Baltic2Hand’s Game-Changing Impact on Textile Companies Sustainability
During a two-day textile redesign jam event, five textile companies from the Baltic region (Reima, Lindström, Kesko, Materjalivoog and GS1 Sweden) challenged participants to solve circular challenges related to their business models, services and consumer behaviour. The event resulted in five winning solutions, created by five teams of participants, which were awarded by the companies.
As part of its activities, the Baltic2Hand project organised a two-day Textile ReDesign Jam last week, where participants worked in teams to create innovative solutions for challenges given by five textile companies. The participants were divided into teams and assigned a challenge from one of the textile companies involved in the event. The challenges ranged from finding new ways to avoid textile waste, to creating digital tools designing new services that extend the life of garments.
The teams had to work fast and collaboratively, using various tools and methods provided by the project partners and mentors. They also had the opportunity to pitch their ideas and get feedback from the challenge creators and other experts. At the end of the event, the teams presented their final solutions and the best ones were rewarded by the textile companies.
Success through knowledge exchange and innovation
The event was a success, both for the participants and the challenge creators. The participants enjoyed the learning experience and the chance to network with other professionals and enthusiasts. The challenge creators were impressed by the quality and diversity of the solutions and the potential they had for their businesses.
One of the challenge creators was Materjalivoog, an Estonian platform that enables manufacturers to sell or buy textile waste. Mayri Tiido from Materjalivoog shared her positive experience with both the organizing team and the participants. A two-day hackathon may seem daunting, but the abundance of innovative ideas and the well-orchestrated event made it thoroughly enjoyable.
A winning solution
Another challenge creator was GS1, a global organisation that develops standards for the identification and communication of products. The challenge they posed was to create a business solution that would help consumers extend the life of their clothes. The winning team proposed an app that would allow users to monitor the condition of their clothes and swap them with other users through an AI-based matching system.
Maria Talari, one of the members of the winning team, said: “We are very grateful for the opportunity to participate in this event. It was a fun and challenging experience, and we learned a lot from the mentors and the other teams. We are also very excited that GS1 liked our solution and we hope to work with them further on developing it.”
Looking ahead
The Textile ReDesign Jam was not only a one-time event, but also a part of a larger initiative by the Baltic2Hand project to support the textile sector in adopting circular economy principles. The project will continue to organise workshops and other events for textile companies and organisations that want to learn more and get involved in the circular economy movement.
Tiido from Materjalivoog encouraged other textile companies to join the project: “We definitely recommend other companies to take part in the project’s events as well. In everyday work, it is easy to get stuck in your own processes and thoughts. Hearing others’ perspectives and ideas in such a hackathon format is very refreshing and inspiring.”
