ECY-TWIN: Eco-CYcle innovation for Textile & Woodworking INdustries

The Ecy-Twin project is a cross-border project between Hauts-de-France, Flanders and Wallonia, which targets SMEs in the textile, wood and furniture sectors. Its objective is to raise awareness and support SMEs in their eco-design and sustainable development approaches, so that they can market products or services with a controlled environmental impact in line with consumer expectations. The goal is to facilitate access for SMEs to tools such as Life Cycle Assessment, carbon footprint, use of best available technologies and Eco-Design, and help them implement innovative business models such as the economy of functionality. The aim is to bring together competence centers and SMEs to ensure new growth levers. To achieve this, the project is based on the following actions: raising awareness and providing information (via technical days and seminars) on the challenges of the circular economy and eco-design; identifying and inventorying the expectations of the target audience in order to bring out new projects by grouping companies around themes such as eco-design, circular economy and sustainable development; providing research and development support to interested small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in order to make the identified projects a reality.

Companies in the textile, clothing, wood and furniture sectors face the same challenges, combining environmental impact control and economic development. They also face strong competition from countries with low wage costs where environmental constraints are often less severe than in Europe. This environmental issue particularly concerns small and medium-sized companies, which do not always have the financial and human resources to address it in a comprehensive manner.
- Conquer new markets that are open to the consumption of eco-friendly products.
- Raise awareness among the general public and convince them to buy environmentally friendly products.
- Linking creation and sustainable development.
- Anticipate the recyclability of manufactured products.
- Develop new business models by launching into the economy of functionality

- Raise awareness among companies and the general public about eco-design and the economy of functionality.
- Develop demonstrators with scientifically founded and proven environmental claims to convince the general public and consumers. Promote them (fairs, exhibitions, conferences, scientific articles...).
- To hoard the knowledge around the project's themes and disseminate it in the area for the benefit of the target audience.

- Market, environmental, technical and regulatory watch.
- Organization of meetings and seminars.
- Creation of 8 working groups and support for the development of product/service demonstrators based on eco-innovation concepts.
- Collective mark circular product
- Lifespan of clothing textiles
- Functional economy
- Local sourcing
- Microplastic pollution

Interreg France-Wallonie-Vlaanderen
Wallonie
Vlaanderen

01-06-2018 - 31-12-2022

Belgian side
Celabor – Centre de Services scientifiques et techniques
Centexbel - centre scientifique et technique de l'industrie textile belge
Wood.be - centre des connaissances pour l’industrie du bois et de l’ameublement
Fedustria – Fédération Belge de l’industrie Textile du bois et de l’ameublement
ULB – Université Libre de Bruxelles

French side
ENSAIT – Ecole Nationale Supérieur des arts et industries Textiles
UITHnord – Union des industries textiles et habillement nord 

Interreg, Textile, Furniture, eco-design, sustainability, LCA

Prof. Wouter Achten
Hélie Moreau

Seminar: http://www.ecytwin.eu/presentations-du-seminaire-ecytwin-du-8-octobre-2019-sur-leco-innovation/
Conference: http://www.ecytwin.eu/etiquetage-environnemental-dans-le-textile-et-lameublement-retour-sur-le-seminaire-du-04-09-2020/

www.ecytwin.eu