R&D Projects
ReFashion (2022)
Second Transnational Project Meeting in Maribor, Slovenia
The consortium of ReFashion project met for the second time. The meeting was organized
by the partnering organization MIITR in Maribor, Slovenia, on October 13 and 14, 2022.
Situated in the Eastern part of Slovenia, Maribor is recognized as an important wine-growing
area (the center of the city boasts the oldest grapevine in the world) and also is the recipient
of the Slovenia Green Destination bronze label (https://www.slovenia.info/en/stories/green-
story-of-slovenia) .
The meeting was a good opportunity to analyze the work realized together, especially the
REFASHION TRAINING CURRICULA, one of the most important results of our project. We
also organized some local visits and discussions with people involved in the sustainable
fashion sector.
Visit to Luci Clothing store: on our agenda
“Sustainable and timeless pieces made to last through life”, is the vision of the founder of
this local initiative visited by us, Luci. We had the chance to meet her and to find her
motivation to be involved in the sustainable fashion industry. She studied design and textile
materials at the University of Maribor, where she learned all about fabrics and clothing
technology. As she understood how much knowledge and resources are behind each piece
of clothing, she understood that a sustainable label is the only way to be involved in this
industry.
She developed a sustainable business, characterized by some elements:
Handcrafted – all pieces are handmade with care and attention to detail;
Local dimension of the activity;
Sustainable –every piece is designed with consideration on human impact on the
environment and social responsibility and is made to last for a long time;
Minimal waste– the amount of textile waste is minimized; shreds and remains of
fabrics are used in other upcycling projects or recycled.
More information about this initiative could be found here: https://www.luciclothing.com/
The European State of the Art Report consists of desk research carried out in the project
partner countries. It aims at providing an overview of the current national and European
conditions in relation to:
The legal framework concerning environmental sustainability, recycling and circular
economy in the fashion and textiles industries;
The main educational strategies and the main existing VET and academic
educational offers in the mentioned fields.
This research allowed the identification of both legislative and educational gaps at national
and European level, thus helping the project consortium elaborate tailored and effective
training solutions to fill them.
The main insights and conclusions emerging from the report are the following:
The sustainability sector is very broad and fragmented;
Very rarely sustainability is the core of an academic/VET course;
The majority of the existing educational opportunities in the field of sustainable
fashion is of VET type;
The majority of the existing educational opportunities are either aimed at industry
professionals with a technical background or at beginners;
Educational opportunities for creative professional figures are hard to find and there
is no curriculum that combines technical and creative knowledge;
Lack of cooperation and understanding between technical and creative figures,
which reflects in the market;
There is a significant gap between theoretical contents and professional skills
searched in the job market;
Financing for digitalization and technological innovation are not strictly addressing
the field;
In some EU countries, the legal framework concerning not only sustainable fashion
but also education on sustainability, in general, is not completely developed;
However, sustainability in the fashion sector is undoubtedly a topic of great
importance at EU level.
Support and follow the development of ReFashion project!
Help us develop a more green, competitive, resilient, and sustainable fashion and textile
industry! For more information, check out our social media and our website.
https://re-fashion.eu/
https://www.instagram.com/refashion.erasmus/
SUSTAINAGILE (2020 – 2021)
Project’s main objective: Innovation of the work environment for a sustainable fashion industry – an initiative led by employees from fashion industry to analyze Agile practices and identify ways in which to integrate these in their work.
Katty Fashion is the beneficiary of the Agile learning practices through a virtual laboratory in online working space – a platform provided by Atelierul de Idei , the only Romanian company certified to support training and consulting activities in the Agile area applied in human resources.
Project funding: This project has received funding from European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program / Start at Best Call for Funding Proposals/20200302/EU.
Website: https://startatbest.eu/
C-Voucher (2019)
Project’s main objective: Support European SMEs in transforming their value chains (business models) from linear to circular ones.
Katty Fashion was the beneficiary of Innovation Voucher (1st Call) which enabled the implementation of a circular solution proposal titled “To Zero Waste in Garment Design and Manufacturing”. Solution’s objective was to develop collaborative, efficient and sustainable product development process by leveraging the use of various digital tools including 3D virtual prototyping.
Project funding: Horizon 2020, EC Circular Economy Acceleration Program for SMEs, C-Voucher – Circularize ValUe CHains across European Regional Innovation Strategies.
Website: www.c-voucher.com
DigitaliseSME (2019)
Project’s main objective: Support for Digitalisation to enhance SMEs’ capacity to go international and innovate.
Katty Fashion was the beneficiary of the Pilot Project “Digital Enablers in SMEs”.
Project funding: Co-financed by the European Commission’s DG CONNECT based on the proposal by the European Parliament.
Website: www.digitalisesme.eu
INKREATE (2017-2018)
Project’s main objective: Facilitate fashion design development and decision-making process by creating a software solution uniquely adapted to the needs of the fashion industry.
Project funding: InKreate has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, H2020-ICT-2016-2017.
Website: www.inkreate.eu
NEOCEL (2016-2019)
Project’s main objective: Develop innovative and economically feasible processes for sustainable production of high quality textile fibers from reactive high-cellulose pulps.
Project funding: Neocel has received funding from the Bio Based Industries Joint Undertaking under the European’s Union Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program.
Website: www.neocel.eu
E&E Fashion (2016-2018)
Project’s main objective: Develop European based teaching and training Toolkit to support the implementation of work based learning in all stages of VET.
Project funding: E&E Fashion project has received funding from the European Union’s Erasmus + Programme.
Website: www.colegiulstefanescu.ro/eefashion