The HEREWEAR Project officially ends, producing in the final weeks a multitude of public resources, including a policy brief. As we look back on these four years, we can proudly state that it has been successful for all of us. Addressing three sustainability themes – ‘bio-based’, ‘local’ and ‘circular’ – in a single project was ambitious, but with the right mindset and partnership, we managed to bring all angles together and leverage meaningful resources for further research.

Presenting project results at Ecosystex

In the final weeks of the project, we actively participated in the second Ecosystex conference in Milan, an event that brought together members of the Ecosystex “Community of Practice” that wishes to accelerate collaboration amongst EU-funded projects for a more sustainable textile industry. HEREWEAR partners gave talks about their project contributions during a 2-hour session. In addition, there was a HEREWEAR exhibition space showcasing our samples and prototypes, as well as our digital legacy represented by the HEREWEAR Hub.  Conference attendees were impressed by the multitude of samples and the work performed.

Ecosystex participants interact with samples

The final project sprint was also used to compile a policy brief.  This is relevant as the realisation of the HEREWEAR vision, i.e. a sustainable EU textile sector based on ‘bio-based’, ‘local’ and ‘circular’, touches on many more EU policies than only the Textile Strategy. Consequently, it can benefit from policy measures in many domains. Based on the activities of HEREWEAR, we phrased concrete recommendations along the following themes: ‘understand the market’, ‘foster a holistic approach to bio-based textiles’, ‘support local and social’, ‘implement a coherent and fair legislative framework’, ‘lead by example via public procurement’ and ‘raise awareness among all stakeholders’.

If we sum up the project in some numbers, here are some outcomes:

  • We collected and made around 1000 samples, consisting of our material library, biowaste samples, filaments, fabrics, prototypes etc
  • Over 50 garment prototypes for corporate fashion and streetwear produced as small series demonstration
  • 8 academic and conference papers
  • 40+ resources (tools, guidelines, models) in the HEREWEAR Hub as a legacy for future developments
  • A community of 250 members with an active core that will continue to explore and interact, of which 40 mentors to further support the discovery of the transition.

Closing a European project is always bittersweet, yet we take pride in all we have accomplished together. We are confident the multitude of public resources will ensure HEREWEAR’s legacy and we trust our collaboration will continue in new ways moving forward.