The seven themes that guide our research program

Who bears the risk for overproduction? What is the ultimate sustainable material? Is natural always better? On 26 February and 5 March 2024, together with a range of practice partners, we brainstormed on the themes and questions most relevant in the transition of the textile sector for the parties within our consortium. In summary, we identified the following topics as most relevant to the consortium:

True cost/transparency
Social and environmental impact analysis (true cost), certification and legislation, transparency.

New narratives
New mindsets and paradigms, new/shared definitions and language.

Rethinking business models
Exploring alternative business models such as repair services, on-demand manufacturing, multiple value creation, etc.

Design for circularity
Design for recycling/disassembly, Design for reuse, Design for (emotional) durability, Design for repair, Design with nature, Design strategies for innovative materials, etc.

Material knowledge sharing & innovation
Knowledge of (more) sustainable material selections and manufacturing processes. Knowledge related to fibres, cloth, innovative (bio)materials, and processes such as dyeing, coating, spinning, weaving, knitting, etc.

User Behavior
Understanding motivations and behaviour around wearing, washing, repairing, buying and disposing of clothes.

Sorting & Recycling
Efficient operation of sorting and recycling activities, required technologies and infrastructure.

Your help wanted!

These seven topics will form the basis for our research, course/workshop offerings and data collection. Through this link, you can indicate how relevant each topic is specifically to you. Based on this, we can start separate working groups and surveys around these topics, as well as prioritise them. The online survey only takes a minute, thank you for filling it out!

If you have a question around these themes that you would like to investigate with NewTexEco, please contact Elise van der Laan (e.vanderlaan@artez.nl). Within some of the themes, we are already working on setting up research projects. Think about use of mycelium, the circularity of polyester/cotton blends, and user behaviour. We will keep you informed via our newsletter, including when it is possible to participate in these research projects.

In the meantime, if you have any questions or would like to contact us, you can do so through these NewTexEco team members:
General questions: newtexeco@artez.nl
Become a partner: Lucie Huiskens of Jens Oelerich
Research-related questions: Elise van der Laan
Data related questions: Francesco Sollitto
Education/knowledge sharing: Theresia Grevinga