The circular luxury challenge: An inside look at Longchamp’s radical CSR journey

French luxury brand Longchamp has attracted attention in recent months with some unconventional sustainability initiatives, such as its collaboration with the French shipping company Neoline, which has built a state-of-the-art sailing cargo ship. In an interview, Adrien Cassegrain, director of transformation and corporate social responsibility (CSR) and a member of the fourth generation of the family company that owns Longchamp, explains what this is all about.

Luxury brands often talk about craftsmanship and tradition, but much less frequently about sustainability. Longchamp was founded in 1948 as a manufacturer of leather goods and now offers ready-to-wear, shoes and accessories in addition to bags. It is one of the few houses in the industry that is now proactively addressing the topic. The French family-owned company has drawn attention to itself in an innovative way with its B Corp certification in 2026, the logistical integration of wind-powered cargo ships last autumn and other measures.

Cassegrain explains why sustainability was hardly communicated at Longchamp for a long time, even though topics such as repairs have been practised for decades. He also explains why the circular economy in the luxury segment is often more complex than it seems.

Longchamp is one of the few luxury companies to address sustainability in its communication. Why is the topic so underrepresented in the luxury segment?

I cannot speak for all luxury brands, of course, but I can speak for Longchamp. As a company, we place great value on the sincerity and modesty of our communication. When we communicate about something, we want to be absolutely certain that our statements are correct. This applies to the quality and craftsmanship of our products as well as to sustainability and CSR topics. We therefore want to ensure these practices are firmly established and well-documented before we talk about them.

There is another point: sustainability is part of our DNA. We may not have considered that it could be of interest to our customers because for us, it is simply a given. This could be a reason why we have not spoken about it so much.

Can you be more specific?

Our repair service is a good example. We have been operating our own workshop since the 1950s and offer repairs. We did not actively communicate this for a long time because it is a matter of course for us. Anyone who produces durable products and strives for a long-term customer relationship must also be able to repair them.

We have only recently realised that this is by no means common in the industry. We are therefore talking more about it today to be transparent about our standards for quality and customer relationships.

Do your customers ask about these topics?

Not all, but a growing number of our customers are interested. For many, sustainability is closely linked to quality. Often, it is essentially the same thing, just viewed from a different perspective.

When customers talk about quality, they mean not only the longevity of a product but also how it is made and under what conditions. Ultimately, this is exactly what falls under CSR.

You have been certified as a B Corporation. Why was that important for you?

Longevity has always been part of our DNA. However, we realised that longevity alone is no longer enough today. CSR means systematically recording and documenting measures and creating clear responsibilities.

Our goal was therefore to better structure our existing practices and, in some cases, develop them further. We also felt that we had more to say to our customers about this, but it had to be on a solid basis.

We examined various certifications and chose B Corp because it takes a holistic approach. The entire company is certified across all countries, locations and functions; from production and supply chain to sales and communication. It was crucial for us to have a framework that maps and evaluates all aspects of our actions in the environmental and social areas. This allows us to ensure our statements are well-founded and that we do not make unsubstantiated environmental claims.

Can you give examples of changes the certification has initiated?

The biggest changes are in the organisation. Our main goal was to better structure and document our way of working, something that was not always a given in a family business of our size.

We have therefore established a governance model that directly involves top management. Part of the board meets monthly on CSR topics, organised by our CSR team, with the participation of our CEO and the artistic director. In parallel, we have established a global network of employees who act as contacts within the teams. They provide feedback from the markets, support data collection and help to make the implementation of guidelines traceable.

It was also important for us to strengthen the exchange in both directions: not only requirements from the head office but also feedback from the countries. We define goals together, evaluate progress and deliberately look not only at what needs to be improved but also at what is already working well.

This has significantly changed our organisation, moving towards a closer integration of global management and operational implementation. We have also developed guidelines for responsible procurement and created a comprehensive environmental policy with CO2 footprint targets.

How did collaboration with shipping company Neoline come about?

I cannot tell you exactly when this project began. It developed long before the production of the first ship. Our commitment to ship some of our products with the freighter helped them secure the financing to build the ship. So it was quite a long time ago. Neoline is a French company whose ports are very close to our main warehouse in France. The ships also go to Philadelphia, which happens to be near our main warehouse in the US. This is very practical as it also minimises lorry traffic.

What share of logistics does this ship account for?

Today, this is still quite small. Currently, there is only one ship at Neoline that sails exclusively from France to the US, so it only covers part of our activities. All our subsidiaries and boutiques in Asia are not covered by this partnership.

The journey from France to the US takes around 15 days and then another 15 days back. We can therefore only use one ship per month. If the ship is successful, Neoline wants to build a second ship. This would mean one would sail every two weeks, and then we could double the freight volume to the US.

Can this type of transport compete economically with conventional methods?

I cannot tell you that exactly at the moment. Transport is not the main factor in the price of our products. The main factor is primarily the manufacturing and the quality of the materials. Logistics is also more about time than cost. If we have to deliver products to the US because we might have bottlenecks or need to deliver the new collection to our boutiques, a few extra days can sometimes be very costly. I think the investment Longchamp is making in this practice is more focused on transport time than on the price of this transport.

Is this ship faster or slower?

It is slower because it has to travel further north than a normal cargo ship to take advantage of favourable winds.

What measures are you taking in circular economy? You have already mentioned repairs. Do you also offer second-hand fashion or recycling solutions?

Today we offer about 95 percent of our repairs free of charge. We introduced this last year in Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and now also in Germany, and we want to expand this gradually in Europe. Repairs are important to us because we want to build meaningful, trust-based relationships with our customers that develop over time. We are therefore prepared to invest in our repairs. It is also easy for us because we have the craftsmanship to do it.

On the subject of second-hand fashion, we launched a second-hand shop with a partner in France just a few months ago, which is integrated into our website. Here, our customers can buy and sell products, and we have the opportunity to certify the condition of the products and refurbish them slightly. Once we have gained more experience, the project will also be established outside of France.

How do you deal with recycling?

Currently, there is no practicable solution to completely recycle our products at the end of their life cycle. Recyclability is complex, which is why we are only approaching the topic step by step. We are initially concentrating on offcuts from production and looking for sensible ways to use them.

Leather in particular presents a special challenge. It has been optimised for durability over thousands of years, so reversing this process is difficult. We are already working with partners in France who can recycle some of our leather waste, but not yet on the scale we would like. Similar challenges exist with synthetic fibres, although we are already using some recycled materials and are working on further solutions.

Is there a market for leather offcuts?

No. One of the main uses for leather offcuts is currently carpets. At the moment, however, we are still looking for the magic solution. We also try to generate as little waste as possible.

As a heritage brand, do you have much scope for new, innovative materials? Do you experiment with materials?

Yes, of course we experiment. We do this continuously and have our own team that develops new materials and uses for residual materials. Two central conditions apply. Firstly, the quality of the end product must be right; for example, many “vegan” leathers do not yet reach our standard. Secondly, it is about scalability. We first test innovations in small series and with partners. It is important, however, that these solutions can also be integrated on a larger scale in the long term and make up a relevant part of our range. Our aim is not to launch individual, communicatively charged niche products that ultimately have little effect.

Do you have an example?

Our Pliage line is a good example. First, we tested recycled materials in small, independent collections, such as with “Le Pliage Green”. After we were able to ensure that the quality matched the original and our suppliers could deliver the necessary quantities, we gradually extended the concept to the entire line. Today, recycled nylon is used throughout.

We follow three clear criteria: consistent quality; sufficient scalability; and a demonstrable reduction in environmental impact. Only when all three are met does an innovation have a long-term future for us.

What other topics are you currently working on in CSR?

We are working specifically on reducing the use of fossil fuels and shortening transport routes. To do this, we are building up our supply chains more regionally, with a dual procurement system and an additional warehouse structure, for example in Asia, to bring production and sales markets closer together. This is a large, operational project that is hardly visible to customers but is crucial for us to reduce emissions.

In parallel, we are investing in our locations. Our workshops in France are being energetically modernised, including through better insulation and the switch from gas heating to heat pumps. We are also relying on our own energy generation, for example through solar panels, to cover part of our electricity needs ourselves.

Where exactly do you produce?

We produce in our own workshops in France, Tunisia and Mauritius, some for several decades, and also work with long-standing partner companies in Europe, Africa and Asia. The type of production is more decisive for us than the location. All raw materials are purchased centrally and controlled by us; we also provide clear specifications for processing. Our own production allows us to closely monitor standards, while at the same time we deliberately focus on long-term partnerships. For example, we have been working with our workshop in Mauritius for 40 years, always with the aim of sharing knowledge, learning together and continuously improving quality. It is also about building relationships with the companies and the craftspeople there in order to share our common experiences. This established, internationally distributed structure is central to us and should continue to exist in the future.

Final question about your role: most CSR managers come into the company from outside. You belong to the Longchamp family. Is that an advantage?

I am often asked this question in one form or another, and I would say it is different. It is different in a way that I feel comfortable with, and that facilitates long-term thinking. Anyone who knows the company well can focus more on what is important, not just on what seems urgent in the short term. This creates more room to drive sustainable developments and to position the company for long-term stability, especially in comparison to listed companies. At the same time, this closeness can make an outside perspective more difficult; a certain subjectivity remains. Nevertheless, this long-term perspective is deeply anchored in Longchamp's DNA. Building lasting relationships with customers, partners and employees shapes the corporate culture. Many employees stay with the company for decades, which is also an expression of our commitment to continuity and stability.

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