"That’s incredibly practical!"

The aim is for the industry and research sectors to exchange know-how in the fields of design, sustainability and technology. Swiss Textiles members and research organisations are able to benefit in a variety of ways, ranging from references to the corresponding scientific literature through to expert assessments of Switzerland’s textiles sector.

Benefits for member companies and researchers
Tina Tomovic is a member of the Products and Textiles research group at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts School of Art and Design. This group focuses on design and sustainability. Asked about the cooperation between the research group and Swiss Textiles, she noted: “For a project focusing on circular business models, for example, we were able to benefit from access to the Swiss Textiles network.” This was especially practical, she pointed out, because the researchers were able to study some of the member companies as cases. And as Nina Bachmann, who is responsible for sustainability and technology at Swiss Textiles, added, “For our members it is extremely useful to be able to gain access to findings obtained from research projects.” In other words, the cooperation is highly beneficial for both partners. Tina Tomovic also cited the “Summit” and “Innovation Day” events as other positive examples. “All the leading member companies attend these events and are able to establish initial contacts for future projects.” So close to the source, the companies’ needs with respect to sustainability can be readily identified, and can thus flow into research activities.

Improving the recycling of textiles
One of the research group’s latest and most media-effective projects is called “Texcircle”, which is researching textile recycling processes in order to improve them. The aim here is to recycle the originally utilised materials so that they can be reused as raw materials, and thus to close the cycle of textile products. In mid-December, Switzerland’s national radio and television broadcaster, SRF, reported on this project in its science programme, “Einstein”.

Incorporation of industry partners into projects
Tina Tomovic explained that, once again, Swiss Textiles’ contacts proved to be highly valuable. Participants included Rohner Socks, textile machinery manufacturer Rieter AG and Texaid (a leading organisation for collecting, sorting and recycling used textiles). Together with member companies and industry partners they have defined fibre compositions, machinery settings and new product cycles. “But that’s not all,” added Tina Tomovic knowingly as she reflected on the benefits of the partnership: “Together with our partners we are able to regularly use the conference rooms of Swiss Textiles in Zurich for our project meetings. And that’s incredibly practical!”