Outcomes

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  Concept for the development of heritage-sensitive & circular textile craft & Industrial products through cross-border matchmaking

  In development

  Jointly developed by PPs based on WP1 activities & tested in pilot actions 2.1&2.4, the output proposes a replicable & scalable format to develop heritage-sensitive & circular new textile craft & industrial products based on: 1 Concept development; 2 Analysis of missing resources/technologies/skills; 3 Cross-border matchmaking of farmers, breeders, craftspeople, technical/technology providers, experts in heritage safeguarding/textile design/circular design/storytelling; 4 product development.

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  Communicating the value of heritage-sensitive, circular, cross-border textile products to consumers: The format and analysis

  Type of output:Download

  This outcome explores how Alpine textile producers can communicate the value of circular, heritage-based products through storytelling, collaborative value chains, and education — positioning marketing communication as a key enabler for consumer engagement and sustainable growth.

  • Producers engaged in sustainable and heritage-based textile practices often face challenges in making their value visible and comprehensible to consumers. Traditional labelling rarely conveys the cultural, ecological, or territorial depth embedded in these products. This outcome therefore addresses said gap by identifying effective communication strategies, analyzing consumer perceptions of origin and sustainability claims, and showcasing innovative approaches such as narrative labelling, crowdfunding, and symbolic adoption.
  • Overall, findings underline the importance of narrating heritage and circularity, framing cross-border collaborations as shared Alpine strengths, and combining certifications with message-driven communication. Beyond promotional goals, long-term consumer education emerges as essential to ensuring that circularity and heritage-based products are properly understood, valued, and cared for.
  • By linking storytelling, education, and innovation, this work offers practical insights for small-scale producers and community actors aiming to connect tradition, territory, and sustainability in meaningful, resonant ways.
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  Communicating the value of heritage-sensitive, circular, cross-border textile products to consumers: Narrative Labels & Guidelines

  Type of output:Download

  AlpTextyles Narrative Labels present the stories behind Alpine textiles — connecting producers, fibers, landscapes, and traditions. They sit as complementary tools to legally-required ones, to promote transparency and storytelling and reveal the cultural and ecological value in every thread.

  • Based on the key findings from academic consumer research, AlpTextyles Narrative Labels are the result of the collaborative work on Alpine textile heritage — a three-year journey carried out by 12 partner organizations also drawing from research in history, aesthetics, and mapping and on-the-ground pilot actions.
  • They are freely available for download on Canva in English, French, German, Italian, and Slovene.
  • The narrative label is a complementary tool that sits alongside the legally-required product label. While mandatory labels provide basic technical data, the narrative label offers a richer story: in the case of textile products, it gives insight into the producers, the fibers and techniques used, the local breeds and plant varieties they are made from, the landscapes involved, and the values that shape the process. What’s often missing from conventional labels is the human and humane dimension: the care, intention, and cultural heritage that go into making a product. These specifications may not be mandatory, but they are essential. They help people understand what they are truly choosing when they make a purchase — the justify its price and help tell the story of materials, practices, and identities rooted in place.
  • This is why AlpTextyles believes that consumers should be offered the tools to distinguish, for example, whether a sweater is made with locally sourced wool or with imported fibers, or whether a product respects circular practices. AlpTextyles believes that the quality of a textile — much like that of food — is first and foremost a story.
  • So, why develop this series of narrative labels? To support transparency, amplify local voices, and make visible the cultural and ecological value embedded in every thread.
  • Alongside the Narrative Labels, AlpTextyles also developed a practical Guidelines document to support SMEs, organizations, craftspeople, and anyone interested in adopting this tool in using and customizing the labels to best fit their needs. The Guidelines include printing specifications, graphic design suggestions, and examples of content that can be produced.
  • Recognizing that language plays a key role in making communication tools widely accessible and adoptable by local organizations across the Alpine region, both the Narrative Labels and the Guidelines are available in English, French, German, Italian, and Slovene.

   
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  Innovative formats for the cross-border trainings of youth, students, and professionals on the living textile heritage of the Alps and sustainable and circular value chains

  In development

  Among the key formats are physical activations —including summer schools, community calls, and the participation of youth representatives in major events and conferences— as well as digital tools such as a MOOC, a dedicated Metaverse, and a series of video documentaries and scrapbooks.

  Physical activations *  

  • Alpine Icon Textile Summer School
  • AlpTextyles Summer School
  • Reviving flax cultivation and linen production | Flax workshop
  • Coperta Poschiavina | Community Call
  • Portraits of a Textile Past | Community Call
  • Cultural Transhumance | Community engagement event
  • Community Festival | Multi-day, multi-focused Event
  • Living Experience | Multi-day, multi-focused Event
  • Fashion Collections Design
  • Alpine Space Programme 25th Anniversary Event
  • AlpTextyles Project Stand at Milano Unica 2025

  Digital activations *  

  • Massive Online Open Course
  • Metaverse & Virtual Showroom
  • Video & Digital Handicrafts Manual on Embroidery
  • Digital Scrapbooks
  • Digitized Textile Archive: Poschiavo (Switzerland)
  • Digitized Textile Archive: ZRC SAZU (Slovenia)
  • Digitized Textile Archive: Montafon (Austria)

  * Details on each activation are available in the corresponding entries in the OUTCOMES and PILOTS sections.

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  Innovative digital formats and activations: AlpTextyles’ Massive Online Open Course – MOOC “The living textile heritage of the Alps and its sustainable circular future”

  Type of output:Website

  AlpTextyles’ MOOC is a free, online, and open-source course presenting sustainable, circular, and place-based textile practices in the Alpine region. It explores historical techniques, digitized archives, and innovative approaches to support cultural heritage, local economies, and capacity building.

  • Drawing on the project’s research and pilot actions, the course highlights key disciplines, methods, and avenues of research, case studies, and approaches that have shaped AlpTextyles’ journey.
  • Designed for students, educators, professionals, designers, artisans, policy-makers, SMEs, and enthusiasts in textiles, sustainability, and cultural heritage, the MOOC demonstrates how historical techniques, aesthetic traditions, mapping strategies, and digitized archives can be reactivated to support sustainable innovation, local economies, and institutional development. No prior expertise is required.
  • The course aims to deepen understanding of the Alpine textile environment and explore how historical knowledge and contemporary practices converge to inspire cultural production, education, and circular economy strategies. It fosters capacity building and reconnects regional resources and traditions with innovative, digitally enhanced approaches, creating a space where knowledge meets practice and new ideas can emerge.
  • The course-specific objectives include: • • Analyze the historical, aesthetic, and cultural aspects of Alpine textile traditions and understand their intrinsic value; • • Interpret mappings of textile data and networks, recognizing key actors, institutional dynamics, and regional specificities; • • Explore and activate the living textile heritage, including crafts, techniques, and community-based practices; • • Understand how digitized textile archives can be used across institutions, education, and creative sectors; • • Apply circular economy principles to textile production chains—such as reuse, material regeneration, and traceability; • • Design cultural, educational, or creative initiatives rooted in sustainability and local Alpine heritage.
  • The course consists of 6 modules: • • Module 1: The Textile History of the Alps • • Module 2: The Living Textile Heritage of the Alps​ and Heritage Sensitive Products • • Module 3: Textile Economies in the Alps • • Module 4: The Alpine Textiles Aesthetics • • Module 5: The Digital Archives • • Module 6: Raising Awareness on Circularity.

   
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  Innovative digital formats and activations: AlpTextyles’ Metaverse “Materic Knowledge in a Virtual World”

  Type of output:Website

  An immersive Metaverse experience where Alpine textile heritage meets contemporary design. Digitized archives and Istituto Marangoni creations become digital twins, connecting tradition and innovation through storytelling, exploration, and creative exchange.

  • An immersive space where garments from the archives meet contemporary designs by Istituto Marangoni students — all reimagined as digital twins that transcend the physical frame. Heritage pieces stand side by side with innovative creations, allowing users to experience Alpine material culture in motion and witness how past craftsmanship continues to inspire future design.
  • The Metaverse becomes a dynamic platform for exploration, storytelling, and experimentation — a place where traditional textiles are preserved, reinterpreted, and amplified through digital expression. Here, creative narratives unfold in three dimensions: weaving together history, technology, and imagination. This virtual encounter extends the reach and relevance of heritage, transforming it into a living dialogue between past, present, and future.
  • Within this immersive environment, visitors can navigate through digitized archive garments and the capsule collection designed by Istituto Marangoni students, exploring the intersections between innovation and tradition. Among the interactive features is the opportunity to access the project’s MOOC directly from within the Metaverse, along with a selection of videos, images, and digital materials. Together, these experiences offer a seamless blend of learning, discovery, and creative exchange — an open space where Alpine textile culture continues to evolve and connect across generations and borders.

   
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  Heritage-sensitive and circular Alpine textile value chains: Orientation Guide

  Type of output:Download

  A synthesis of three years of AlpTextyles collaboration, offering SMEs and support organizations a decalogue for building circular, heritage-sensitive textile value chains that combine innovation, sustainability, and Alpine identity.

  • This AlpTextyles outcome synthesizes three years of research and collaboration across six Alpine countries to support the development of circular, heritage-sensitive textile value chains. It provides small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and business support organizations with concrete guidance on how to combine sustainability, innovation, and cultural identity in the transition toward post-carbon economies.
  • Built around a decalogue of ten key principles, it translates the project’s extensive fieldwork and exchanges into practical insights and case studies. These principles address consumer expectations, market relevance, heritage protection, local value chains, policy alignment, and innovation, while also highlighting transmission and inclusion as drivers of continuity and renewal.
  • By bridging artisanal and industrial perspectives —and connecting textiles with related fields such as tourism, education, and territorial development— the outcome demonstrates how Alpine know-how can foster resilient, competitive, and community-driven economies. It invites stakeholders to rediscover the Alpine textile heritage as a living resource for sustainable and circular transformation.
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  Heritage-sensitive and circular Alpine textile value chains: Heritage Safeguarding Toolkit / RAS

  Type of output:Download

  A practical toolkit distilled from the AlpTextyles project, helping communities identify, safeguard, and transmit Alpine textile heritage while connecting traditional know-how with creativity, education, tourism, and sustainable market opportunities.

  • This AlpTextyles outcome brings together the knowledge generated through project activities and the long-standing expertise of its partners in safeguarding Alpine textile heritage. Conceived as a practical, community-oriented handbook, it supports those who carry living textile traditions in identifying, documenting, and caring for both the tangible and intangible elements of their heritage.
  • The toolkit provides clear steps for preserving objects, techniques, and stories; strengthening local capacity; and communicating heritage within and beyond the community. It highlights how traditional know-how can inspire contemporary creation, cultural tourism, and education, while offering guidance on the legal and sustainable presentation of heritage-based products in today’s markets.
  • Designed for local communities, schools, associations, researchers, and artisans, the handbook encourages confidence, continuity, and collective engagement. It invites users to view heritage not as something fixed in the past, but as a shared resource for innovation, connection, and intergenerational transmission.
  • By activating curiosity and creativity, this outcome ensures that the knowledge of masters, the stories of ancestors, and the richness of local practices continue to thrive — in workshops, exhibitions, digital content, and the hands of new generations.

   
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  Heritage-sensitive and circular Alpine textile value chains: Heritage Safeguarding Toolkit / Regione Lombardia

  Type of output:Download

  An outcome offering practical guidance for communities and policymakers seeking to protect Alpine textile knowledge through flexible, culturally grounded, and community-driven approaches.

  • Built on comparative legal analysis and participatory work in Valle Camonica, Italy, this outcome reframes “protection” not as ownership or exclusion, but as recognition, care, and continuity. The toolkit’s ten guiding principles emphasize that law must adapt to living heritage and how communities themselves can define meaningful, sustainable forms of custodianship.
  • A conceptual and participatory framework for understanding protection as a relational practice. By combining legal reflection with hands-on engagement, the document highlights how protection can move beyond ownership and exclusivity toward responsibility, intergenerational transmission, and collective custodianship. Participatory exercises with textile communities revealed that “protection through description” —through documentation, labeling, and narrative protocols— is the most effective way to strengthen collective identity, articulate values, and engage with external stakeholders while keeping knowledge open and shared.
  • Hybrid legal approaches that respect living heritage. It also demonstrates how existing frameworks, including intellectual property, sui generis systems, and international heritage instruments, can inform flexible, context-sensitive legal solutions that recognize the evolving, communal nature of traditional knowledge rather than imposing rigid categories.
  • Preserving the contexts of knowledge transmission. Protection is not limited to techniques or objects but extends to the environments where learning happens. Workshops, community spaces, and shared gatherings play a critical role in sustaining practices, fostering governance, and supporting continuity across generations.
  • Insights from diverse legal and cultural perspectives. Comparative study, including non-Western models, emphasizes alternative ways of valuing traditional knowledge as relational, process-based, and embedded in community life, offering inspiration for policies that honor both heritage and contemporary innovation.
  • Guidance for future community action and policy. The toolkit provides practical principles for designing protection tools that respect community diversity, support cultural self-determination, and balance openness with recognition. It encourages seeing heritage as a shared resource for creativity, connection, and sustainable development rather than a static asset.

   
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  Heritage-sensitive and circular Alpine textile value chains: Policy brief

  Type of output:Download

  A Policy Brief connecting Alpine textile heritage with European sustainability policies, offering recommendations to help regional and EU actors support circular, heritage-sensitive value chains across the Alpine area.

  • This Policy Brief offers recommendations to support the development of sustainable and heritage-sensitive textile value chains in the Alpine region. Drawing on AlpTextyles’ mapping and pilot activities, it connects local textile traditions and resources with European policy frameworks, including the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles and the forthcoming Geographical Indications for craft and industrial products.
  • The document underlines how Alpine textile heritage —anchored in natural fibers, local aesthetics, and long-standing circular practices— can contribute to the EU’s sustainability goals while strengthening regional identity and economic resilience. It encourages cooperation among EUSALP Action Groups, regional authorities, and industry actors to explore synergies, share good practices, and design coherent strategies supporting re-localized and innovative production models.
  • By situating Alpine experiences within broader European transitions, this Policy brief aims to inform ongoing discussions on sustainable textile policies and highlight the Alpine region’s potential as a meaningful contributor to a circular and heritage-aware textile future.

   
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