EDITORIAL
Dear readers, please find news on VETRINE online event (23 April 2025), SHOEDES sustainable footwear winning prototypes from 6 countries and French winners, AI MODELS that can be used in manufacturing and INSIGHTS from Texworld Apparel Sourcing Paris.
Happy reading!
PROJECTS
T&C TRAINING MATERIALS
VETRINE / Fashion Revolution Week
Awareness of the impact of fast fashion is a first step towards the desire to become a changemaker. That’s why, as part of the VETRINE project, we’ve been carrying out awareness events on a local level within participating VET institutions. There will be a larger online event on April 23 at 16 CET in which three major international activist groups talk about their latest campaigns and what we can do on a personal and collective level to raise awareness, alongside two local initiatives who help illustrate how global actions can be made local. More info and sign up here
SUSTAINABLE FOOTWEAR TRAINING
SHOEDES
After having developed a program to train footwear designers in sustainability skills, the project brought six teams to Portugal (CTCP) for a workshop ending with a design competition. The winning team, from France and supported by an experienced designer and consultant from TCBL, succeeded by reinterpreting stylish office flats into a nearly monomaterial, sleek pair of shoes. The program will naturally be available post-project and will benefit from TCBL experienced coaches and labs. Read the blog post (in French)
AI MODELS
ViDi
Discover the three types of AI models: large language models, trained on large databases (like GPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, Tulu) and best for images/videos or complex tasks; focussed models (like Mistral, Llama3, Qwen, Gemma2) and best for local or industry tasks ; expert models (like Mistral MoE, GrokAI MoE, Deepseek MoE) to only use a selection of parameters at each request, best for highly specialised tasks. Discover what we use in our ViDi program, to be fully launched in June! See more here
INNOVATION
TCBL reflections from Texworld
Some TCBL Community members were invited to roundtables of the Texworld Apparel Sourcing Paris (11 February 2025). They helped gain further insights on how durability can be a competitive advantage in business, how to best choose among upstream, downstream and service strategies to support a sustainable business vision, and emphasized that only 12% of polyester and 1% of cotton were recycled in the world. Read the blog post (in French)
Are you a member of the TCBL Association yet? Members share knowledge and experience, network and develop new projects through services available to all paid, accredited members.
INSPIRATIONS
Circular economy in the creative industries
The Centre for Sustainable Design® (CfSD) at the University for the Creative Arts is researching gaps in the creative industry’s transition to circular economy. Key findings were presented in a webinar on Feb 26, watch the video here
PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), innovative substitutes
PFAS will be forbidden from January 1st, 2026 in Europe. PFAS have been developed since the 1940s to give fabrics specific properties (stain-resistant, water-repellent etc.) but they are “forever chemicals”. Since the 2000s, sustainable alternatives have been sought: 1/ short-chain PFAS (TFA) that could be eliminated with reverse-osmosis processes ; 2/ hydrophobic coatings based on silicone, waxes and natural oils, biodegradable polymers or nano-materials. IFTH in France is working on this second route, inspired by the lotus flower’s natural water repelling micro and nano surface structures. Read
Carbon footprint, a SAMI ally
Founded in March 2020, Sami quickly established itself as a key player in carbon accounting in Europe, attracting nearly 1,500 companies whose emissions exceed 30 million tons of CO2e. Through its platform and a network of over 100 consulting partners, SAMI helped its clients reduce their emissions by 3% in absolute terms in 2023. Read
Hemp: Virgocoop to relocalise the production in France
Hemp is probably the most ecological fiber. In the south-west of France, Virgocoop together with Atelier Tuffery and Eric Carlier is using hemp from Romania to weave and produce shiv for the construction sector. Read
Shoes: Crocs’ increase of turnover in 2024 (+4%) is mostly due to Jibbitz Charms which allow consumers to personalise their shoes. Targets range from teens to Crocs addicts, for personal or professional use (e.g. in the health sector). Read
AGENDA
Paris (France)
2-3 April 2025
Made in France fair to showcase 90 branded products or services of locally made textile and clothing. Find out more
Fashion Revolution Week
April 22-27
Time to plan your contribution or involvement in the activities of Fashion Revolution week and add it to the official calendar. Find out more
Prato (Italy)
From March to May
Lottozero hosts the solo exhibition Panneggi by Chiara Bettazzi, the beginning of their new exhibition season dedicated to investigating the expressive and conceptual implications of Soft Sculpture (March 20- May 23). In the same city, the Museo del Tessuto presents Velvet mi amor until June 8 to celebrate this textile.
London (UK)
28 March-7 September 2025
The exhibition Textiles: The Art of Mankind celebrates the ancient and deep entanglement between textiles, people and our world. Find out more
A big thank you to our contributor of the month, Marianna Maglara, and to our editors, Alexandra, Frédérique, Jean-Renaud.
Do you have questions or comments about the topics in this newsletter, or ideas about the textile industry? Do not hesitate to contact us
TCBL@audasud.fr
Online programing and copyright © 2025 Audasud
Add us to your address book
