How can the DPP affect the cultural and creative industries?
About thirty actors from the textile and fashion industry, the manufacturing industry and the arts and crafts field, as well as researchers from different disciplines, gathered in Future by Lund's premises to discuss how upcoming regulations and investments in the textile field, together with innovations around sustainable manufacturing, can affect textiles, fashion and crafts. The participants' work is then compiled within ekip and provides input to future EU policy recommendations for innovations in the cultural and creative industries (CCPs) *. Lund University is leading the work and Future by Lund is one of 18 players across Europe. The workshop was led by Birgitta Persson and Katarina Scott.
* (we use KKN here but see it as broadly synonymous with Cultural and Creative Sectors, FGM, and Cultural and Creative Industries, KKB).
- Today's work means that we as a group look at new ideas, strategic interventions and investigate new constellations, says Katarina Scott. With the help of the concrete, we can provide feedback to the policy group.
Lund University and Future by Lund have developed a methodology in which, among other things, OECD/OPSI:S The diamond model, which categorizes innovations, is included together with the Future by Lund Zone Model, which explains what kind of spacing work is carried out. This package also includes a canvas with a methodology for discussing possible innovation portfolios. (Read more about the Future by Lund method
MCRS (Multicircular and Sustainable Manufacturing Industry) is a project that investigates, among other things, how the introduction of the Digital Product Passport (DPP) can enable a circular and sustainable manufacturing industry. DPP is the digital twin of a product, and by providing products with DPP, transparency will increase. In this way, materials, production, logistics, certificates of authenticity, the possibility of repair and recycling, as well as the connection with designers and artists can be made clearer to consumers, which is assumed to increase the durability of products.
- The workshop is an opportunity for teams and MCRS to dive into microproduction and see how we can create models for the future, says Lars Mattiasson, project manager for MCRS. We can see the introduction of the DPP as a support for the craft sector, as an enabler for a whole new manufacturing industry and as the starting point for many new sustainable business models. We see that a lot of new things will happen in terms of transparency and verification but also that it will provide completely new opportunities, such as through increased storytelling.
The participants saw the DPP as an enabler to elevate crafts and develop, for example, the textile industry to a more sustainable level by collecting data that does not exist today. Several people in the group highlighted the importance of platforms that can unify what is part of the DPP. They noted that there are already those who work with similar information but that they are rarely paired. The platform could be made possible through enhanced funding and could deliver a sustainable standard as a base for not putting too much pressure on consumers. This is also linked to the importance of establishing trust in the entire value chain, from producer to consumer and at every step in between.
- An important question is what kind of information customers need to access, says Anna Keiser Lagesson, Tailorstore. What information can the producer provide without disclosing trade secrets, but at the same time provide the transparency necessary to verify compliance with the EU acquis? We need to make the information available to everyone at all levels and so that everyone understands and trusts it. An important function is also to enable consumers to add their own information.
One group presented the possibilities of producing garments through 3D printing to decentralize production and enable more people to work on a smaller scale.
- This can reduce overproduction in the textile industry, says Rebecca Josefsson, Swedish Textile. We talked about how blockchain technology can enable communication between local production hubs and create greater transparency in the value chain. Producing textiles with high traceability is quite possible with today's technology, but we need the mechanical infrastructure to be able to manufacture yarns from different fibers locally in Sweden. With a fast-footed and local production, a fibre hub could produce yarn which is then passed on to smaller, local manufacturers.
For this to happen, funding and new infrastructure are needed.
- What can be really new is the interface between the different parts, from the yarn to the knitting machine and the shop to the sales platform, says Charlotte Lorentz Hjorth, Future by Lund. This is linked to a production where AI is used and could enable a new use of fibres, such as freeze-dried wool in 3D production.
One aspect of DPP is exploring the potential of reusing materials and making new material out of leftover resources. One group also renamed the waste “unloved material” (Unloved material) to highlight that it is a resource.
- Actually having the product passport could increase the value of what is now seen as garbage, says Christian Svensson, home crafts consultant at Hemslöjden in Skåne. Product Passport makes it easier to sort, find, give away, love it and make sure it's reused.
With a changing manufacturing industry, there will of course also be room for new solutions and innovations. Therefore, one group also highlighted the importance of scaling innovations and making business out of them.
- We need to discuss the business model from the beginning, says Marie Löwegren, School of Economics. It is particularly important to emphasise this when it comes to the cultural sector, because it is often forgotten. We need to implement more economic thinking in the sector which can also create more independence.
One of the groups discussed an idea called “on demand rapid prototyping” as a sub-category of the DPP. The underlying idea is to drive innovation and work on change through small series of prototypes. This could be done by constantly proposing new solutions, new ideas and using both SMEs (SMEs) and industry as laboratories for change. The important thing then is to use businesses with a fast process, where there is knowledge, competence and skills.
- We see many advantages of the idea, such as a diversification of product brands, which means that we get more companies, jobs, more customized products for consumers but also a more resource-efficient system, says Peter Kisch, Future by Lund. The question is also what kind of innovation support could help us. One can be collective use of production infrastructure for testing, another way is crowdfunding systems for innovative actions and the third to develop prosument communities (a prosument is simultaneously both producer and consumer, increasingly common for example in the electricity market) which can also drive development.
During the workshop, a rich material was produced by the groups walking through the steps on the canvas used within the LIEPT model. The material will be analysed and a basis for policy recommendations will be produced.