Design4Circle project aims to capture the opportunity to improve designers’ knowledge, coming from the textile sector, regarding ecoinnovation and circular economy. It will support working designers and students through the continuing vocational education and training (CVET) after industrial design education and/or during their working life in the fashion sector by improving or updating their knowledge and/or skills on eco-design and circular economy principles and continuing their personal or professional development.

Although Design4Circle is focused on the textile industry, it will also be benefit for other sectors, as the modules regarding basic principles of circular economy, circular businesses models, or ecodesign could cover knowledge gaps of other sectors. Thus, final beneficiaries of Design4Circle project will be a great number of SMEs all around Europe, with a great impact in the European economy.

Design4Circle project will achieve the following results:

– The outputs obtained will strengthen the knowledge and training of textile designers and SMEs, equipping them with the necessary competences and skills to implement new practices on ecodesign.

– Promotion of new circular businesses and the creation of new textile design companies looking towards a new circular economy.

– Development of specific, basic and transversal competences and skills such as management, entrepreneurship, leadership, digital and creativity skills, and language competence in the field of VET.

– Foster the implementation of the EU action Plan for the Circular Economy, both in a highly polluted sector as the textile one, and other industry sectors where design is a key process.

– Since the learning content will be provided via online, it will support teachers and educational staff and workers in acquiring or improving the use of ICT for learning and related digital competences.

– New resources for public institutions to support their public procurement of innovation tenders, give some ticks to SMEs, and get the involvement of a higher number of companies in each process

– A cooperation and exchange of experiences among entities from different fields and perspectives (Universities, sector experts, business associations, etc.), and among people with different profiles (VET trainers, managers and workers, entrepreneurs, teachers), and even different countries

– The profile of the partners will rise, since they will get exposure to a big set of stakeholders and potential customers, even at the international level

– The reinforcement of the links between participating Universities and the actual situation in the labour market and industries

– The involvement of participants in this project will improve their capacities in the area of strategic development, organizational management, leadership, quality of learning provision, equity and inclusion and qualitative and targeted activities for the main target group.

– Improve the life quality of European citizens as a final result of reduce the textile industry wastes and pollution thanks to the transformation of the current lineal textile sector into a circular one.

In this way, Design4Circle project defines the following Intellectual Outputs (IO):

IO1. Analysis of last resources available and needs for eco-design and current best practices in the textile sector, is to develop a complete analysis on best practices, last resource available and needs on ecodesign for a circular textile industry.

IO2. Joint Curriculum in eco-design in textile and fashion sectors towards a circular textile industry, to define the necessary learning outcomes, methodology and Joint Curriculum Structure to cover previous identified gaps

IO3. Training materials: design for a circular model in the textile sector, entrepreneurship and transversal ecoinnovation training, to develop the necessary training materials of the Design4Circle training course

IO4. E-learning platform and training test, to offer to all interested parties an e-learning training on textile ecodesign towards circular business models.

In addition, the consortium will organize 5 Multiplier events (Latvia, Romania, Spain, Macedonia and Portugal) where the results of the project will be disseminated and 80 stakeholders from the fashion, education and green sector will be invited. These events will increase the dissemination impact of the project.