Project Partners and Cooperations
Together for a resilient and circular textile economy

Researching and testing together
In the research project RETRAKT, six project partners from research, the textile sector, and the IT industry jointly explore and test how the textile industry can successfully shape the transformation towards a circular economy in accordance with the new EU legislation.
FOM University of Applied Sciences
FOM University of Applied Sciences was founded as an initiative of an economically focused foundation and has university centres in 30 regions in Germany. In addition, since the winter semester 2021, the university has been offering digital live studies, which are broadcasted from multifunctional FOM Studios. As a practically-oriented university for professionals, FOM promotes the transfer of knowledge between the university and business. At the same time, all courses are tailored to the needs of professionals and trainees.
Institut für Textiltechnik of RWTH Aachen
The Institut für Textiltechnik (ITA) of RWTH Aachen University – a university-based research and teaching institution – is the core of the ITA Group International Centre for Sustainable Textiles. The ITA is part of RWTH’s Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and is responsible for the textile-related curriculum of the ‘Plastics and Textile Technology’ study program in various Bachelor's and Master's degrees in mechanical engineering at RWTH Aachen. The ITA Group is an international research and training service provider for fibre-based high-performance materials, textile semi-finished products and their manufacturing processes with about 400 employees. A key future topic is the holistic biotransformation of textile technology to ensure the use of biological principles for circular value-creation processes.
CCE & HumTec of RWTH Aachen University
The Center for Circular Economy (CCE) at RWTH Aachen University brings together the expertise of all faculties and 35 institutes at RWTH Aachen University in the field of sustainable circular economy. It connects member institutes with relevant stakeholders from science, business, administration, politics, and society to jointly research and implement solutions for a circular economy. In this way, the CCE promotes awareness of the social significance of a circular economy and strengthens understanding of its processes and findings. Together with its network partners, the CCE formulates strategies and goals, develops suitable concepts, and puts them into practice. The three core areas of the CCE focus on the development of transdisciplinary and interdisciplinary methods for process optimization throughout the entire product life cycle: sustainable product design, business models, and material recovery.
Das Human Technology Center (HumTec) ist Partner des CCE und fördert interdisziplinäre Forschung zwischen Natur-, Technik-, Sozial- und Geisteswissenschaften.
i2solutions GmbH
As an IT service provider, i2solutions GmbH offers customized solutions for information and control systems for numerous industrial applications.
With around 40 employees, the company provides comprehensive services in the project business, from the conception to the implementation of customized software solutions, meeting the requirements of Industry 4.0. With a strong focus on the security aspects of industrial networks, combined with in-depth experience in software development, i2solutions acts as a reliable partner for companies that want to digitize and optimize their processes.
ORTOVOX
ORTOVOX SPORTARTIKEL GmbH is a German sporting goods manufacturer specialized in mountain sports. The company is known for producing avalanche transceivers, backpacks and functional outdoor and mountain sports apparel. A particular focus is placed on the use of wool. Sustainable thinking guides ORTOVOX’s business activities across all areas.
Thorey
Thorey Gera Textilveredelung GmbH is a textile finishing company that uses wet chemical finishing and functionalization processes to produce high-quality textile fabrics of all kinds according to customer specifications. The company has been applying functional, including adhesion-promoting, coatings to textiles for many years. Thorey’s own development and testing laboratory confirms the properties requested by the customer and offers further research and development work.
Associated Partners
RETRAKT is supported by numerous associated partners from academia, industry, and sector networks. This strong collaboration ensures the effective transfer of research results at the German, European, and global level.



