Sustainability
“KlarTEXt” Project – Initiative with Potential for Global Inspiration: Interdisciplinary Bastion at the Start
by Yvonne Heinen-Foudeh, Senior International Correspondent
Prof. Dr. Maike Rabe chose the Pareto principle to vividly illustrate the crux of both the European and equally global textile and apparel industry - including the need to act responsibly and sustainably.
The professor for textile finishing and ecology at the international teaching and researching elite faculty for textiles and clothing, the German University of Applied Sciences Niederrhein, at the same time head of the affiliated research institute for textiles and clothing, on the occasion of the kick-off of the cooperation platform “KlarTEXt” (ClearTEXt) in September at the faculty location in Mönchengladbach in front of representatives from industry and research.
The end of extensive mass production and the implementation of all technological options toward on-demand manufacturing forms a decisive lever for improving the correlation here.
Thoroughly prepared over a long period – the project was launched with all partners on board in May of this year – joint action is now underway. The objective of the cooperation platform is to dynamize the sustainably transformative textile industry toward the reduction of raw material consumption, improvement of both the use and the disposal of textile products as well as the minimized release of fibrous microplastics.
Cross-linking The “KlarTEXt” initiators consider the cross-linking of stakeholders from science, business, and society to be the key to achieving measurable results. "Through the transfer of knowledge between these three areas, we can establish new paths. At the same time, they emphasize the need for sustainable local jobs and skilled workers with future-oriented education.
At the kick-off, the steering committee of the project partners came up with concrete starting points for interdisciplinary activities and alliances. Lastingly impressive, were the remarks of Prof. Dr. U. Schwanenberg from DWI (Leipniz Institute for Interactive Materials) on the actual and, on top of that, cost-effective usability of biotechnology. "Many consumer products already contain the catalysts for use-downstream processes, such as enzymes. Moreover, scientific advancement is progressing rapidly."
With workshops on critical topics, the meeting got right down to implementation work on questions such as "Is digitization the solution or the root of all evil?" The result and definition of the goal: the need for meaningful and value-adding use of digital tools from AI to BigData.
Concrete measures for implementation
Under the leadership of the German Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy (WI), project partners and representatives from the industry worked on the political framework conditions for a realistic circular economy in the textile sector. Orientation points for the actual scope for action and needs for European legislation are getting filtered out here.
The hourglass as a meaningful ClearTEXt visual stands for the versatile idea input, its filtering, and the never-ending time loop for repeated turning - to the next level.
Cooperation partners on board to date: the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy (WI), the Nova Institute, the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), the Cluster of Industrial Biotechnology (CLIB), and C&A's FIT GmbH, business unit by the Belgium/German apparel company with its own 1,400 retail stores in 18 countries, as well as numerous other companies from the textile sector. Companies, institutes, and organizations can participate in the open communication platform KlarTEXt. Access is possible via the QR code:
The Pareto Principle states that for many outcomes, about 80% of the consequences are due to 20% of the causes. In other words, a small percentage of causes have an outsized effect.
Prof. Dr. U. Schwanenberger of the Leipniz Institute linked his presentation of possibilities and what has already been achieved to his plea asking the textile industry to benefit from biotechnological options.
"Life is energy consumption. Even if 85% of this is generated outside the EU, the transformation must be driven forward. Emissions know no national borders." - Prof. Dr Maike Rabe at the project kick-off.
Presented the Re3-Tex project on structural change in textile processing and recycling per circular economy: Natalie Fohrer from the Center for Textile Logistics. Photos: Antonia Dannenberg.
The decisive role played by participation, also for the consumer product clothing, is demonstrated by the current debate culture surrounding the need for sustainable processes and products, which tends to promote division rather than consensus: KarTEXt workshop on activating social engagement. Visual impressions of all workshop results with the creations of AI artists Lisa-Marie Brodka and Stephan Kleiböhmer with this link to the Moodboards.