Re-connecting Value Chains

TCBL HANDBOOKS

RE-CONNECTING VALUE CHAINS

Co-funded by Horizon 2020

ANNEX II TO TCBL D 4.3 - 30 JUNE 2018

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INTRODUCTION This guide describes the rationale, implementation and expected impact of TCBL activities in this field as well as the engagement of Associate Enterprises in them. It concerns activities bringing together TCBL partners and Associates working to re-connect value chains to introduce natural fibres and reduce chemical usage.

The guide includes the presentation of two Business Pilots, initiated in year 2 and active in year 3: Natural Fibres and Eco-friendly Production. Both are working ‘along’ the value chain and both with mainly an environmental goal.

RATIONALE The TCBL Business Pilot on Re-connecting value chains instantiates the more general concern of TCBL to promote sustainable and eco-friendly choices in textile and clothing value chain by privileging the use of natural raw materials (cotton, silk, wool, …) and the use of eco-friendly production processes for their transformation (through ginning, spinning, dying, weaving, knitting, cutting and sewing) in sustainable final products (clothes and others).

The pilot exploits the increasing interest of consumers for eco-sustainable products, which is already an existing market trend offering new business opportunities.

In business terms, the Business Pilot aims to test and illustrate the advantage, for all those involved in, of rebuilding traceable European value-chains producing and valorising natural materials and new processing technologies to produce competitive, sustainable end products of recognised high value.

What is at stake, by rebuilding these value-chains, is not only to valorise these raw materials but also to save and exploit better the accumulated knowledge and know-how existing at each step of their transformation in final products, which is often a precious, but neglected, competitive advantage of EU producers. The expected result, in macro-economic terms, is to increase the share of added-value of EU origin in the final products sold in Europe.

The Business Pilot is not only trying to rebuild the value-chains but also to revitalise them by renewing the way they operate. This will be notably done by identifying and promoting R&D results and technical innovations allowing to transform raw materials using less resources (in water and energy notably) for producing better quality fully traceable final products and innovative ones, with a recognised market value by the consumers, allowing a better remuneration of those involved in the production process.

This revitalisation will also be achieved through the building of more direct connexions between the producers, those using their products and the clients of their clients, Europewide, creating more personalised relationships and interactions, which themselves are expected to contribute to a better understanding of market demands by producers and the enrichment of consumers’ knowledge of the value and origin of the products they purchase.

IMPLEMENTATION The implementation of this Business Pilot is pursued using two Business Pilots presented in this Guide: • •

The Eco-friendly Production Business pilot, initiated by PRATO team The Natural Fibres Business pilot, initiated by MIRTEC team

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Re-connecting Value Chains TCBL Handbooks Textile & Clothing Business Labs

Both cases had been conceived and designed during the first Year of the TCBL project. During the second year TCBL Associate Enterprises recruited in 2016 have been invited to discover these pilots and participate in refining their definition.

In the framework of the Natural Fibres Business pilot, a first real-scale implementation was organised on a case involving actors from all the steps of the value chain of transformation of cotton including a core group of actively participating TCBL associate enterprises. This led to the production of a new collection of garments by a Greek brand (Ioanna Kourbela) who used fully traced sustainable cotton produced by identified farmers, under a sustainable model of production certified by Bayer, ginned by ginning mills (Thrakika Ekkokkistiria SA) respecting also this sustainability qualification and transformed by a spinning company (Varvaressos SA), to which the sustainability and traceability scheme of Bayer was extended.

This led to the production and promotion of these garments, exhibited in TCBL Annual Conference in Athens in June 2017, which helped to attract an high interest for the pilot from an important part of TCBL Associates (of the first -2016 - and second call -2017) who expressed interest to be included to the initial value chain (or to create new ones) for cotton but also for other natural fibres (like silk and hemp), leading to the transformation of the Sustainable Cotton Pilot to a Natural Fibres pilot during the third year of the project.

Meanwhile the eco-friendly production pilot started its real-scale implementation during the third year of the project following three implementation steps: 1.

2.

3.

setting up the conditions for experimentation (Phase 1) mobilising organisations at different positions in the value chain (Phase 2) expanding the number of actors involved as well as the products (Phase 3)

This pilot achieved to define a Data Collection Protocol, developed with the technical support of one of TCBL’s associates, Process Factory, and in agreement with the firms involved in the case – with the objective of making the supply chain more environmentally-friendly in view.

POTENTIAL I MPACT The Eco-Friendly Production business pilot has worked ‘along’ the value chain with a main focus on TCBL’s high level objective of 20% footprint reduction, although it can potentially contribute to the other TCBL objectives as well.

So far, the pilot has succeeded to set the ‘ground’ for the experimentation (Phase 1: project setup and definition of the value chain), to mobilise the actors of the value chain, and to define the protocol for collecting the data (Phase 2: mobilising organisations at different positions in the value chain and collecting data on sustainability). The next steps will be to populate the data sheet and to extend the pilot to further TCBL associates all over Europe (Phase 3).

The Natural Fibres pilot validated in the second year of the project (the first year of the pilot) by concrete results (building of a new operational value chain which produced a new collection of fully traceable and sustainable products) the rationale and feasibility of the case which was key to attract the interest inside and beyond TCBL for the pilot.

With the results of the third year of the project (the second year of the pilot) two are the main impacts observed out of which further impact is expected: 1.

Participation in the Cotton pilot widened and the scope of the pilot was extended. Arguably, this links to the high level TCBL impact of a 5 per cent increase in manufacturing capacity as well as the impact target of creating a novel supply network of 1,000 organisations. The pilot provides evidence of 3

Re-connecting Value Chains TCBL Handbooks Textile & Clothing Business Labs

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progress there, through the high percentage of new and old Associate Enterprises of TCBL declaring interested by the pilot.

Validation of the hypothesis that the Cotton model can be transferred to other natural fibres’ value chains. As above, this links to the high level TCBL impact of a 5 per cent increase in manufacturing capacity as well as the impact target of creating a novel supply network of 1,000 organisations. The pilot provides evidence of progress there, with a silk value chain built and the creation of a hemp value chain in planning.

PLANS TO SPREAD F URTHER BUSINESS INVOLVEMENT For the Eco-friendly production pilot plans for next year include: • • • • •

implementing the data collection protocol on the Thela platform 1, developing guidelines to use / apply the protocol, involving TCBL Labs to interact with the pilot for increased value added in terms of innovation, sustainability, design etc; certifying the process and coming out with a recognizable product. up-scaling and expanding the pilot to new associates to generate more concrete evidence of the pilot’s contribution towards TCBL’s overall objectives.

The presentation of the results of the experimentation at the annual conference #TCBL_2018 acted as a useful catalyst to attract further parties. The creation of a concrete technical output the protocol – of tangible value can trigger interest in TCBL associates that are expected to join in the coming year. A preliminary list includes 22 of them (see details in next section) Concerning the Natural Fibres pilot, the initial group of Cotton has been extended to other participants selected as TCBL Associate Enterprises in May 2017 and it is currently extended to new participants selected in May 2018.

This initial group on Cotton works to extend the certification scheme used in the initial stage for ginned cotton only, to cotton yarns or threads and to assess how to deploy this experiment at a larger scale. It will continue its interactions on the Thela platform, where progressively about 15 other TCBL associate members will be invited to join for designing additional experiments, which will integrate in their production or their sales the products made out of this certified of high-quality, sustainable cotton of EU origin. The specifications of these products will feed the Sqetch platform2 in view to find other companies or individual, outside of TCBL, involved in the natural cotton value chain to join and develop new intermediary or final products based on certified high quality and sustainable cotton of EU origin, coming from Greece and Spain.

With the addition of some TCBL Associate Enterprises involved in the Silk Value Chain rebuilding in Italy, a Greek-Italian-Slovenian working group has work in defining a similar cooperation in silk. Plans exist for next year to group some actors to develop similar actions to rebuild (GR) or consolidate (IT, UK) Wool and Hemp (RO) value chains in some of the countries involved in TCBL.

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Thela platform is available through single sign on from TCBL platform at https://thela.cleviria.com/

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Sqetch platform is available through single sign on from TCBL platform at https://sqetch.co/

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CASE STUDY: ECO-FRIENDLY PRODUCTION Today, consumers are paying increasing attention to sustainable practices of the things they buy. The fashion industry is a case in point. Recent (2015) surveys indicate that 58 percent of young people (aged 15-20) are strongly interested in sustainable fashion, with 81 percent prepared to pay more for products that are environmentally and socially sustainable.

Information campaigns, such as Greenpeace DETOX and Fashion Revolution, among others, are also pushing environmental and social issues in the fashion industry to the forefront, playing a role in shifting the focus and behaviour of consumers (as well as producers). As the second most polluting industry after oil, due to the extensive use of water and chemicals and to the alarming rates of unsold garments discarded in landfill, fashion must therefore keep up with growing demands and expectations for transparency and ethical behaviour. This drive towards new ways of consuming fashion represents an opportunity: sustainability can become an important innovation factor and a business model for the fashion industry.

OBJECTIVES It is against this background that the TCBL Eco-friendly Production business pilot has been designed, with the overall aim to demonstrate that it is possible – and profitable – to develop transparency in the T&C sector, and that both producers and consumers can win as production shifts towards more sustainable practices.

By building an ecosystem of businesses that share the same vision of creating a more sustainable supply chain, this business pilot promotes the awareness about transparency and sustainability issues (environmental, social and economic) for the production of quality products and allows enterprises of a given value chain to collect data/information on sustainability.

W HAT HAS BEEN DONE The pilot has focused on: environmental issues (e.g. use of resources, emissions, chemicals etc); phases of textile production (design, finishing, dyeing, drying); end products (e.g. textiles); and mobilising enterprises across the value chain (fibre-thread-fabrics).

The experimentation has required the definition of a Data Collection Protocol, developed with the technical support of one of TCBL’s associates, Process Factory, and in agreement with the firms involved in the pilot – with the objective of making the supply chain more environmentallyfriendly in view.

The first phase of experimentation in the use of the protocol has shown that a viable and profitable alternative to current products, markets and supply chains is possible. The process can enable partners who share similar concerns for sustainability to redesign current textile supply chains. In the end, the pilot is expected to give birth to a label that will certify the process, and thereby provide an opportunity for enterprises to meet a growing transparency demand.

W HO HAS BEEN INVOLVED The TCBL partner responsible for the business pilot is the Municipality of Prato (IT). Process Factory (IT) is the TCBL associate service provider in charge of designing and delivering the certification protocol and process. The wool mill Bellucci in Prato (IT) is the TCBL associate enterprise at the head of the production chain that is being certified. The TCBL partner Cleviria (IT) will provide shortly (as of July 2018) the ICT infrastructure - the Thela audit platform - for the certification.

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Re-connecting Value Chains TCBL Handbooks Textile & Clothing Business Labs

W HAT IS THE OBSERVED/EXPECTED IMPACT The Eco-Friendly Production business pilot has worked ‘along’ the value chain with a main focus on TCBL’s high level objective of 20% footprint reduction, although it can potentially contribute to the other TCBL objectives as well. To reach this objective of a 20% footprint reduction, the pilot has been structured into three phases: 1.

2.

3.

setting up the conditions for experimentation (Phase 1) mobilising organisations at different positions in the value chain (Phase 2) expanding the number of actors involved as well as the products (Phase 3)

So far, the pilot has succeeded to set the ‘ground’ for the experimentation (Phase 1: project setup and definition of the value chain), to mobilise the actors of the value chain, and to define the protocol for collecting the data (Phase 2: mobilising organisations at different positions in the value chain and collecting data on sustainability). The next steps will be to populate the data sheet and to extend the pilot to further TCBL associates all over Europe (Phase 3).

A major impact of the experimentation has been the analysis of the actors in the value chain to streamline the observation of the production process. The definition of the certification process has required a preliminary methodological assessment to agree with the involved enterprises what data to collect (in terms of relevance, availability, reliability, etc) in five different domains of eco-sustainable production. This methodological discussion has had an impact on both the “certifiers” and the “certified”, as only through their iterative interaction, commitment and clarity of approach could the certification protocol be defined.

After that, the drafting of the data collection templates specific to each phase or node of the value chain has taken place. To do this in agreement with the enterprises has been a major step towards establishing a common standard to increase transparency and accountability across the value chain.

For the Natural Fibres pilot the observed impact in the second year of the project (the first year of the pilot) was that through the concrete result was that the building of a new operational value chain which produced a new collection of fully traceable and sustainable products which was a key step for validating the rationale and feasibility of the case and attract the interest inside and beyond TCBL for the pilot.

The results of the third year of the project (the second year of the pilot) are a bit different and confirm the wider impact the pilot is expected to have through a wider participation in the cotton pilot and an extension of the scope of the natural fibres pilot o other fibres (silk). Arguably, this links to the high level TCBL impact of a 5 per cent increase in manufacturing capacity as well as the impact target of creating a novel supply network of 1,000 organisations.

W HAT ARE THE STEPS PLANNED FOR THE NEXT PERIOD The next steps will be to: • • • • •

implement the data collection protocol on the Thela platform, develop guidelines for using / applying the protocol, involve new TCBL Labs for interacting with the pilot to increase its value added in terms of innovation, sustainability, design, etc.; certify the process and come out with a recognizable product; up-scale and extend the pilot to new Associates for generating more concrete evidence of the pilot’s contribution towards TCBL’s overall objectives.

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Re-connecting Value Chains TCBL Handbooks Textile & Clothing Business Labs

W HO IS EXPECTED TO JOIN THE PILOT IN THE COMING YEAR The presentation of the results of the experimentation at the annual conference #TCBL_2018 acted as a useful catalyst to attract further parties. The creation of a concrete technical output the protocol – of tangible value can trigger interest in TCBL associates that are expected to join in the coming year.

A preliminary list includes: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

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4 Sustainability (IT) Laboratory - Sustainability Consultancy Team MOB-VINTAGE (IT) Clothing and vintage accessories GFT (IT) Innovative IT solutions De Caro sas di Dalla Pasqua B. & C. (IT) Recycling & reuse waste in designer products GIDA SPA (IT) Expert in environmental certification TRIS & CO (IT) Dry cleaning and finishing of any tissue LDS (IT) Production of fabrics Erre Quadro (IT) Expert in patents' analysis to support innovation in processes/products MARZOTTO GROUP (IT) Leading textile fashion company Programma ambiente (IT) Service of recovery products and/or waste disposal of textile industry LINEAESSE TESSUTI SPA (IT) Textile Company producing Fabrics for Womenswear as well as Menswear FONTE (IT) Washing and Finishing of Texiles Stefano Panconesi (IT) Expert in natural color charts and eco-bio textile materials ZANETTI MODA SRL (IT) Women's shirts production since 1965 SONAE (PT) Retail activities MORITEX (PT) Producer of articles made of circular knit Balutextil, Malhas e Confecaos, SA (PT) Non-Woven Garment producer BIZMUT (SI) Textile bags from recycled materials VIRAL (SI) Production of washable cotton nappies for Babies Jazon - social entreprise (SI) Recycling and supply of materials including textile with past experience in corporate clothing Davy Textiles Ltd (UK) Textile Recyclers Robert Dewhurst (UK) Expert in global business strategies in manufacturing

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Re-connecting Value Chains TCBL Handbooks Textile & Clothing Business Labs

A DESCRIPTION OF THE BUSINESS PILOT BY GIOVANNI GRAZIANI – PROCESS FACTORY

Giovanni Graziani of Process Factory

Created in collaboration with Process Factory, the first Italian provider specialized in services for sustainable development, the TCBL project includes among its objectives the creation of a protocol that allows to evaluate the textile product in relation to five dimensions of sustainability: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

RAW MATERIAL. How many and which sustainable raw materials enter the production process.

ENERGY. What consumption is made of energy and what emissions into the environment derives from it.

WATER. How much water is consumed and what are the relative drains.

CHEMICAL MANAGEMENT. What management is made of chemicals and what commitments have been made for the concrete reduction of harmful substances in production, with particular reference to the implementation of a Manufacturing Restricted Substances List (MRSL).

SOCIAL COMPLIANCE. What are the current policies to protect the health, safety and dignity of people in the workplace, in relation to their own network of suppliers.

To build this protocol, that applies a type 1 environmental labelling scheme consistent with the UNI EN ISO 14024: 2001 standard, an experimentation was launched in 2017 which, starting from the identification of a producer and a sample-product, involved the whole upstream supply chain.

Wool Mill Bellucci in Prato participated as the final producer, satisfying all requirements in terms of culture and orientation towards sustainability. For the experimentation, a 100% regenerated cashmere fabric of imminent production was chosen, from which all links of the supply chain involved to make it were identified - that is: finishing, dyeing, weaving, spinning, up to the supplier of the raw material.

A key element of the pilot is the template for gathering data (data sheet) developed to collect the relevant information about the five dimensions of sustainability, as well as to define the supporting documentation necessary to verify the reliability of the data.

In the first place, the template was adapted to the companies involved according to three macro-categories:

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Re-connecting Value Chains TCBL Handbooks Textile & Clothing Business Labs • • •

company producing raw material supply chain company packaging and final production company

With the support of Process Factory, Lanificio Mario Bellucci (the leading wool mill) identified and involved, for the various nodes of the supply chain, the internal staff that could fill out the forms. This phase was carried out both through specific on-site meetings and through the exchange of documents in digital format.

Each company was accompanied in understanding the requirements of the pilot, which allowed Process Factory to access and analyse meaningful data to arrive at significant results for the objectives of the pilot.

More specifically, the data was matched to a metrics that could lead to a multi-layered classification for each dimension of sustainability. This allowed to identify a first threshold defined as that of “basic requirements" to which all the companies involved must necessarily comply, and to do some preliminary evaluation to correlate the data to increasing sustainability levels - from Silver to Gold up to the Platinum level.

As regards the provenance of sustainable raw materials, for example, a recognized certification is required. The next step will be to define percentage thresholds of sustainable material with respect to the total.

In other regards, the basic requirement relates to the correct management and registration of data and compliance with specific legislation: water and energy consumption, wastewater analysis, chemical inventory, workers’ safety, etc. With a view to future classification, any action undertaken by the company to achieve further savings is considered.

The experimentation has shown a positive involvement by the enterprises, with a fair level of attention to environmental issues. On the other hand, to facilitate the progress of the pilot, there is a need for further company audit sessions, to speed up the process of data collection and verification and to direct it towards: • • •

check and verify the supporting documentation to be attached to the data collection forms make specific measurements of some of the most impactful work phases verify the internal procedures for the effective management of the relevant aspects and any equivalent certification schemes.

Thinking in perspective is even more important if we consider that the pilot case must lead to the refinement of the tools (data collection forms, verification meetings, analysis files, etc.) and of the process management as a whole.

In the future of the pilot, in fact, there can be a double growth, both quantitative and qualitative.

In other words, the improvement of the tools and procedures of the pilot must generate a higher quality and reliability of the data and information. Moreover, it will be possible to apply the collection and analysis schemes to new products and supply chains, that have been already identified by Lanificio Mario Bellucci and Process Factory.

FACTS & FIGURES • • • •

6 companies involved over 240 employees within the supply chain recovered sustainable raw material certified GRS instead of 100% of virgin material interventions to reduce energy consumption conducted by 4 part of companies in the supply chain 9

Re-connecting Value Chains TCBL Handbooks Textile & Clothing Business Labs • •

water consumption reduction measures carried out by 2 companies in the supply chain implementation of a recognized chemical management system (4S - ZDHC) carried out by all the companies involved in the Project

AN INTERVIEW WITH SIMONE BELLUCCI – ENTREPRENEUR

Simone Bellucci of Lanificio Mario Bellucci

Wool Mill Lanificio Mario Bellucci was founded in 1950 in Prato, a large textile centre located just a few kilometres from Florence. Already from the early 60’s, the company has been specialized in novelty fabrics, creating a large commercial market both in Italy and internationally. Each raw material, yarn, and finished textile are controlled with state of the art modern instruments, guaranteeing the maximum level of quality. Lanificio Mario Bellucci has always taken great pride in the research and styling of its creations. The firm has a team of designers with vast knowledge and experience, able to develop exclusive collections and fabrics that meet creative, economic and technical requirements, based on input from the customers, and with utmost respect for ecological and environmental regulations. Lanificio Mario Bellucci has since years undertaken a “green” policy based on not only improving the quality of the textile, but also adopting production processes sustainable and compatible with the Earth and the social responsibility embraced by the business. Lanificio Mario Bellucci looks at the future with a dynamic and enthusiastic approach, where creativity and invention always keep in mind the quality and tradition that are a feature of the firm ever since 1950.

Bellucci's participation in the eco-sustainability pilot stems from afar. Its origin can be traced back to the first years of the company's activity, when right from the ‘50ies, in the heart of one of the largest Italian textile districts, Lanificio Mario Bellucci specializes in jersey and orthogonal fabrics, a novelty for the time, that favors the entry into the Italian and foreign markets. This vocation for “ante-litteram innovation” grew over time together a high quality-oriented corporate culture.

At our wool mill, all raw material, yarn and finished fabric is processed with cutting-edge tools.

Designers cherishing both tradition and new trends develop exclusive collections that meet the technical and creative requirements of increasingly demanding customers, committed to ethics and ecology, too, particularly in the last few years.

Our support to sustainable production originates from the same considerations that motivate national and international legislators to become more stringent as the pressure of consumers 10

Re-connecting Value Chains TCBL Handbooks Textile & Clothing Business Labs

and NGOs such as Greenpeace increases. We easily adapted to this trend because our behaviour was already compliant. We just needed to certify our sustainability, while it was already in our business’ DNA. The participation in the TCBL pilot has been coherent with our strategy, as it bears innovation and an opportunity to "relate" Bellucci's identity and valorise quite different parameters, that are all equally relevant and appreciated by the market. The tool is an environmental label. Which means, nothing new, as there are much too many environmental labels, of different types. The difficulty then - for companies like ours – has been to find the way in so to say jungle of labels, by choosing the one that best suits our business.

TCBL’s one is an innovative environmental label because it is multidimensional. This means that it takes into consideration all phases of the product’s life cycle and describes its complete history through certifiable data: the manufacturing company, the management of chemical substances, the content of sustainable fibres - with particular stress on the use of recycled or regenerated raw materials - and the improved environmental impact provided by the savings in water, energy and CO2.

The pilot has the unique merit of transferring to the consumer quantitative information that would otherwise be intangible. By participating in the experimentation, Bellucci was evaluated on five distinct lines: raw materials used energy, water, chemical management, and social compliance. We chose a typical product - a 100% regenerated cashmere fabric - and we "snapshotted" it, taking into account the entire production chain. The biggest challenge was to collect numerical data to describe the above five dimensions, go backwards to trace the raw material and eventually make the data homogeneous, so as to return a "photograph" of the product, that is most exact and truthful. This meticulous survey only can accredit a company towards brands. We would like to add that, like all labels referable to ISO 14024, TCBL’s one may be subjected to external certification by an independent body, and will be assigned in grades, that is, the better the value of the indicators, the higher the degree of the label assigned to the given product.

These characteristics convinced us to participate in the pilot experimentation. Here we have an instrument that, once brought to full swing, will allow our wool mill to communicate externally above all to our customers - all the efforts and investments made to uphold sustainability. We will then hopefully achieve that reputation that will allow to govern the market rather than be overwhelmed by it.

Bellucci has a lot to tell, here. We have long chosen Process Factory as the team-mate in this endeavour, who is a pioneer in these issues. Step by step we have launched projects for the management of chemical substances in production, social responsibility projects, and the gradual replacement of traditional raw materials with sustainable raw materials.

We have interpreted sustainability and the demands of brands as an opportunity for change, an incentive to innovate, and to develop original solutions to grow. This is not a simple path, far from it. I think that the TCBL pilot represents the perfect example of what the process of conversion to sustainability as a whole implies in terms of both benefits and complexity. No product certification is at sight for the time being. Times are necessarily longer and new professional skills are needed that the market is still struggling to generate. But we will get there. We must get there because the benefits are too important to be able to do without them.

What we are expecting from the pilot - and that we are already partially achieving - is a more mature and transparent relationship with suppliers. We are refining the tools to evaluate the

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Re-connecting Value Chains TCBL Handbooks Textile & Clothing Business Labs

companies we work with and choose the best, those that offer the greatest guarantee of consistency with our objectives.

The awareness that this activity is giving us, in general, opens up an infinite range of possibilities, ranging from the stimulus to develop increasingly innovative products - made by replacing the traditional raw material with recycled, regenerated or otherwise sustainable raw material, but also by investing in new production processes - until the adoption of a more rational and efficient working method that respects both people and the environment.

I speak of real and measurable values to be proudly displayed to customers, in spite of “greenwashing” and “commitment” for its own sake.

AN INTERVIEW WITH FRANCESCA RULLI – PROCESS FACTORY

Francesca Rulli of Process Factory

Process Factory is a consulting company specialized in supporting companies with integrated solutions for the sustainability of their business, acting on processes, people and performance.

The company is born from the conviction that every economic subject is the bearer of a demand for efficiency and orientation to the result that deserves concrete and personalized answers.

Compliance, organization and management systems, human resources ... Each consulting project is developed and implemented considering the specific needs of companies, from the initial listening phase to the monitoring of results.

In 2013, Process Factory creates a line of services specifically dedicated to sustainability, showing that it is able to interpret and in some cases, anticipate market trends and the legislators’ own interventions.

The Process Factory team, today, accompanies textile and fashion companies, in particular, on a path towards sustainability that goes from risk analysis to process integration, to the adaptation to ethical, environmental and chemical management requirements. A process that includes, more generally, all the structured actions needed to concretely respond to the many requests for conformity of products and processes that are emerge from - even before the legal texts - the specifications of the brands.

The TCBL pilot on eco-sustainability perfectly reflects these requirements. The pilot is focused on transparency, the collaboration between different modes of the supply chain, the reliability 12

Re-connecting Value Chains TCBL Handbooks Textile & Clothing Business Labs

and measurability of the data and the possibility to communicate them to consumers, to backup one’s statements of sustainability.

The label that in a way represents the final and most visible element of the pilot, is a authenticity passport that can bring together non-homogeneous items like data and behaviours, that all equally contribute to sustainable production objectives. The label is a thorough communication tool, as it plainly declares what use a given company makes of e.g. water and energy, but also how it eliminates chemical substances from production cycles or what are its policies to protect the workers’ rights and welfare.

The first act as a partner of the pilot was the identification, among our customers, of a company that could test the method of collecting and integrating data thanks to having dealt with such issues since a fairly long time.

There are by now over 100 companies that Process Factory has helped or is helping to increase sustainability, so the choice was not immediate. However, it was a convinced and motivated choice, for a series of reasons attributable to the identity of Lanificio Bellucci and the territory in which it operates. The textile district of Prato is proud of its EMAS certification which identifies the territories most committed to mitigating the environmental impact. As a matter of fact, we remind that Prato has always built its fortunes on regenerated material, thereby contributing to form that culture of reuse that is at the basis of the circular economy model.

As for the Bellucci wool mill, the open fronts of experimentation are many. Process Factory supports the company in the implementation of a management system for the reduction of the use of toxic and harmful chemicals in its production processes. Together we are also pursuing the gradual replacement of raw material with sustainable fibres, as well as the process for obtaining the relevant certifications (FSC and GRS, in particular). Furthermore, Bellucci has already done a lot for the transparency of the results, having adopted such an institutional tool as the Sustainability Report.

The TCBL pilot fits into this endeavour, crowning a path that needs and deserves to be communicated. In this sense, our most important contribution has been the definition of a standard data collection procedure for the entire Bellucci supply chain, which can be replicated on several products and on several companies.

The test on a regenerated cashmere fabric from Lanificio Pratese has provided positive feedback, enabling us to spot some difficulties related to the context that will be soon analysed and possibly overcome. I refer to the cultural resistance of companies to declare what is done and how it is done, based on which choices and with what implications. It is evident that the more fragmented is the production and more numerous the actors in the supply chain, the more the process will encounter resistance. Particularly for a pilot like this, that makes transparency its assumption and ultimate goal.

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CASE STUDY: NATURAL FIBRES Consumers are increasingly interested in purchasing ecologically and socially sustainable products rather than making low-cost purchases. This creates new business opportunities that are currently not exploited because it requires businesses to make costly changes in the way goods are manufactured (e.g. in the provision of materials and production processes).

Moreover, different certification schemes make it difficult for the consumer to understand to what extent the product they purchase has been manufactured in a wholly sustainable manner.

The TCBL natural fibres pilot seeks to address this problem by linking like-minded businesses in a new collaborative venture to produce fully traceable (and certified) sustainable and European natural fibres products which can be sold at a fair price.

Covering the whole value chain, these businesses collaborate to produce and process natural fibres which are certified and traceable at each step from ginning through to garment production.

W HAT ARE THE OBJECTIVES ?

Starting with a sustainable Cotton case we demonstrate the feasibility of using all along the value chain sustainable natural fibres produced entirely in the EU. Through this case we set the scene for an expansion of this experiment to other natural fibres (most notably silk, hemp and citrus). Along the way, the business pilot will draw on the expertise of TCBL labs and services to enrich and scale up the work.

By locating enterprises in natural fibre value chains more closely together, and avoiding imports and exports from beyond the EU, scaling of production will be facilitated and the pilot will contribute to reducing the environmental impact of textiles production (most notably water pollution and use and energy use) as well as increasing manufacturing capacity.

W HAT HAS BEEN DONE? The Natural Fibres pilot started as a Sustainable Cotton case which had a highly successful piloting phase and led to the creation of a new sample collection of clothes made exclusively from sustainable Greek cotton produced via a new collaboration of three Greek cotton businesses. The creation of a tangible product also served as an important advertisement for the pilot – signalling to other associate enterprises that the ambitions of the pilot can be realised.

During the third year of the project efforts revolved around attracting new members to the pilot and in setting up new experiments in the form of a second value chain, and the creation of an additional value chain focusing on silk.

In order to contribute to the overall TCBL impact targets, a key aim for subsequent phases was to scale up involvement by TCBL associate enterprises in the pilot. As part of the 2017 call for Associate Enterprises, 31 of the successful candidates (from 6 Member States: Italy, Portugal, Greece, Slovenia, Cyprus and Germany) expressed a ‘very high interest’ in the Cotton pilot.

Collaboration with other business pilots: whilst some inroads have been made with Bio Shades, is yet to be put into practice, the Short Runs pilot valorises already the silk transactions between the Slovenian and Italian enterprises. It is like if the pilot itself is ‘replicating’ TCBL in becoming more and more of an open system, with activities taking place involving actors outside the formal TCBL system and implementing activities that are seeking to develop ideas from the core case (but not necessarily involving all core case actors).

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External and internal networking and awareness raising activities. With these meetings involved actors kept the momentum around the pilot and this opened up new possibilities. For instance: •

• •

An additional ginning and spinning business with interest in sustainable energy use decided to apply to the 2017 call for associates and participates in the creation of a second Greek natural cotton value chain.

A meeting with the Greek Ministry of Industry and Development about TCBL and the sustainable Cotton pilot led to discussions about funding applications in support of the case.

Demand among some TCBL associate enterprises located in Italy and Slovenia for Greek cotton have raised. Transactions are currently stalled, however, because the volume of samples demanded was too small and imprecise to be satisfied at this moment) by relevant ginning and spinning businesses participating in the pilot.

Transferring the Cotton model to other natural fibres. Two experimental collaborations have been set up, facilitated by TCBL partners: a collaboration between a Slovenian designer (Tatiana Kalamar) and an Italian producer of silk (Gionatti Vilaggi) has been set up to produce silk printed silk scarves; and a ‘project’ between a Slovenian designer and producer of silk clothes (Dusanka Herman) and a Greek silk producer (Tsakiris) which led to the production and sale of painted silk clothes. Moreover, work on a hemp value chain (led by TCBL partner Katti Fashion) and citrus fibres in in progress.

Other activities ‘at the margins’. Pilot participants, together with some non-TCBL actors, from four European countries submitted one funding application to EuropeAid focusing on the sustainability of cotton in terms of traceability and implementation of some basic rules on social and ecological The pilot has experienced demand among participating artists in the CreativeWear project for Greek sustainable cotton which currently is met via a temporary solution involving contributions from the design house involved in the initial value chain.

Ongoing work is taking place to widen participation in the pilot by recruiting new businesses to the TCBL ecosystem, with three potential new recruits lined up.

Tools used. A website dedicated to European cotton is in the process of being set up. The purpose of this is to work in parallel with Thela and Sqetch and support a scaling of the pilot by allowing businesses to join the European cotton initiative. A loose and informal relationship with a certification business remains in place through meetings and emerging early stage discussions with one or two associate enterprises involved in the pilot (though outside the remit of the pilot) on possible certification collaborations. Finally, wider dissemination activities (TV, newspapers, articles) have generated awareness and interest in the pilot.

CHALLENGES AND LESSONS LEARNT When the pilot moved from piloting to scaling a number of challenges and related learning points emerged.

First, the spinning business of the value chain created dropped out. This meant that the value chain was broken: an important function in the production process was no longer present. This in turn highlighted the challenge of differential capabilities concerning order volumes among members of the value chain. During the piloting phase the spinning company agreed to purchase and process more cotton produced by the ginning business than the design house was able to buy as they had access to other clients willing to buy the surplus yarn (ie the amount not required by the design house). This meant the spinning company took on a de facto role as intermediary. Thus, a related key lesson from the pilot phase is that despite the contrary

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opinion of a lot of small actors involved, the idea of removing intermediaries might not be practical. “Apparently there is a need for intermediaries, but maybe with a different role and behaviour than those that are already in place”.

Second, the importance of having access to finance to resource a scaling process became clear: scaling up production of the samples to commercial levels (ie a new line of products for the design company) would have required them to purchase cotton from the ginners at volumes far exceeding their ‘normal’ order quantities and hence requiring access to some kind of finance instrument which was not available. Discussion about funding options for larger projects are taking place between some of the associate enterprises involved in the pilot and funders (EuropeAid, Greek Ministry of Industry and Development) but they take time to realise.

Third, it has been challenging to find a substitute for the spinning business that dropped out of the first value chain. A related lesson learnt is that communication can be more straightforward with few and smaller enterprises. Inclusion of a large number and larger businesses requires more effort and more use of technical tools, like Thela.

W HO HAS BEEN INVOLVED The design of the initial case, during the first year of TCBL involved two TCBL partners, MIRTEC and HCIA, working together with the future TCBL Associate Enterprise, Thrakika Ekkokkistiria SA, leading the initial (Sustainable Cotton) case.

After the first round of selection of Associate Partners and during the second year of TCBL project a core group of Associated Enterprises was formed composed by Thrakika Ekkokkistiria SA, Varvaressos SA and Ioanna Kourbela Fashion Brand and Bayer Greece as certification provider, while an important number of other associates expressed interest to join but did not play a key role.

During the third year the group of those involved extended to 20 active participants (70% of them being from Greece: Ioanna Kourbela (EL), Thrakika Ekkokistiria (EL), Bayer Hellas (EL), Varvaressos (EL), Evridiki Papachristou – Advisor (EL), Selected Textiles SA – Epilektos Dontas (EL), Nafpaktos Textile Industry SA (EL), FOUTA - Vasilis Raikopoulos (EL), SOFFA (EL), BAGISM (EL), Elisavet Kapogianni (EL), Georgia Lolou (EL), Kelly Koulizou (CY), Spyridoula Kolossa (DE), PLETILSTVO JAKOPINA (SI), MILA VERT (SI), Sartoria Sociale (IT), Tsiakiris Silk House (EL), Nido di Seta (IT), Dusanka Herman (SI).

To these numbers should be added those who have interest in either the Cotton or the Silk case, as well as a few others interested in replicating the case for hemp (1) or even for orange (citrus) fibres (1). According to the Call under which they have recruited their dispersion is as follows: • • •

from 2016: 18 (5 from Greece) from 2017: 23 (4 from Greece) from 2018: 32 (3 from Greece)

The figures show the increasing interest for the pilot and its internationalisation potential, while up to now it has mainly involved Greek TCBL Associates.

With a total of 93 expressions of interest it is the most popular pilot of TCBL.

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W HAT IS THE OBSERVED/EXPECTED I MPACT

Key outcomes of the three natural fibres’ pilot phases

While in the second year of the project (the first year of the pilot) the concrete result was the building of a new operational value chain which produced a new collection of fully traceable and sustainable products which was a key step for validating the rationale and feasibility of the pilot and attract the interest inside and beyond TCBL for the pilot, the results of the third year of the project (the second year of the pilot) are a bit different. Two are the main achievements observed: 17

Re-connecting Value Chains TCBL Handbooks Textile & Clothing Business Labs

1)

2)

Participation in Cotton pilot widened and the scope of the pilot was extended.

Arguably, this links to the high level TCBL impact of a 5 per cent increase in manufacturing capacity as well as the impact target of creating a novel supply network of 1,000 organisations. The pilot provides evidence that this result has been achieved with 13 additional associate enterprises now connected to the pilot.

Those committed to building a sustainable cotton value chain have doubled compared to the previous phase, whilst one enterprise dropped out. The nature of transactions among the actors involved has currently moved away from the concrete business transactions of phase 1 towards more intangible exchanges (exploring collaborative business opportunities and exchanging knowledge. “We are more than happy to have met great businesses, changed ideas, talked about textile industry etc. We would love to help make textile industry in Europe strong again” [Interview given by a TCBL associate enterprise participating in the pilot to the TCBL evaluation team]. At associate enterprise level, therefore, immediate outcomes are thought to include a confirmation of interest in the market and recognition from other actors in the industry [TCBL partner interview].

Validation of the fact that the Cotton model can be transferred to other natural fibres value chains. As above, this links to the high level TCBL impact of a 5 per cent increase in manufacturing capacity as well as the impact target of creating a novel supply network of 1,000 organisations. The pilot provides evidence of progress here, with a silk value chain built and the creation of a hemp value chain in planning.

W HAT ARE THE STEPS PLANNED FOR THE NEXT PERIOD For the Cotton case the following steps are planned for the next period: •

• •

•

consolidate and organise more than one value chain, including the missing steps (in weaving, knitting and dying) which were an obstacle for delivering last year small quantities of traceable and sustainable cotton textiles to small clothing makers and designers; this will be possible through the activation of some new small units processing cotton recruited in Thessaly region in 2018 use of tools like Thela and Sqetch, which are now fully operational to generate transactions using these value chains produce information materials on cotton qualities and their fit to different types of applications to guide the professionals interested by traceable and sustainable cotton in the selection of types of cotton fitting to their needs promote the pilot and its products to Consumer Markets, with electronic commerce means but also with selected collaborations with actors involved in retail activities, to create a bottom up demand

For the Silk Case: •

•

define a plan of action for developing the production of silk in Greece and Italy (a sort of European Silk Road) with the existing TCBL Associates and few others who are already aware about the case but did not joined the case yet.

Use mainly Sqetch to organise the provision to the small producers and designers of the network an access to this raw material in small quantities

For Hemp Case: •

Work in collaboration between MIRTEC and our new Romanian partner, Katty Fashion, to 18

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•

define and implement a Hemp case Make a follow up to contacts established with new French Associate partners met in Prato, during TCBL#2018, interested in this case, to associate them in its development

W HO IS EXPECTED TO JOIN THE PILOT IN THE COMING YEAR As described above we have a large part of the existing TCBL Community already interested in an active participation to the Natural Fibres pilots which will be the first to join in the next year.

By the end of the year a wider opening will be attempted as part of the exploitation plan for the continuation of a sustainable (and no more funded) TCBL network.

THE SUSTAINABLE COTTON VALUE CHAIN PILOT BY E MMANUELLA KOUROUDI

Emmanuella Kouroudi of Thrakika Ekkokistiria

BACKGROUND Our company’s principles are encoded in the following: • • • •

Leading the way satisfied customers creative working environment responsibility to the society

these principles determined the axes of our policy, that are: • • • •

quality protection of the environment innovation Participation in Research & Development projects

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The quality was the basis on which Thrakika Ekkokistiria built its strategy since its foundation in 1972. Focusing on the production of high quality cotton, remains the target of the company until today, even though this is achieved at the expense of potentially higher productivity. Since many years, the company enjoys an excellent reputation in the market for its high-quality products, enabling it to sell under its own name even in difficult market conditions. Good quality begins with a selected buying of seed cotton and continues with exceptionally careful ginning.

At the final stage, a fully equipped quality control laboratory (HVI), which the company has maintained for many years (since 1994), allows for the classification of every bale of ginned cotton produced. Devoted to high quality the company developed a system through which every bale has its own qualitative identity, accompanying the loading documents.

In 2015 the company started a certification program with Bayer, called Certified Sustainable Fibermax. The new program “Certified Sustainable FiberMax” wants to promote the cotton produced from FiberMax varieties, according to socially equitable, economically sustainable and environmentally responsible practices. Conserving natural resources is a key aspect of sustainable farming. In the cotton production program with Sustainable Farming Practices, growers develop practices, so as to reduce the use of available resources while maintaining productivity of the farming operation at a competitive and viable level.

THRAKIKA EKKOKISTISTIRIA LEADING THE TCBL COTTON CASE This background provided the basis on which we decided our participation to TCBL, sharing same values and objectives with us, as Associated Member in 2016, after been contacted by MIRTEC, a partner of the project with whom Thrakika Ekkokistiria S.A. (in an effort to adopt cutting edge technology) cooperates in other national and international research initiatives, aiming at the creation of products with better quality and increased market value. That’s why we joined TCBL ecosystem.

We wanted, since the beginning, to promote sustainable choices in textile and clothing value chain by concentrating on the use of Greek cotton. We proposed this theme as a case in the first Annual Conference of TCBL, in 2016 and work on it, with TCBL, since then. In 2017 we took the lead of this initiative and succeeded in implementing a real case of production based on a sustainable and traceable value-chain. For this we sold certified sustainable Fibermax cotton to a Greek spinning mill, member of TCBL (Varvaressos SA), with whom we had not worked before. The spinning mill produced certified yarn that was sold to Ioanna Kourbela.

Ioanna Kourbela, who also had never worked before with Varvaressos SA, produced a whole collection using our sustainable Greek cotton. We presented this collection in Athens in June 2017.

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The core team of the TCBL Sustainable Cotton Value Chain Pilot – The Collection

For us it was important to inform the world about the quality of Greek cotton and TCBL helped us to do it. Throughout TCBL we started new partnerships with Greek companies and now we look after new partnerships with other European companies and brands for start creating a 100% European and sustainable value chain.

In order to make it happen, we firstly needed to inform the brands that Europe produces cotton, which is considered to be one of the world’s highest quality. This being done, we saw that the demand started. Now we need to face some bottleneck in the value chain (in spinning, weaving and knitting in small quantities for independent actors of TCBL belonging to the clothing sector across EU, who know now our cotton and would like to use it for their creations) to take the benefits of this promotion. Next step we expect to be done is to inform the consumers about the whole process, to make them want to know more and more about the story behind the clothes they buy.

Last but not least, we need to innovate and use technology in order to be competitive in the market. That could mean applications, start-ups, digital branding and tagging, blockchain technology etc.

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T HE COMPANY : T HRAKIKA EKKOKISTIRIA S.A.

Thrakika Ekkokistiria

Thrakika Ekkokistiria is located in northeastern Greece, just outside the city of Komotini, capital city of Rodopi in Thrace, 280 kilometres from Thessaloniki and close to Greece’s borders with Turkey and Bulgaria. The Company was founded by the families Kouroudis and Kitsios and began to function in 1972. In 1985 it became an S.A. Over the past several years, Thrakika Ekkokistiria has enjoyed substantial growth and nowadays it is included among the top 100 most profitable Greek companies.

As do all Greek ginning mills, the company buys seed cotton from local growers and sells the raw cotton for its own account.

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Images of the Cotton Ginning process.

Thrakika Ekkokistiria is the first ginning mill in Greece certified to be compliant with the ISO 9001:2000 quality control system. Thrakika Ekkokistiria S.A. is also a leading example in matters of policy for ecological subjects. Not only for the protection of the environment, but also in order to enter in new and very promising markets. The enterprise was a pioneer in the production of organic cotton (beginning in 1993-94 12 years later is still the only ginning mill in Europe). The first cultivation of organic cotton in Europe begun under the company’s supervision in 1993-94 and is conducted in accordance with Regulation 2078/92 of the European Union (which ensures that no chemicals, etc. may be used for 3 years). Certification is accredited by the internationally recognized Greek bureau called “DIO”.

Thrakika Ekkokistiria S.A. is the first Greek company, and the first ginning mill in the world, to be certified in compliance with the international Environmental Management System ISO 14001.

By pursuing certification under this System, the enterprise has taken a proactive stand on the issue of environmental protection. It is the company’s stated policy to maintain complete and total compliance with the terms set forth by the Environmental Management System, respective

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Greek law and European regulations, as well as to strive toward its stated goals through an ongoing program of continuous improvement.

Thrakika Ekkokistiria S.A. begun in 1993 the production of energy from biomass (leftovers from the ginning process). The company developed and constructed a gin waste burning unit to produce steam which was then used to dry the cotton seed, and to heat plant work areas. Apart from the protection of environment and the drastic reduction of cost for fuels, we have also improvement of the cotton quality, because we use for the drying only clean hot air and not exhaust from the oil or gas burning. In fact, because cotton waste has a high thermic value, the time-period of amortisation of investment is very short.

THE SILK CASE BY GEORGE TSAKIRIS BACKGROUND Our company Tsakiris Silk House is the oldest working factory and the only one which is fully integrated. It was established in 1954 and produces silk products such as silk yarn and threads, textiles and also scarfs. The last 20 years it is involved into digital printing.

Tsakiris Silk House production facilities.

We print scarfs and scarves for the Greek market and for the export to England, Germany, Bulgaria and Cyprus.

TSAKIRIS SILK HOUSE IN TCBL The reason we wanted to join the TCBL is mainly to promote the Greek Silk and also our company’s goods as sustainable and reliable products. We joined the TCBL Ecosystem since the first wave, in 2016 and started to participate to its activities in 2017.

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Tsakiris Silk workshop at #TCBL_2017 in Athens.

In June 2017 in Athens, during the Annual Conference of TCBL, we organized a workshop during which was presented to the members of the TCBL how to design and create Batik.

The interest raised during the workshop encouraged us to engage more actively in TCBL activities. At the same time our initial purpose (to promote Greek Silk and our company’s goods) has been achieved and led to some first orders coming from TCBL network and more specifically from TCBL members and associates based in Slovenia.

This allowed us to establish a collaboration with Dusanka Herman, artist and purchaser of our organic silk, which has been documented in one Case Study of the Short Runs Business Pilot of TCBL. After this cooperation we have also been informed that in TCBL Community in Italy (in Veneto and in Calabria) they are members interested in revitalizing the Silk value chain in Italy.

Based on the example of what was achieved in the Cotton case we declared our interest to lead a Silk case, within the Natural Fibers pilot of TCBL. After an unsuccessful attempt to set a meeting with these members in Palermo during Vestino event in October 2017 (where finally we participated only by sending some samples of our products) we took the opportunity offered by the interest of young Greek artists and designers of Creative Wear project (an Interreg MED project) to test with them the interest in silk applications. For that purpose, we participated, as TCBL Associate Member to an Event organized by this project during the Athens Fashion Trade Show in January 2018.

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Tsakiris at the Athens Fashion Trade Show

End of May we participated to the Annual Conference of TCBL in Prato to announce our plans for developing the Silk Case within TCBL and more specifically a film production referring to all the stages of the silk making, beginning from the breading of silk worms and all the procedure step by step to the final products. This specific action was started with some first castings in our town of SOUFLI (in Northern Greece), end of June 2018.

Our plans for the next period include: 1.

2.

3.

Starting the handmade weaving and recreating the textile with traditional motives.

Work on natural coloring and techniques of stamping and dyeing by hand.

Prepare a workshop week “Silk Study Tour Soufli” for TCBL members, which will include sessions devoted to: • Weaving • Jewelry making • Batik • Printing • Visiting factories, museums and historical monuments

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DOCUMENT INFORMATION REVISION HISTORY This Handbook is published online as Annex II to TCBL Deliverable 4.3, “T&C Business Systems: Engagement and Impact”. Authors: Athanase Contargyris (MIRTEC), Jesse Marsh (Prato), Bill Macbeth (TCoE) and Filippo Mazzariol (UCV). This document in particular was edited by Athanase Contargyris (MIRTEC) and Paolo Guarnieri (PRATO).

REVISION

DATE

AUTHOR

ORGANISATION

DESCRIPTION

V0.1

07.06.2018

A.Contargyris

MIRTEC

Table of Contents

V0.2

26.06.2018

Paolo Guarnieri

PRATO

Provision of Eco-Friendly Pilot Description

V0.3

30.06.2018

A.Contargyris

MIRTEC

Provision of Natural Fibres Pilot Description

V0.4

16.07.2018

A.Contargyris

MIRTEC

Assembling and Editing

V0.5

28.07.2018

A.Contargyris

MIRTEC

V0.6

07.08.2018

Jesse Marsh

Prato

Incorporates Reviewers comments Final layout and edits

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY This deliverable contains original unpublished work except where clearly indicated otherwise.

Acknowledgement of previously published material and of the work of others has been made through appropriate citation, quotation or both.

COPYRIGHT This work is licensed by the TCBL Consortium under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License, 2015-2016. For details, see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ The TCBL Consortium, consisting of: Municipality of Prato (PRATO) Italy; German Institutes for Textile and Fiber Research - Center for Management Research (DITF) Germany; IstitutoSuperiore Mario Boella (ISMB) Italy; Skillaware (SKILL) Italy; Oxford Brookes University (OBU) UK; imec (IMEC) Belgium; Tavistock Institute (TAVI) UK; Materials Industrial Research & Technology Center S.A. (MIRTEC) Greece; Waag Society (WAAG) Netherlands; Huddersfield & District Textile Training Company Ltd (TCOE) UK; eZavod (eZAVOD) Slovenia; ConsorzioArca (ARCA) Italy; Unioncamere del Veneto (UCV) Italy; Hellenic Clothing Industry Association (HCIA) Greece; Sanjotec - Centro Empresarial e Tecnológico (SANJO) Portugal; Reginnova NE (Reginnova) Romania, Centexbel (CTB) Belgium, InstitutFrançais de la Mode (IFM) France, IAAC (FabTextiles) Spain, Cleviria (Cleviria) Italy, and Sqetch (Sqetch) Netherlands.

DISCLAIMER All information included in this document is subject to change without notice. The Members of the TCBL Consortium make no warranty of any kind with regard to this document, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The Members of the TCBL Consortium shall not be held liable for errors contained herein or direct, indirect, special, incidental or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing, performance, or use of this material.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The TCBL project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Programme for research, technology development, and innovation under Grant Agreement n. 646133.

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