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Story 05 May 2022
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Open Call – EIC GHG Co-creation with Euratex: Be the next textile innovator!

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Oriana Baptista

The European Innovation Council (EIC), within the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Programme, and Euratex invite you to apply to our joint EIC GHG Co-creation initiative, taking place on 28 & 29 June 2022. Euratex is looking for EIC-funded beneficiaries that want to co-create innovative and scalable solutions to address topics of interest and help the environment.

 

Submit your application until 20 May 2022.



Euratex (European Apparel and Textile Confederation), represents the interests of the European textile and clothing industry at the level of the EU institutions. Being the voice of European industry, they aim to create a favourable environment within the European Union for the manufacturing of textile and clothing products.

The co-creation journey with Euratex kicks off with an event on 28 & 29 June 2022. Find more information about the proposed challenges, co-creation process, and timeline below.   

 

Why should you join the EIC GHG Co-creation initiative?   

  • Explore how your solutions and capabilities can be sustainable  
  • Network and collaborate with Euratex, and like-minded innovators   
  • Build a roadmap of market entry with Euratex   
  • Closely work with partners on solutions that can best fit the market   
  • Find potential partners and customers in the industry  
  • Get access to experts from the EIC  

 

Challenges  

Euratex is looking for innovative approaches that can help with the improvement of certain topics to further cement the energy transition and their journey towards sustainability. More specifically, they are looking for solutions for the following matters:  

 

Challenge 1 – Novel biobased materials polymers for fibres & textiles

In the fibre industry, most of the polymers are based on fossil sources. Therefore, biobased polymers that can be converted into fibres and consequently textiles are under investigation. Euratex and its members are looking for materials/technologies that can:  

  • Create bio-/natural-/waste- based materials. The new material must be able to be spun, weaved, dyed and finished.  They can be:
    • New biobased fibres: capable of being an alternative to the current fossil-based synthetics. Potential areas may focus on processes innovation to create processable polymers based on waste or developed by biotechnology
    • Biobased fibre additives: processing aids, standard as well as functional additives extracted from biomass for biobased fibres

 

Challenge 2 – Biobased chemicals

Many chemicals are used in processing or in providing the necessary functionality to textiles. Unfortunately, these chemicals are not always of a sustainable nature. The industry is looking to replace these chemicals with sustainable alternatives. Euratex and its members are looking for:

  • New (green) chemical components that can replace harmful chemicals used in textile processing or as functional additives.

  

Challenge 3 – Innovative design tool to enhance fabric quality using mixed material

Circular design implementation aims at defining new fabrics which are already fit for recycling and reuse of recycled fabrics since their initial design. They are looking for:

  • A 3D design tool which can simulate the quality of fabrics using recycled raw materials mixed with virgin ones and provide an advanced simulation of the PEF.

 

Challenge 4 – Circularity of fibre waste

Sub-challenge 4.1 – Material valorisation of shredded fibre and short fibre through development of new materials

One of the main concerns in textile sustainability is to upgrade the process performance using waste fibres from production and recycling clothes. Currently the chemical recycling process for blended textiles (those that come from blended yarns, fabrics, and clothes) is not developed. Euratex and its members are looking for solutions to: 

  • Recycling of textile waste in new products for different sectors by using short fibres to produce new products to improve the performance of the textile mechanical recycling process.

Sub-challenge 4.2 – Energetic valorisation of shredded fibre and short fibre in textile industry through gasification

One of the main concerns in textile sustainability is to upgrade the process performance using waste fibres from production and recycling clothes. Euratex and its members are looking for solutions to:

  • Use waste (short) fibres (from production and recycling) to produce energy with low emissions through gasification.

 

Challenge 5 – Digital try-on solutions for fashion e-commerce

Euratex and its members would like to reduce the environmental impact of clothing e-commerce. The challenge is to:

  • A simple mobile solution that can suggest the best size of each clothing item to customers based on their needs and style of clothing: a collection of customers’ measures data to generate a reliable matching algorithm.

 

Your co-creation journey  

The EIC GHG Co-creation with Euratex is an entirely virtual service following the journey below.   

 

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Applications   

To apply to the EIC GHG Co-creation with Euratex, you are invited to fill out the application form available here by 20 May 2022.

DISCLAIMER: This information is provided in the interest of knowledge sharing and should not be interpreted as the official view of the European Commission, or any other organisation.

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