Overview
Coarse wool, which is the rough, lower-quality wool typically not suited for fine textile production, is often discarded illegally or disposed of at high costs. WOOLSHED addresses this critical challenge by promoting innovation and cooperation among diverse stakeholders to transform this waste into a valuable resource. The project focuses on affordable, open-source, and user-friendly technologies to help small-scale wool processors and other businesses engage in the wool industry. Additionally, its focus on networking and design validates new economic opportunities for the Alpine region.
Factsheet
- 2021 – 2027
- Innovation and digitalisation supporting a green Alpine region
- SO 3.1 - Developing and enhancing research and innovation capacities and the uptake of advanced technologies
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- AG2 Economic development
- AG3 Labour market, education and training
- AG6 Natural resources
- 09/2024
- 08/2027
- 1.787.875 EUR
- 1.265.906 EUR
Partners
- Lead partner
- Italy
- Veneto (ITH3)
- Venice
- Gabriele Monti
- gabriele.monti@iuav.it
- Switzerland
- Région lémanique (CH01)
- Geneva
- Cristina Olivotto
- cristina@onlfait.ch
- Switzerland
- Espace Mittelland (CH02)
- Cernier
- Aurelie Sarrio
- info@lainesdici.ch
- Italy
- Veneto (ITH3)
- Belluno
- Michele Talo
- michele.talo@centroconsorzi.it
- Slovenia
- Zahodna Slovenija (SI04)
- Nova Gorica
- Lucija White
- lucija.white@go.kgzs.si
- Slovenia
- Zahodna Slovenija (SI04)
- Izola
- Jakub Sandak
- jakub.sandak@Innorenew.eu
- France
- Rhône-Alpes (FRK2)
- LYON
- PAULINE GAMORE
- contact@letextilelab.com
- Austria
- Wien (AT13)
- Wien
- Alexander Diesenreiter
- alexander.diesenreiter@impacthub.net
- 45.437190812.3345898
- 46.20971956.1172762
- 47.05838686.9080521
- 46.111067312.1344657
- 45.960918713.658593087279861
- 45.530237513.6571696
- 45.77008514.8350292
- 48.199764316.345726
Outcomes
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Design Marathons to conceive and create concepts and prototypes of new products using wool materials.
5 Pilot areas: Veneto (IT); Zahodna Slovenija (SI); Rhône-Alpes (FR); Styria (AT), Genève/Neuchâtel (CH). The Design Marathons will focus on specific challenges, such as developing sustainable or innovative wool products for a particular sector or market. The results of the Design Marathons will be prototyped and tested to create a showcase innovative wool-based products and test results and evaluations of the prototypes, ensuring their practicality and viability for market entry. -
New wool-based materials and products
The project will support the development of new wool-based materials or products that are more sustainable and marketable. These products will be taken up or up-scaled by a variety of organisations, including fashion brands, home goods retailers, and construction companies. -
Upgraded Pilot Processing Centres
5 Pilot areas: Veneto (IT); Zahodna Slovenija (SI); Rhône-Alpes (FR); Styria (AT), Genève/Neuchâtel (CH). Adapted and enhanced pilot processing centres that will test the capabilities of new machinery and identified processing methods. The goal is to demonstrate the feasibility of these technologies and to provide training to businesses, designers, and entrepreneurs. These facility will also host a round of the Design Marathon aimed at prototyping new materials or products. -
Innovative Products Pilot Supporting Programme
5 Pilot areas: Veneto (IT); Zahodna Slovenija (SI); Rhône-Alpes (FR); Styria (AT), Genève/Neuchâtel (CH). O.1 establishes a collaborative knowledge platform for circular business models in the Alpine wool industry. Companies and professionals, selected through a transparent public call, directly contribute to the solution's development. Their collaboration results in refined standardised toolkits and training programs that will be disseminated to relevant stakeholders for wider adoption.
Pilots
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Veneto Region (Italy)
Pilot Partner: Centro Consorzi (PP4)
Centro Consorzi will implement a pilot intervention in the Belluno province (Veneto region), aimed at reactivating and strengthening the local wool value chain, particularly in connection with rustic Alpine sheep breeds. The pilot will be based on mapping and co-design activities, involving various territorial stakeholders with whom the organisation already maintains active relationships. Centro Consorzi is expected to contribute across all four phases of the project, making use of its existing local and international networks. The pilot’s main result is the initiation of an experimental territorial chain, grounded in accessible innovation and collaborative processes for coarse wool valorisation. -
Rhône-Alpes Region (France)
Pilot Partner: Le Textile Lab (PP7)
Le Textile Lab acts as the French pilot coordinator and leads Work Package 3 (MAKE). The pilot will be carried out in the Rhône-Alpes region with a bioregional and transdisciplinary design approach. It will engage a wide range of local actors, including farmers, wool craftsmen, textile companies, and both vocational and higher education institutions. Le Textile Lab is responsible for the creation of the Woolshed Factory Catalogue and for running a mentoring programme that will incubate three innovative wool-based projects. This pilot focuses on experimenting with rustic wool and integrating it into responsible and circular textile micro-factories.
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Styria (Austria)
Pilot Partner: Impact Hub Vienna (PP8)
Impact Hub Vienna will implement the Austrian pilot in collaboration with FarmLab.at, a fabrication laboratory and farm located in rural Styria. The pilot will test wool-based entrepreneurial ideas and prototypes. Activities include the development of a curriculum on circular business modelling and the production of user-friendly toolkits for trainers. Impact Hub Vienna will also organise train-the-trainer programmes and support programme implementation. The goal is to support early-stage wool innovation and ensure replicable impact models across the Alpine Space. -
Western Slovenia (Slovenia)
Pilot Partners: KGZS Zavod GO (PP5) and InnoRenew CoE (PP6)
This joint Slovenian pilot brings together the regional agricultural institute KGZS Zavod GO and the research centre InnoRenew CoE. KGZS will lead actions related to the mapping and valorisation of sheep breeds, wool quality assessment, and the cataloguing of wool-related cultural heritage. InnoRenew CoE will focus on the development of innovative TRL4 (Technology Readiness Level) products made from low-quality wool residuals, as well as the modelling and optimisation of the value chain. The pilot combines heritage and technological innovation to unlock the regional potential of underutilised wool. -
Neuchâtel (Switzerland)
Pilot Partner: Laines d’ici (PP3)
Laines d’ici operates the Centre régional de la laine in Cernier (Canton of Neuchâtel), and contributes to the project by sharing its expertise in medium-scale mechanised spinning and coarse wool processing. The pilot will address the challenge of wool sorting and cleaning, one of the critical bottlenecks identified in the coarse wool value chain. Activities include the testing and demonstration of processing techniques already in use at their site, with a focus on improving fibre quality and supporting small-scale processors and designers. The main result is the optimisation of wool preparation techniques within a rural context.
Project calendar
