The collaborative project RETRAKT, formally titled “Resilient Transformation Management for Circular Economy in the Textile Sector (RETRAKT)” is part of the funding initiative “Organisation of Work in European Collaborative Networks (EuKoNet)” within the ESF Plus programme “Future of Work”, which is included in the specialist programme “Future of Value Creation – Research on Production, Services, and Work” of the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR). The project is managed by the Project Management Agency Karlsruhe (PTKA).

Companies from the textile and apparel sector face the challenge of implementing the transition to a circular economy efficiently, effectively, and sustainably, while minimising the associated risks. RETRAKT aims to understand and optimise the existing work and process flows of textile and apparel manufacturers operating within the global textile value chain. This will enable them to produce resource-efficient, circular, and recycling-friendly products in the future. Compliance with environmental regulatory requirements under the European Green Deal is a key driver of the transformation to a circular economy in the textile and apparel industry. Implementing this requires effective product compliance management embedded in operational processes. Existing company procedures in areas such as design, procurement, production, and data management must be adapted to meet new legal requirements. Within RETRAKT, resilience engineering provides the systemic framework as well as the analytical and design tools for this transformation. Unlike traditional safety and management approaches, which focus on error prevention and stability, resilience engineering is based on social science research: it places employees and the adaptive performance of organisations at the centre of consideration. The interaction of people and technical systems in operational processes is referred to as a socio-technical system. Resilience engineering addresses the ability of these systems to function successfully under dynamic, uncertain, and complex conditions. Based on practical analyses of existing company processes, the developed tools and methods are tested in practice together with employees. To support the textile and apparel industry technically, a digital collaboration platform is being established. 

RETRAKT contributes to EU objectives by supporting the transition of the textile and apparel sector towards resource-efficient, circular, and recycling-oriented production. By developing practical tools, frameworks, and digital platforms, the project strengthens the resilience and adaptive capacity of companies within global value chains. RETRAKT promotes compliance with environmental and circular economy regulations, encourages knowledge exchange across industries, and enhances the capacity of European textile companies to implement sustainable production strategies. These efforts align with EU strategies to foster circular value chains, reduce resource use and waste, and strengthen the competitiveness, sustainability, and innovation potential of the European textile ecosystem.

Find more information on RETRAKT here:

https://retrakt.de/en/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/retrakt 

info@retrakt.de