"<< Background >>Over 70 % of the textiles and apparel imported into the EU originates from Asia (China, Bangladesh, Turkey, India, Cambodia, Vietnam, etc). However, the EU is still the second largest textile and clothing exporting country after China (Statista,2019) , with an export value of textiles around 66 billion U.S. dollars. At the same time, the EU remains the leader in importing textiles and apparel accounting for over 23% of the global imports, according to WTO. The industry employs 1.5 million people, spread across more than 160.000 companies in the EU, most of which are SMEs, with an EU annual turnover of EUR 162 billion in 2019. Over 1900 chemicals are used in the production of clothing, of which 165 the EU classifies as hazardous to health or the environment. What is more, many clothing companies face issues with labour conditions throughout their supply chains from developing countries (Mckinsey,2016) , including child labour, low wages, and health hazards. The EU has implemented several regulations regarding environmental challenges in the clothing industry. REACH (Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006) bans a list of chemical products in the production of clothing. ECOLABEL (Regulation (EC) N. 66/2010) is a not compulsory process that certifies the environmental sustainability of clothing. The recent EU initiative for a strategy for sustainable textiles aims at assisting “the EU shift to a climate-neutral, circular economy where products are designed to be more durable, reusable, repairable, recyclable and energy-efficient.” The EC has also undertaken some preliminary steps on due diligence requirements through the supply chain to tackle human rights abuses. Being among the most polluting industries but also the most profitable ones, it is crucial for the textile and clothing sector to move towards a more sustainable and ethical future. To make a successful transition, the industry needs to address also among others the skills challenges of the employees in the sector. According to International Labour Organisation (2019) new skills are and will increasingly be required across the entire Textile, Clothing, Leather and Footwear (TCLF) supply chain, not only in relation to new production processes, but also in areas such as design, finance, product development, logistics, marketing, sales and customer service. Green jobs need to include a range of jobs that aren’t traditionally thought of as green – such as fashion designers or vehicle maintenance technicians – because how people perform these jobs will have a major impact on whether economies meet their climate goals. Employers expect all members of their workforce to be actively thinking about how to do their jobs more sustainably. In the future it will become increasingly important to manage skills development and skill shortages in order to ensure that employers and workers are able to adapt to new technologies, new materials and growing pressure to manufacture products in an environmentally sustainable way. Acknowledging the need for shifting the clothing and textile industry into a more sustainable and ethical industry at all levels and aligning with the EU legislation and values and the Sustainable Development Goals , especially Goal 12 ""Ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns"", ECOMODA aims at developing a high-level adult training for companies to upskill their strategy on environmental, social and economic sustainability at managerial and leadership level. What is more, by taking example of the largest global companies and their managerial strategy on engaging employees in the corporate sustainability strategy of the enterprise, ECOMODA will develop a specialised blended training and tools that will raise awareness among employees in the clothing and textile industry on sustainability and provide them with incentives in order to formulate and propose their own plans/ideas.<< Objectives >>The objectives of ECOMODA are:- To raise awareness on the importance of sustainable and ethical development in the textile and apparel sector with special focus on Small and Medium sized enterprises.- To design and pilot a high quality e-learning course to upskill the managerial level of enterprises operating in the textiles and apparel sector as well as designers to equip them with the needed knowledge to transform their enterprises.- To upskill the workforce of the aforementioned companies through blended learning in sustainability.- To foster a participatory culture in enterprises where everyone contributes actively to sustainability goals and to support both employers/managers and employees via a digital platform.- Finally, to make it possible for all parties involved to identify the environmental and social impacts of the industry and implement a strategy for the sustainable and ethical development of their enterprise.<< Implementation >>Project implementation previews three different work phases: Phase 1: Preparation and scoping. - Identify the stakeholders that can be involved in the project; - Establish contact with the stakeholders and define how the process of keeping this relationship alive and thriving throughout the project duration will be; - Planning different meetings to obtain a solid learning about the needs and expectations of the stakeholders within the project. - Analyse the European and international framework related to the main economic, environmental and social impacts in the clothing industry; - Joint staff training on e-learningPhase 2: Development A. - Design of the learning modules of the e-learning course, based on the research and the stakeholder’s expertise. - Development of the e-learning course for sustainable growth in the clothing sector (PR1) in seven different languages; - Definition of a strategy to pilot the e-learning course; - Pilot implementation; - Revision and adjustment of the modules’B. – Design of a blended learning course for employees of the apparel and textile industry to contribute to the sustainable and ethical growth of SMEs (PR2) – Development of courses’ modules; – Piloting of the course with employees; –Finalisation of the course.C. Development of the : My eco-enterprise” digital platform technicalities; - Collection of materials for the development of the strategic roadmap; - Peer review of the materials; - Technical development of wiki tool for employee collaboration; - Development of quiz questions for measuring corporate sustainability; - Alpha testing with partners; -Beta testing with end users; - National versions; - Launching the platform.Phase 3: Scaling up- Within the project, an online interorganizational network for sustainable development in clothing sector will be created; - Dissemination of the e-learning course, distribution of newsletters; - Multiplier events with clothing sector partners and local authorities; - Publication in a scientific journal or conference; - Campaign on Facebook and LinkedIn; - Impact and sustainability analysis of the project.<< Results >>ECOMODA is an apparel and textile industry sector specific project, which views in the promotion and adoption of European policies, values and ethics regarding environmental-friendly and respecting principles of corporate social responsibility practices and in employees’ active involvement in the improvement of their companies’ processes as well as those of their supply chain in this respect. Its importance relies on the sectors’ volume in terms of economic impact and employment on one hand and on the fact that the sector constitutes one of the main pollutants on the other. The project impact will be also based on the interest in using its results, participation in networks, outreach in the sector and media coverage of the project partners. ECOMODA project planning, development and application is based on sustainability approaches in order to promote the main ideas and reach the expected results. The results are going to boost both the ethical development in the textile/apparel sector and the quality of its products, and in the end, its competitiveness. The project results will be:- An on-line course for SMEs’ owners, managers, designers and textile manufacturers on shifting to a sustainable and ethical enterprise- A blended learning course on sustainability and ethics for employees in the apparel and textile industry.- An online platform that contains a strategic roadmap toolkit, a wiki tool for employees to formulate their ideas on sustainability and ethics grow into a proposal and engage with their employers/managers, a fun quiz for employers and employees to test how sustainable their enterprise is and a success story subpage with narrations of changes companies have adopted.After the implementation of the project, SMEs’ owners in the clothing sector, managers & directors, designers and textile manufacturers as well as employees of companies operating in the textile and clothing sector will be able to identify the environmental and social impacts of their company and implement a strategy for its sustainable and ethical development."