TecnoCampus begins this month the process of attracting applications to participate in Reimagine Textile. A project whose objective is to encourage the creation of new emerging companies and start-ups linked to the textile sector that provide an innovative proposal based on new materials, technological solutions and have a sustainability component.
The program organized by the Mataró technology park was born thanks to the policies of the European Commission to promote the competitiveness of European territories and regions. In the case of the Maresme, it has opted for the textile industry, a key sector of the Catalan economy since the 19th century.
"Reimagine Textil, is a High Performance program designed for young initiatives that seek to modernize the textile sector and adapt it to the problems of the 21st century," says Emma Feriche, head of strategic competitiveness projects at the TecnoCampus Foundation.
"From the program we offer the selected projects resources to define the business model, develop their competitive innovation advantage, define their sustainable and circular strategy, and access both public and private financing," emphasizes Feriche.
In order to participate, start-ups or entrepreneurs must submit their application before May 15 through the following link. As of that date, a selection process will begin in which members of the TecnoCampus specialized in entrepreneurship, Eurecat staff specialists in new materials and independent consultants who are experts in the world of fashion will participate.
"Any company in the textile sector can register in the selection process as long as its proposal meets one of these three characteristics: innovative value proposition, sustainability and digitization," explains the head of strategic competitiveness projects at the TecnoCampus Foundation.
One of the examples of Reimagine Textil on the application of digitization to the textile sector is the company Rrrent. This company was founded last year by Mireia Ros and her partner with the aim that consumers could access a quality wardrobe in rotation in a responsible manner.
“We realized that people, including us, wanted to continue enjoying fashion and its potential in a way that was environmentally responsible and economically efficient,” says Mireia Ros, CEO of Rrrent.
Rrrent's business model consists of a web platform where clothing rental is offered for all kinds of occasions -events, dinners, weekends or even skiing- for a period between four and thirty days, prioritizing the experience of user is excellent.
“At our company we want the client to feel as comfortable as possible with the rental, operating with a simple and very intuitive process. For this reason, we have a highly curated selection of brands and style recommendations that simplify the process and, in addition, we take care of the entire logistics process, including cleaning or mending garments”, emphasizes Ros.
"Regarding the future of the company, we are carrying out our first round of financing with the aim of developing Rrrent's potential by strengthening our technological structure, expanding the offer, attracting talent and promoting our service to reach more users," he announces. the CEO of Rrent. And she adds "we are developing a mobile application that will allow us to access the international market and offer our service to brands and independent stores."
The proposal they made to access the Reimagine Textile program consisted of presenting a first version of the website with which they were already operating and the business plan, demonstrating its profitability and scalability.
“Participating in Reimagine Textile has allowed us to learn about the particularities of the fashion world and acquire practical knowledge on specific business areas necessary to promote the project. In addition, we have been lucky to have two expert retail mentors who have been of great support in the initial phase”, concludes Mireia Ros, one of the founders of Rrrent.
Sustainability is another of the main axes of Reimagine Textile and in this area we find the company Infinite Athletics. This company was founded two years ago by François Devy and two other partners with the aim of reusing tennis racket strings to make sportswear.
“The three partners are passionate about playing tennis and one day while looking for sportswear we saw a stringer pulling the strings from the tennis rackets. When we asked about them, they told us that they were made of polyester, a material with which 80% of sportswear is made, and then we realized that it was a great opportunity to help the planet”, recalls François Devy, co-founder and co-CEO of the company.
The success of Infinite Athletics, which has allowed it to be recognized internationally with the Seal Awards and the SME Climete Hub Awards, is based on the fact that they carry out the entire process in an ecological way, from the recovery of the raw materials to turn it into a thread until the fabric manufacturing.
“Our company has containers at the different tennis clubs, at sporting events and in specialized stores, where tennis players and stringers deposit the old strings that we turn into threads for the athletes' own clothing”, explains Devy.
Currently, they have made a first limited black collection of about 200 or 300 pieces of clothing. However, with the second round of funding they hope to be able to produce between 10,000 and 15,000 outfits and some shoes made from strings and tennis balls.
"We were able to access Reimagine Textil thanks to our experience as entrepreneurs and to the fact that we already had a first sample of the fabric made," says the co-founder of Infinite Athletic.
“Reimagine Textil has allowed us to establish contacts, have support in the development process of our company and make our company visible. So both myself and my partners are very satisfied and we encourage companies to participate in this project”, concludes François Devy.
