The idea was to explore the possibility of replacing certain materials with more responsible alternatives. The implementation of LCAs is part of this dynamic, and now enables us to quantify and measure the impact of our changes, which has notably led to the development of a recycled nylon material for our ALPINE range backpacks.
The analysis of the BOMs and the results of this LCA not only shed light on the eco-design of the Samaya ULTRA35. We've been able to transpose what we've learned to our entire luggage range, for new and old products alike, as well as for our tents and accessories.
This project is part of a more global approach, including the setting up of a prototyping workshop and production lines entirely Made in France at our premises in Annecy. Our Samaya workshop was thus able to produce the Samaya BELAY20, our very first hoisting bag made entirely in France from recycled materials.
We take great care to design our products in a streamlined way, using only the essentials to meet technical specifications and thus guaranteeing a combination of performance and minimal environmental impact.