Decathlon: a Flax-Linen cycle satchel that tells the story of the supply chain

To develop this flax-linen cycle satchel, the Decathlon teams chose to step outside their usual practices and follow a journey with flax-linen from its origins through to the finished product.

From the flax plant growing in fields in Normandy and the Netherlands to final assembly in the Czech Republic, Decathlon chose to trace every stage of the process in order to better understand and document its product. Scutched in France, spun in Poland and woven in the Hauts-de-France region, the flax-linen used for the bag is part of an entirely European production chain. This approach puts the flax fibre at the heart of the project, both for its qualities and for the expertise brought together throughout the process.

This journey also gave the teams the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of a material they were less familiar with, meet the people working across the sector and place traceability at the centre of the project. They discovered a fibre closely connected to local territories and long-established expertise. The experience also changed the way they looked at the product. Beyond the bicycle bag itself, Decathlon now wants to shed light on flax, its journey and the expertise encountered and involved at every stage.

The project demonstrates that a technical product can also be made using a natural fibre and through European manufacturing.

Alliance : Why did you choose Flax-Linen as the raw material for the Decathlon cycle satchel ? What sets it apart from the other textile materials you use at Decathlon?

GG : Flax-linen was the best choice for using a locally sourced fibre, with a lower CO₂ impact, strong style credentials and expertise that is still firmly established in France.
In all these respects, it differs from the fibres we usually use for our bicycle bags, mainly polyester and polyamide. These fibres are derived from petrochemicals and produced in Asia.

What did you discover about flax-linen as you followed the sector, from the fields to the finished bag?

Everything! From the fleeting nature of the flax-linen flower to weaving techniques, we learnt a great deal, and every discovery reinforced our desire to work with this fibre.

How did this journey change the way you communicate about your product?

It convinced us to focus our communication primarily on flax-linen and its production chain, rather than on the satchel itself.