SOLSTICE meets in Berlin for General Assembly and second regional event
On 5-6 May, the SOLSTICE consortium met in Berlin, Germany, not only for the 5th General Assembly of the project, but also for the second regional event.
Scaling Textile Repair and Reuse in European Urban Centres: Systemic Levers
Organiszd by Textile ETP in collaboration with Circular Berlin, the second regional event, titled "Scaling Textile Repair and Reuse in European Urban Centres: Systemic Levers", brought together researchers, practitioners, and city stakeholders for a half-day of expert presentations, hands-on exploration, and genuine exchange around scaling textile repair and reuse across European cities.
Estelle Dalod from Axel'One introduced the SOLSTICE project to participants; its vision, objectives, and how it is already supporting 4 European cities and regions in advancing circular textile practices. Then Erik Roos Lindgreen from Circle Economy presented key findings from the Berlin territory profile, and Xenia Schelper and Arianna Nicoletti presented the Repair Deal and Circular Berlin's policy paper "Scaling Textile Repair and Reuse in European Urban Centres: Systemic Levers".
The event continued with a panel moderated by Arianna Nicoletti. Lorena Vidas from the Municipality of Prato described the SOLSTICE Prato pilot, Sebastian Daus from FixFirst spoke about working with public authorities at a startup level, and Albrecht Fritze from the Senatsverwaltung für Mobilität, Verkehr, Klimaschutz und Umwelt presented the work underway in Berlin. Dev Mishra from Gentle Systems, as part of the CISUTAC project, showcased a modular, semi-automated zipper repair workstation that brings repair time down from 40+ minutes to just a few, making the process faster, more precise, and accessible to non-experts. The discussion centred on which parts of the system, policy, business models, citizens, infrastructure, drive the most impact, and how repair and reuse can become economically viable at scale.
The day then moved to VORN - The Berlin Fashion Hub at Bikini Berlin, for a visit to SHIFT Microfactory. Friederike Pfeffer opened with a lecture on their work and vision, followed by hands-on rotations through the microfactory, material and repair demonstrators, and a live project discussion with the VORN team. During the visit, participants explored STOLL knitting machines, learning about the difference between cut-and-sew and fully-fashioned knitting, yarn unravelling processes, and quality testing with merino wool. The team is now looking at scaling up with uniform producers, with the goal of designing garments from the start with disassembly in mind. Groups also worked with the local team on a SWOT analysis of repair and reuse initiatives.
The event attracted 58 participants from industry, SMEs, researchers, policymakers, and regional authorities from across Germany and Europe.
Photos from the event are available here.
SOLSTICE General Assembly
In the General Assembly, partners shared progress on their work packages, discussed current challenges, and outlined the next steps, especially focusing on:
Pilot updates from all 4 territories: Berlin's jeans repair bonus system, Prato's gamification app rewarding citizens for sustainable actions, Grenoble's upcyclers support progress and innovative collection results, and Catalonia's upcoming activities.
Sorting updates from Pellenc, chemical recycling work from Recyc'Elit, and DITF's research on aramid textile disposal.
Live demonstrations of TECHTERA's Valoramix tool, helping sorting professionals visualise material streams and identify the most promising recovery opportunities.
The consortium also held a workshop using the Business Model Canvas and the Lean Canvas, focusing on the exploitation of the pilot results.
As manager of SOLSTICE's communications, dissemination and ECOSYSTEX-related activities, Textile ETP highlighted the growth of the ECOSYSTEX community and presented the results of the project's latest campaigns.
We thank Circular Berlin for organising the meeting and welcoming us in their city!
For more information and updates on the SOLSTICE project, please visit www.solstice-project.eu
