They knew how to use sewing thread. They have now learned how to use the heating wire.
Chlorophylle, designer and manufacturer of high-performance outdoor clothing, has entered into a partnership with the Quebec company ewool to integrate the latter’s rechargeable battery-powered electric heating technology into a new collection of sleeveless jackets.
It launched on October 19.
“We’ve been working on the project for about a year and a half,” says the marketing director for Chlorophylle, Claudie Laroche.
Their common roots are not unrelated to their collaboration.
“It was the president of ewool, Mr. Alain Desmeules, who thought of the link between our two companies a few years ago, because he comes from the same region as Chlorophylle,” indicates the spokesperson of the Saguenay company.
“For him, it made no sense that his company specializing in heating technology could not use Chlorophylle coats to clothe Quebecers. »
Chlorophylle’s sleeveless jackets for men and women, available in two colors, have an exposed zipper and a much more discreet button.
This vibrating control button is hidden in the jacket, sewn between two layers of textiles.
“We decided with ewool that it would still remain sober for the visibility of the button,” emphasizes Claudie Laroche. The button is on the logo side, therefore the heart side. You feel it when you press it, but you don’t see it. »
The heating is adjusted at the touch of a finger through the garment. The number of vibrations indicates which of the three heat levels is achieved.
The battery provides up to six hours of autonomy. Removable for recharging, it is slipped into a slot located inside the jacket.
“So there’s nothing that says it’s a heated jacket. »
It can also be worn without batteries or heating.
“At $380, it becomes a versatile jacket that can be worn four seasons in all activities,” argues the marketing director.
The garment is the result of “multiple meetings with the ewool team”.
Chlorophylle had already tried in the past to integrate heating technology into its clothing, but the initiative fizzled out.
“We quickly abandoned the project,” she relates.
“We are clothing designers, we are not electrical engineers. Knowing how to manage heat, manage the battery level, determine how many kilowatts you need to operate the jacket, the weight of this battery: these are details, but it’s what makes the difference between a good and a worse product. When it comes to heating technology, ewool had years and years of expertise. »
Once the electrical parameters were fixed, the device was integrated into the making of the garment.
“We also had to test that so that the jacket’s heating wires were in the right place, because we don’t want to prevent freedom of movement,” she continues.
“It also required a lot of follow-up with our suppliers. We were not used to managing batteries and heating wires. »
Or even instructions for use.
“That’s right, it takes an instruction manual! “, they realized.
“We sell clothes, we don’t show people how to put them on,” recalls Claudie Laroche. There were lots of little things like that that you had to think about extra with this type of clothing. It felt like a retailer like Apple! »
Chlorophylle, under market pressure, had to outsource its manufacturing to Asia, apart from one new item for which it reserves the manufacturing in Quebec each year.
The company still has around a hundred employees in its Saguenay head office and its network of stores.
A first batch of 600 heated jackets was delivered to it in mid-October, out of an annual production of a thousand units.
“For the moment, we are only relying on our website and our stores for the sale of our products,” informs Claudie Laroche. For us, these are qualities that are still important, which shows that we have confidence in this product.
“I don’t necessarily know if there is interest at the retailer level, but what we want to tell them and show them with this product is that we want to constantly innovate. »
Heated mittens are to follow in November.
“This is the start of a greater collaboration with ewool,” she assures. We are currently looking at several other items, especially accessories, but we have not yet decided on a specific product. But it is certain that we will not stop there. »
No question of losing the thread.
A Quebec manufacturer of feminine hygiene products is launching (a little) into publishing. Öko Créations, a company in Boisbriand which manufactures and distributes sanitary napkins and washable menstrual panties, has just printed a small illustrated booklet which introduces young girls to menstrual issues. Entitled My first period guide, it was developed in partnership with the Quebec Action Network for Women’s Health (RQASF) as part of its “Le Fil Rouge” campaign, subsidized by Women and Gender Equality Canada (FEGC) . It is mainly aimed at young people aged 9 to 14 and covers periods, the menstrual cycle, myths and, of course, different menstrual products. The illustrations are the work of Öko Créations and Soefara Jafney Jaafar. The goal was to “design a fun and accessible companion for today’s youth, designed to answer essential questions without getting bogged down in details, while providing resources to deepen their knowledge,” explained via email Karine Létourneau, co-owner of Öko Créations. “This is exactly the type of guide we wish we had before facing our first period. » The 14-page booklet is available in the Öko Créations online store and at its resellers. “We are currently in discussions to launch our booklet in the cooperatives of various colleges,” explained Karine Létourneau.
We need to innovate in the way we approach innovation among the country’s SMEs. Canadian SMEs lag behind in innovation and productivity, not only compared to large companies in Canada, but also compared to SMEs in other countries. This is the finding of an economic point of view published on October 16 by Études économique Desjardins, entitled Success of small businesses: portrait of innovation in Canada. Business innovation does not only affect new products and cutting-edge technologies. It also includes improvements to manufacturing processes and the adoption of technologies that improve productivity. However, in all sectors of activity, the level of production per hour worked by Canadian SMEs is lower than that of SMEs in the United States and all Canadian businesses. Furthermore, the least productive sectors of the Canadian economy are generally those where SMEs are most present and employ the most workers: accommodation and restaurants, wholesale and retail trade, and construction, in particular. Despite their good will, SMEs face obstacles such as a lack of skills and technical knowledge, and they face difficulties hiring highly qualified workers and obtaining financing to invest in innovation. These obstacles could be overcome “through well-targeted and funded public policies,” the authors argue. “Clearly, more needs to be done to ensure that SMEs are aware of the different solutions available to them and that these policies are adequately designed to meet the needs of Canadian entrepreneurs,” write Jimmy Jean, vice‐president, chief economist and strategist, Randall Bartlett, senior director of the Canadian economy, and Kari Norman, specialist in the production of economic documents, at Études économique Desjardins.
According to a new study from KPMG, 59% of Canadian SMEs say they were “directly affected” by extreme weather events during the past year, marked by devastating forest fires. Half experienced a significant increase in their overall costs, while 44% experienced a direct loss of revenue.
