Longchamp and the environment
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Since it was founded in 1948, Longchamp has opened six production sites in the West of France (in Mayenne, Vendée, Maine-et-Loire, and Orne). Talented men and women have sustained the leather craftsmanship of this family business for over 70 years. These sites employ over 800 people with rare expertise, spread across 25 workshops; In addition to this factory network are two production sites abroad, in Tunisia and Mauritius. Finally, the brand also makes use of partner workshops in France, China, Romania, and Morocco. Regardless of the geographic location of the workshops, "Made by Longchamp" ensures the consistent manufacturing of products that all meet the same quality standards. Moreover, Longchamp is transparent about where its designs are assembled, displaying the information on the labels inside its bags.
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Like all skilled craftspeople, Longchamp is committed to long-lasting products. This is the House’s first commitment towards the environment: ensuring that its customers can preserve their purchased items for a long time, take care of them, and transmit them. Moreover, because Longchamp feels responsible for its products long after they have left the boutiques, the House is proud to ensure that they can be repaired, whenever possible. To this end, a repair service - processing 60,000 products each year, some of which are very old - is available to customers. Taking charge of used or accidentally damaged products, restoring them, and extending their lifespan by several years, is not only satisfying to customers, but it also helps to preserve the environment. Longchamp has always considered that a beautiful product should be repairable and that giving it a second life is a source of pride.
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Longchamp’s leathers come from animals raised in Europe, Africa, and South America. Longchamp ensures that related livestock farming does not contribute to deforestation, particularly in the Amazon rainforest. These hides are processed by the best tanners in France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, England, Uruguay, and Brazil.
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The House is engaged in a process of continuous progress and improvement regarding waste management in its workshops, boutiques, and head offices around the world. Their waste recovery rate is one of the key indicators, monitored by the House’s Quality and Environment Department. In 2020, our workshops were able to recycle or reuse 100% of their plastic waste, 100% of their paper and cardboard waste, 100% of their wood waste, 100% of their metals and 100% of the canvas scraps from our "Le Pliage" bags. Dedicated teams are forming partnerships with various organizations to develop new innovative recycling solutions. Regarding packaging and paper, Longchamp favors FSC-certified materials, an ecolabel that guarantees sustainable forest management, the well-being of forest workers, the protection of biodiversity, and the preservation of the rights of indigenous populations. Whenever it is possible, the brand recycles diverse materials such as scrap leather, textiles, pallets, cardboard, plastic, paper, etc., to give them a second life. Dedicated teams are setting up partnerships with various organizations to develop innovative recycling solutions. The development and production teams are also exploring the use of recycled materials in the collections.
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To limit lighting needs, Longchamp’s workshops are designed to favor as much natural light as possible. The House also implements innovative insulation, heating, and air conditioning solutions to reduce its energy consumption. In 2021, Longchamp fully renovated the 8.000 m2 facades of its workshops in Segré. The triple glazing of the new high thermal performance facades also allows for more natural light. All Longchamp boutiques, as well as workshops, are gradually switching to LED lighting to reduce electricity consumption and heat input.
For an international company like Longchamp, air transport, both passenger and freight, is a significant cause of greenhouse gas emissions. To limit its impact, all Longchamp employees around the world have given up flying for all their trips that don’t exceed 4 hours by train. In parallel, the company is developing teleworking and video conferencing solutions to reduce travel needs. To transport its goods, Longchamp favors maritime transport – recognized as the least polluting solution – and limits the use of air transport as much as possible. Regarding its road transport needs, the House favors service providers that try to reduce their environmental impact through the use of hybrid, electric, and natural gas vehicles. Since it was established, Longchamp has attached great importance to the architectural quality of its production sites and their integration into the surrounding environment.
Over the years, 12,500 trees have been planted around our workshops, helping to further reduce their carbon footprint. The hedgerows typical of the landscape of western France are being preserved and maintained, benefiting biodiversity. Since 2019, another 85 different tree species have been planted, including a traditional high-stem orchard.
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One of the founding acts of the brand is seeking solutions through innovation and design. The first Longchamp product – the leather-covered pipe – was an innovation in itself, and it was the original casing that made it a success. Every day, Longchamp staff test, optimize and develop new and innovative projects. These efforts are now geared towards research into processes and raw materials that can help minimize products’ ecological impact. So, for the Le Pliage bag, Longchamp staff developed a new canvas, both sides of which are made of recycled polyester derived from plastic waste (mainly recycled bottles). The customizable canvas is printed at our workshops in the Maine-et-Loire using a process that does not consume water. The launch of the My Pliage Signature bag is one of the outcomes of this undertaking, which involves putting innovation at the service of the environment. Following the same principle, Le Pliage Energy and Le Pliage Green ranges are made from recycled polyamide canvas. Longchamp aims to use only canvas produced by recycling come 2023.
