The Textile Centre Haslach and the Institute for Applied Industrial Research in Vienna are part of the EU project SYMCRAFT, which strengthens synergies between industry and crafts. The project centres on the development of ideas for the future-oriented use of textile remnants from industry in the field of crafts & design. The aim is to come up with new, creative solutions across all sectors and to help ensure that in future waste can be better recognised as a valuable resource by the general public.

14 March 2025: Network meeting

Under the motto ‘Mist! Rethinking textile waste’, a large network meeting was held on Friday, 14 March 2025 at the Textile Centre Haslach, to which representatives from industry, trade, design and universities were invited. Around 140 people took part in the event - thank you to everyone for the lively interest and stimulating dialogue!

The network meeting focussed on the opportunity to network with people from other sectors to whom one otherwise has little access in one's own professional environment. Best practice examples were presented during keynote speeches and the current status of current challenges, innovative developments and EU directives were discussed. There were plenty of residual and waste materials from over 20 companies, which were presented on tables in the conference room. Pre-portioned quantities of these materials were available for craftspeople, designers and university representatives to take away. Over the next few months, they will work with the materials and generate potential new products from them. We would be delighted if all those who were provided with these valuable resources would keep us up to date with photos and information on what is created from the materials - thank you!

You can find an overview of the conference programme here: Programm Netzwerktreffen

15 - 17 March 2025: Expert workshop

The network meeting was followed by a three-day expert workshop with invited craftspeople and designers at the Haslach Textile Centre. They systematically analysed the recyclability of existing textile waste and developed initial ideas for reuse. In a stimulating atmosphere, exciting approaches for new products were developed in the workshops of the Haslach Textile Centre over the three days. These will now be pursued further with the aim of establishing longer-term co-operations with the companies.

We would like to thank Anna Mooren, Magdalena Orland, Eva Siebert, Julia Moser, Gerald Brandstätter, Svenja Boissel and Lil Petersen for the interesting exchange, the good atmosphere and the great ideas! More details will follow!

17 March 2025: Presentation & Study Visit

On Monday, 17 March, a tour of the Textile Centre Haslach took place as part of a study visit for the partners from the 7 other EU countries that are part of the Symcraft project. The representatives from the other countries were given an insight into the working methods and opportunities on site. At 5 pm, a public presentation of the first interim results of the expert workshop took place, where our international guests, as well as interested parties from the surrounding area and representatives of companies, were able to get a first impression of the results. Everyone was impressed by how many approaches were developed in a short space of time!
We look forward to hopefully being able to report on the next steps in the Symcraft project soon!