Eco-design is a necessary stage in sustainable fashion and circular economy, allowing companies to align with European goals. Simon Giuliani, Candiani Denim’s Marketing Director, and Marco Guazzoni, Vibram’s Sustainability Director, discussed it with Cikis Studio.
Environmental matters and product development combined
Eco-design allows companies to take environmental matters into account during the product development process so that they can balance economic and ecological needs. While designing, it is hence decided not only how the different materials are combined but also how they may be repaired, reused, repurposed, or disassembled once the life cycle of a product is over.
Eco-design collaboration by Candiani Denim and Vibram
Candiani Denim and Vibram collaborated to create the Component Shoe project during the Monitor for Circular Fashion of the SDA Bocconi School of Management scope. Both companies are ingredient brands and have sustainability among their primary values.
The Component Shoe project is based on eco-design principles to make the finished product have the smallest environmental impact during its entire life cycle. One of the main goals of Component Shoe is to engage the consumer, who can assemble and disassemble their shoes at home and custom them using upcycled denim products.
“We designed the Component Shoe aiming to manufacture a shoe with just a few single material components which could be obtained from recycled items or waste and be easily disassembled and reused at their end of life. The upper is not one of our specialties, but the collaboration with Candiani Denim made it possible to produce it using denim waste”, explained Marco Guazzoni.
“We started this project with the waste of the fabrics we cut in our Candiani Custom micro-factory. We may also move to the industrial level, to Candiani Denim’s production in its plants in Robecchetto con Induno, if the project caught on”, said Simon Giuliani.
The full podcast (in Italian) is available here.