The TCBL Project was a 48-month initiative (July 2015 – June 2019) engaging 21 different organisations from 11 EU Member States, under the leadership of the City of Prato (IT). The multidisciplinary partnership involved textile research centres, universities, FabLabs, sector associations, training centres, software houses, and social and socio-technical research centres.
THE TCBL NETWORK OF LABS AND ASSOCIATES
One of the main achievements of the TCBL Project has been to engage with external organisations in the role of Lab or Associate, building a value-based community of players wishing to make a difference. Each joined TCBL on the basis of a set of shared principles, and has expressed needs and aspirations for new directions and concretely participated in innovation actions, all with no direct financial support from the project.
The ‘innovation movement’ created by TCBL was built through Open Calls whose scope and process was gradually refined over the years. The end result is an open rolling application procedure – the TCBL Protocol – that not only selects new candidates but also guarantees the adherence of existing members to the TCBL principles over time.
At the end of the TCBL Project, the network consists of 52 Labs and 235 Associates.
INNOVATION PROJECTS
The needs and ideas of ecosystem participants took concrete form through the activation of innovation projects involving cooperation between and among Labs and Associates. Some were initiated by the research agendas of one or more Labs, some by Associates wishing to collaborate across supply chains to test a market idea, while some were driven by TCBL partners inspired by possible innovation scenarios. Some examples of innovation projects carried out within the scope of the project:
• Re-connecting value chains for natural fibres (cotton, silk, hemp…), from the cotton field through to finished apparel.
• Reduction of chemical use across textile supply chains and coordinated testing and certification to apply to the end product.
• Re-examination of processes for garment manufacturing, ranging from social production in sewing cafés to re-designed workplaces in clothing factories.
• Empowerment of independent designers and short runs production facilities through support and matchmaking services.
• Exploring the potential for the use of bacteria for textile dyeing, with near-zero environmental impact.
• Experimentation of a software platform for the digitisation of historical textile collections at the museum or company level, both to promote brand value and to inspire new designs.
• Definition of an AI-based clothes rental service for men providing a weekly, locally produced wardrobe adapted to personal taste and calendar events.
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT, BUSINESS SERVICES, VALUE MODELLING AND COMMUNICATION
In parallel to the core activities were the actions aiming at structuring and consolidating the emerging innovation ecosystem.
• Knowledge management was first explored with structured ICT systems, while later shifting to open social media platforms.
o Over 70 Handbooks published on issuu.com (over 1.500 reads)
o Over 200 videos on the TCBL YouTube channel (over 8.000 views)
o Over 50 articles on the TCBL_zine wordpress (over 1.000 visits)
• Business services also followed a more open path, with the development of Weeave (a single sign-on system) as the means for TCBL members to access a range of aggregated third party services (supply chain management, matchmaking, circular fashion, etc.): over 1.000 registered users.
• Value modelling structured Lab services and the strategic framework for the Innovation Landscape of concrete projects. In parallel, process and ex-post evaluation measured cost impacts and identified the impact mechanisms.
• An aggressive communication strategy fully re-designed the TCBL website, including a newsletter, reading lists, regular publications of stories, etc., and coordinating social media. (over 100.000 web page views, over 1.500 Facebook page likes)
• A highly successful yearly series of #TCBL two-day conference events, featuring a range of interaction modules from traditional keynotes to TED style presentations and pecha-kucha style interaction. (over 750 participants).
