From a national competition aimed at upcycling industrial leather scraps to the construction of a factory specializing in the treatment of this waste allowing the development of new materials and products, the Valesens project is fully in line with a CSR approach. . Discovery of the mixed project of solidarity manufacturing and industrial site for the recovery of leather scraps in a short circuit initiated by the association.
Zero Waste Goal
Created in 2005, Valesens supports, through design and sensory technologies, new forms of economy and product in the Centre-Val de Loire region. Its territorial strategy, by 2025, is based on four pillars which combine the solidarity economy and the circular economy with the creative and sensory economy. On the strength of its innovation approach, the association has imagined a project for the treatment and recovery of leather scraps and industrial waste materialized through a national design competition called “My beautiful waste” launched in 2021. leather appeals to perception, sensation and emotional memory, in line with our sensory ecology approach to design. The tons of leather waste, to be used as is, can be used as a source of experimentation and transformation, through design, into everyday or exceptional objects,” explains Régine Charvet Pello, Managing Director of RCP Design Global. The interior architect and designer, based in Tours, is at the origin of the notion of sensory design in France (understand a differentiating perception in the design of industrial products).
The objective of the competition is to preserve natural resources through eco-design, recovery and upcycling of waste, in this case industrial leather scraps sourced locally. It is up to creators, designers, artisans, students and artists to design in an innovative and sustainable way. “This competition contributes to creating a new market for objects, products and materials with high human and sustainable value, by working on upcycled everyday objects. The creations of the 18 winners can be produced in small series this year by a local factory, a solidarity economy structure that involves people who are far from employment. In a territorial and social approach, this factory will respond, over time, to calls for projects and creative orders.
The objective of the competition is to preserve natural resources through eco-design, recovery and upcycling of waste, in this case industrial leather scraps sourced locally. It is up to creators, designers, artisans, students and artists to design in an innovative and sustainable way. “This competition contributes to creating a new market for objects, products and materials with high human and sustainable value, by working on upcycled everyday objects. The creations of the 18 winners can be produced in small series this year by a local factory, a solidarity economy structure that involves people who are far from employment. In a territorial and social approach, this factory will respond, over time, to calls for projects and creative orders.
A New Stream Of Upgrade Materials
In a circular economy approach, and to go further in the treatment of 100% of the waste, the manufacture is intended to be completed with an industrial component intended to valorize the leather fibers (known as synderme, recycled material composed of shredded leathers and natural binders). The objective: “to innovate and create to give another value to synderme in order to make it a more noble material, usable as a second-life product in markets other than fashion. The reuse of industrial scrap offers a wide field of creation that can be expressed in the home, office, packaging, public transport, automotive sectors, etc.,” underlines Régine Charvet Pello. With this in mind, Valesens is republishing its “My beautiful waste 2022” competition with the theme “Leather fibres, new uses”. Ten samples of leather fibers of different thicknesses, colors and constitutions (flexible to rigid), with no surface finish, were made available to the designer-creator participants in order to give free rein to their imagination. The achievements of the winners will be unveiled in September during France Design Week. “The competition focused on this material makes it possible to evaluate the technical characteristics of synderme, the outlets and the potential for product families. »
Factory opening in 2026?
This initiative leads to the establishment of a new sector that would recycle off-cuts and manufacturing waste to develop new materials and design new products. This large-scale project aroused the interest of the German industrialist Nabore, already operator of a reconstituted leather factory in Germany. The two partners are collaborating on a project to set up a manufacturing unit in France, in addition to the solidarity factory, known as the factory of esteem, which meets the needs of the leather industry in the treatment of its offcuts a production of virtuous materials and objects. “This leather scrap treatment project, from the factory to the synderme factory, aims to initiate a long-term partnership with French leather professionals to imagine an innovative recovery of their scrap materials. This new model of an economy of esteem (the esteem of people, of waste as precious resources, and of the territory for its inhabitants) contributes to reindustrialization in France. The project is attracting the interest of many professionals and investors. “We have implemented a participatory approach with the creation of a working group bringing together Valesens, local authorities, the General Directorate of Enterprises (DGE), the National Leather Council (CNC), CTC (Professional Committee for Economic Development Leather, Footwear, Leather Goods, Gloves), which brings its technical expertise, an industrialist and designers,” explains Régine Charvet Pello.
A feasibility study of this economic, environmental and solidarity project and a call for projects are currently being carried out, supported by the Centre-Val de Loire region. The cost of building the production unit is estimated at between 15 and 17 million euros for a processing capacity of 3,600 tonnes of leather scraps per year with a workforce of 40 employees. Like the heart of the project, this new generation plant will also be part of an approach to reducing environmental impact – energy saving (minimizing water and electricity consumption), use of renewable energies, etc. – “so that it is as virtuous as the production that will come out of it”. The case is progressing at a steady pace. The actors plan to leave the site on the horizon for 2026.
