The Romanian Textile Concept Cluster was established on May 23, 2011 under the motto “SOLVING TOGETHER THE COMMON PROBLEMS.”
Our main goal is to create an environment where our members will be able to sustain and develop their activity, as well as to create, develop and implement programs that lead to the sustainable development of the textile industry. The cluster is a natural platform for public-private partnership in the textile industry, which includes members from the industry (manufacturers), the research and development sector (universities, research institutions), public authorities and companies with catalytic role (consulting firms, marketing – advertising, transport, etc.).
The specific goals set by the cluster are related to increasing the competitiveness in terms of the products, the labour force, the distribution and access to new markets through innovation, research, marketing tools and methods of communication, of training – education for the work force involved.
A. INCREASING THE COMPETITIVENESS OF THE PRODUCTS BY RESEARCH – DEVELOPMENT
- Promoting new methods which lead to the increase of the added value of the products made by companies within the cluster, to the efficient use of the resources, both material and energetic.
- Creating and organising a “Textile Technological Centre” within which will be promoted innovative new technologies that will lead to the development of new sub-sectors: technical textiles, smart textiles, eco-design, etc., in collaboration with other sectors and disciplines.
- Facilitating the access of the cluster members to research and innovation projects, both as leaders, and in various national and transnational partnerships.
- Creating the cluster’s own brand under a single concept of a designer, featuring the technical possibilities of the cluster members – one example being the collection “Marama”, created by the designer Andreea Tincu, member of the cluster, which includes products made by other members, using the existing technological possibilities of these companies.
B. MARKETING, INTERNATIONALIZATION, COMMUNICATION
- Creating programs to stimulate people’s desire to consume “Romanian products”, to grow and promote this concept and, on the other hand, to increase the openness of the producers towards the consumers, trends and design.
- Developing a system of distribution for the products made by the cluster members.
- The possibility to access certain target markets for the cluster members through participation in national and international fairs.
- Cooperation between the members of the cluster, e.g. accessing and negotiating together for raw materials and other services in order to decrease the costs, opportunities to create common collections under a concept (according to the trends).
- Easy communication between the cluster members – by using modern means of communication.
- Finding marketing and communications systems to help the manufacturers in particular, the cluster in general, but also the society (Romanian product / brand).
C. TRAINING, EDUCATION
- Developing training systems and incentives to promote the professions of the industry and to qualify the current and future workforce in the industry (promoting, improving and increasing the attractiveness of the occupations in the textile sector).
- Supporting and attracting new talents (fashion designers) through training programs / internships in the factories of the members, creating start-ups for young people.
- Improving the working conditions for the cluster members through the OHSAS 18001 and SA 8000 implementation and certification
- Creating a system in order to attract and train the available workforce in order to develop products other than the industrially processed ones, enabling thus the socio-professional integration of the vulnerable categories (especially women).
The strategy applied by the cluster in order to achieve its objectives is to improve, nationally and internationally, both its image as a credible organisation, and the one of its members and of the products made by them, this going to be achieved through participation in and organization of various themed events, through participation in specialized fairs, etc. The cluster also supports and strengthens the position of its members within the industry by implementing innovative services, products, concepts and technologies developed within the cluster.