ReforMing Of fashion inDustry by using ECO-friendly prActices

<< Background >>The European Textile and fashion industry is affected by the extreme increase in imports and the shift of production to Asia, and trend of so-called fast fashion. Europe is not going to accept this fact, therefore in 2022 it issued a separate EC Strategy for Sustainable Textiles, regulations on ecodesign, strategies for the collection and processing of textile waste, etc. are being prepared. The aim is to support quality products with higher added value, circular economy, recycling, upcycling and extending the life cycle of products.The new approach to the production of clothes thus also places new demands on the knowledge and skills of the upcoming generation of fashion designers and textile producers. Surveys among companies and schools also prove that there is a growing demand for educated people in the field of sustainability, ecodesign, sustainability, knowledge of the environment of social networks and their effective use for business and building your own brand.This was the main idea within the project was to prepare study texts, short videos with successful young professionals and to build a platform on which the created materials could be effectively shared and enable the work of young designers to become visible.<< Objectives >>The main objective of our project was to enhance the quality and relevance of the learning offered in education towards the latest developments in textile research, innovation and business. We focused on young generation textile workers, fashion designers and entrepreneurs and their current needs in education in connection with challenges that come from the monitoring of the huge environmental impact of textile and fashion production. In accordance with the application, we managed to create tools which provide the way for young people to enter the fashion industry and youth workers to maximise their time and resources looking for upgrading their competences especially in the fashion industry shifting their focus on greener and more sustainable procedures.Our objectives were to provide new study materials about new environmental challenges for the textile (quality, ecodesign, sustainability, recyclation, upcycling, waste management, social network knowledge and skills to support own brand and business etc.). We supplemented these with a set of short videos with sustainability and eco-design in their work, can inspire the next textile and clothing generation. All project results are to find on a new pop up workspace platform.<< Implementation >>Management: At the beginning of the project, the coordinator set clear conditions for cooperation, communication between partners and division of roles. All partners accepted their roles and tasks, which were regularly reviewed at partner meetings and online working meetings. Thanks to this, the project was able to stay on track, and through continuous monitoring, the situation with the transfer of the learning training activity (LTTA) to the online space was resolved by requesting a redistribution of the partners' budget for a more efficient use of project funds.Transnational partner meetings and working online meetings were also an important part of management. Transnational partner meetings – together with 1 on-line kick off meeting, 4 on-site partner meetings were organised. All of them were supported by an agenda prepared in advance at the beginning and by the detailed minutes on the end. Obligatory instruments were the participant list + certificates of participation. Minimally 1 participant from each partner was mandatory.Working on-line meetings were incorporated in the project in the second year of the project run. It was organised as monthly meetings with defined agenda in advance, it was operational meetings to resolve current matters. The tasks that came from the meetings were recorded in the minutes from these meets.Due to the project run and current situation, we submitted 3 progress reports which were approved by NA.The project management methodology was also used for managing and coordinating the project deliverables. Each deliverable had a leader who clearly defined instructions to the rest of the project partners on how to address the deliverable - template, guidelines, instructions. Dissemination:Dissemination activities were defined in the dissemination strategy document, in reality the shared xls document was available and all partners continuously recorded their dissemination activities. All partners were informed about the project on their websites and in parallel a project website was created as a basis for a pop-up workspace. For dissemination purposes, the template for the flyer was prepared, partners had the opportunity to use it and translate it into their languages and, if needed, they prepared national versions for specific purposes or occasions.The most important part of the promotion were multiplier events and project newsletters. In details in chapter dissemination.Quality assurance: the responsible partner prepared a clear xls file with all project KPIs and continuously informed the partnership about their fulfilment. It was an important tool for monitoring the progress of the project.Training materials and activities:The most important part of the project was the realisation of training activities. They contained preparation of training materials, production of 30 short videos about successful young designers, implementation of an IT platform used for sharing of all project materials and promotion of young designers. This core of the project had been defined in 3 main results of the project (detailed described in proper section).Final part of training activities was the organisation of LTTA- learning training activity, where all training materials that had been produced within the framework of the project were tested in practice.<< Results >>The main planned results of the projects were as follows: R1: ECOMODA Training Course - 4 training modules-M1 – Leave your mark in the fashion world-M2 – The road to green and digital transition-M3 – Fashion management and media marketing-M4 – New approach to quality perception of textile and its evaluation via testingThe Training Course comprises four modules focusing on different aspects of fashion in partner countries such as policies and practices, useful information on sociocultural changes, new frameworks regarding fashion trends, etc. texts are available in all partner languages: Czech, Greek, Italian, Spanish and French.R2: Success Stories for Designing a Creative Career: In the framework of the project there were realized 30 success stories in the form of short videos to motivate and encourage young people, interested in pursuing a career in the fashion industry, to change their attitudes by adopting more sustainable and climate-responsive lifestyles and habits, promote their entrepreneurial skills and promote entrepreneurship across Europe. The video interviews were prepared in the national language with English subtitles.R3: Digital Pop Up Workspace (https://ecomoda-programme.web.app/)Pop-up workspace is an open-source learning platform featuring an e-learning tool for enhancing young people’s entrepreneurial skills (i.e., ECOMODA Training course, Success Stories for Designing a Creative Career; and articles for further learning); Pop up workspace offers an online space allowing users to interact, exchange knowledge, seek assistance from entrepreneurs concerning developing their business ideas and a e-show room to display and sell their creations. Website visitors interested in buying an item, will have the opportunity to contact the seller. The platform is linked to social media and all content is available in English, Czech, Greek, Italian, Spanish and French.As another result it is possible to mention the learning training activity later “LTTA” organised in the final stage of the project in virtual mode. We called it “From idea to design” and it was intended for 10 young talents in the fashion industry. Experienced facilitators, specialists, practitioners and designers played the role of mentors and lecturers. They introduced the students with the relevant topics to help them get inspired, design a sustainable, circular, environmentally friendly product, describe and present it in terms of quality and other important aspects, and prepare to present it to potential customers not only through social medias. The 5 days event covered all necessary topics to teach the students how to proceed in the preparation of their student work, which was to be the output of this activity. In details in proper chapter.