Within the framework of the Action Plan, the cluster shows interest in the following two projects that were presented by several of the associates and other partners and that deal with topics of intersectoral interest for various supply chains and fields of Made in Italy:
– the project GIOTTO, which is dedicated to the new processes connected to the circular economy, through the study of their application in fields such as wood-furnishing, textile and clothing, and agrifood;
– the project FUNK ITALY, dedicated to research, design, and prototyping innovative products through functionalization. The project aims to provide high-performance features to products focusing on fabrics and leathers and their several different uses.
project GIOTTO
The main goal of the project GIOTTO is to spread the implementing tools of circular economy in the field of Made in Italy – which have a predominance of SMEs – through research and experiment activities. It works between complementary and multi-disciplinary actors (Universities, technology transfer Centers) operating along the wood-furnishing, fashion, and – partially – agrifood supply chains. The goal is to guide the enterprises and their production processes towards an approach that leads to lower the environmental impact of the products throughout their entire life-cycle: from the extraction of raw materials to production, distribution, use, and up to waste management, measuring the circularity of products.
The concept idea’s general goal is to spread new models – which are studies, guidelines, design criteria, standard regulations, procedures, innovative processes, and technical tools – with a view to favouring the development of a circular economy within the supply chains of Made in Italy.
The workgroups focused on six implementation objectives:
1. Analyzing the structure of the market and the various regulatory, economic, and cultural aspects concerning the productions along the supply chains operating in wood-furnishing, fashion, and agrifood.
2. Analyzing excellent case studies in terms of environmental sustainability according to Life Cycle Design criteria and developing standards and guidelines for environmentally sustainable design.
3. Researching environmentally friendly materials to develop products for the wood-furnishing and fashion supply chains
4. Design and development of innovative, eco-friendly products for the wood-furnishing and fashion supply chains
5. Validation of innovative products in technical terms and analysis of the life cycle
6. Design and development of innovative processes for waste sorting and recovery of waste products
Download a description and the deliverable of the project GIOTTO here.
The Cluster MinIT associates can download the project deliverables from the reserved area
project FUNK ITALY
The goal of the project FUNK ITALY lies in research, design, and prototyping of innovative products, typical of Made in Italy, functionalized to give high performance features combined with aesthetic and quality characteristics, distinctive of the supply chains of Made in Italy.
The project establishes the implementation of innovative functions on new products (in-process or final ones) that are typical of the Made in Italy productions: new fabrics or leathers; new items of clothing; new footwear; new furnishing accessories.
The project does not only deal with the topic relating to Advanced Functionalization schemes, which is a strategic topic for the Cluster, but most importantly, because – among its course of activities – it carries out consistent research with several technological trends of the Action Plan.
The workgroups focused on four implementation objectives:
1. Water-and oil-repellent treatment with treatments worked with plasma on textile and leather products.
2. Functionalization through printing processes with graphene of non-cellulosic fabrics for sportswear aiming to enhance the thermal performance of the clothing
3. Conductive functionalization with new multi-functional coating materials with nanoparticles with graphene and derivatives of cellulosic-based textile substrates
4. Surface functionalization for marking materials using sol-gel technology.
