The why of the ReFashion project

The fashion industry is the second largest polluter in the world just after the oil industry. European consumption of textiles has the fourth highest impact on the environment and climate change, after food, housing and mobility. It is the third sector for higher use of water and land use, and fifth for the use of primary raw materials and greenhouse gas emissions.

 

The new EU strategy for sustainable and circular textiles aims to create a greener, more competitive and more modern sector, more resistant to global shocks. The changes to be made are drastic and many businesses will be affected due to the lack of specialized education and preparation, especially  the small and medium size enterprises.

 

The what of the ReFashion project

 

There are solutions and alternatives to reduce the enviromental impact of the fashion industry. The first step lies in building awareness and willingness to change. During the next 2 years, the project partners will take actions in this regard.

 

We will start by an research related to the knowledge and the skills needed to facilitate the development and implementation of sustainable solutions for the fashion and textile industries (Expert job profile). This research will allow us to provide de most suitable training material  for the future and established professionals working in the fashion and textile industries (ReFashion Training Course).

 

ReFashion Consumer Guide will focus on raising awareness and sustain the consumers on how to be responsible, change their consumption behaviour and lifestyle.

 

The who of the ReFashion project

 

The 6 consortium partners (5 non-governmental organizations  and 1 Small and Medium size Enterprise) are from 4 European countries.

 

The National Centre for Sustainable Production and Consumption is a non-profit organization, fully committed to contribute to the development of sustainable consumption and production patterns in Romania, by raising awareness amongst businesses, public institutions and other organizations regarding the need for increasing resource efficiency and reducing the environmental impact of their products, services and operations, building capacity in resource efficiency and circular economy for enterprises and government institutions, providing support and advisory and facilitating access to information.

 

MIITR is a non-profit organisation working to build a just and sustainable world through its network of many public organisations (working with municipalities, ministries, government agencies, universities and other public institutions), NGOs, businesses and other partners. It develops sustainable business strategies and solutions through consultancy and cross-sectoral cooperation. MIITR is made up of a team of experts with a high level of expertise, skills and competences in sustainable development and the circular economy, as well as in project management, promotion and information dissemination activities.

 

CRIES (Resources Center for Ethical and Solidarity-Based Initiatives) is one of the first organizations involved in the promotion of social and solidarity economy in Romania. The organization developed as a resource center, with the main areas of action being participatory democracy, community-supported agriculture, fair trade, social inclusion enterprises, responsible consumption and ethical financing. CRIES is members of several national and European networks, facilitating the collaboration among different actors in area of social and solidarity economy.

 

Innovation Hive is a private non-profit organization located in Greece, specialized in the fields of research and innovation. Our actions aim to enhance the economic and social cohesion of European societies while our goal is to find solutions to the new innovation challenges, achieve growth, sustainability and maximize the impact to the society. The organization’s philosophy in order to achieve these goals is based on co-creation methodologies and a quadruple helix approach. The engagement of stakeholders from industry, science and society is aiming to create links between the businesses, the academia and the civic actors in order to develop a combination of knowledge, skills, tools, values and motivation.

 

Effebi Association is an Italian non-profit organization set up in 1976. The Board of Directors is composed by HR and training Managers from the main Italian Banks. Effebi organises a variety of activities in the field of Human Resources and Organisational Development mainly for the banking and financial sector. Through its work, the Association strives to enhance the exchange of good practices and knowledge and collaboration with other organizations at national, European and International level. EFFEBI is a Member of European forum of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (EfVET) that is one of the leading European-wide professional associations which has been created by, and for, Vocational Education and Training (VET) providers.

 

Katty Fashion is a private Romanian company with over 17 years experience of all categories of womenswear and a long-standing supplier for more than 50 high-end European fashion labels, whom we offer value-added services as: pattern and fit development, sampling and prototyping, material sourcing, short runs and bespoke production, on-time delivery. Ethical work environment and environmentally sustainable production process are at the core of our value system.Therefore, over the years,we have invested significant resources in technology and state-of-art practices that allowed us to improve the efficiency, quality and range of our services.

 

Where and when of the ReFashion project

 

During the project, 4 transnational meetings will take place allowing the effective exchange of knowledge and practices.

 

The first transnational meeting was organized in Iași (Romania), between 3 and 5 May 2022. The partners had the chance to exchange information about their national context regarding fashion, textile industries and consumers’ attitudes regarding these subjects. Also, they had the possibility to meet different local initiatives, from the industry and educational sectors, that promote sustainable fashion. Participants had the chance to discover a good dynamic which exists in Eastern part of Romania, with several projects and organizations involved in promoting sustainable fashion.

 

The meeting was hosted by one of the Romanian partners, Katty Fashion, which represents a good practice in this sector. What makes Katty Fashion stand out is the circular business model that they have implemented as well as their technological capacity. They have develop a set of collaborative digital tools, which enables them to co-design and operate with virtual samples and prototypes. Using the 3D virtual prototyping, they were able to reduce the time and effort involved in producing physical samples, which in turn will minimise the impact of their activity on the environment. Find out more about this good practice here.

 

Are you a small and medium enterprise involved in fashion and textile industry, interested on sustainability? Are you a designer active in this field? Are you a student in the fashion and textile industry in Romania? Help us develop a  more green, competitive, resilient, sustainable fashion and textile industry! Take only 5 minutes to answer the questionnaire.  

 

Follow the project: https://re-fashion.eu/ and Instagram and the hastag #refashion_erasmus on Facebook and Instagram.

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use that might be made of the information contained therein. 2021-1-RO01-KA220-VET-000033001

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