Policy Learning to Unlock Skills in the TEXtile sector
Textile and Clothing (T&C) is one of the major manufacturing industries of the EU-27 in terms of production volumes, added value and jobs. This sector has been heavily hit by the recent crisis and has steadily lost competitiveness in the last few years. 

Three main strategies have been adopted by T&C SMEs to remain globally competitive:
1) a cost-oriented approach - relocating production to lower labour cost countries;
2) a productivity-oriented approach based on ICT to develop global sourcing networks;
3) a knowledge-intensive and innovation-oriented approach pursuing market diversification towards high-quality and special textiles products.

The PLUSTEX project aims to foster policies that enhance the knowledge- and innovation-oriented approach and thereby support SMEs of the T&C sector in their need for modernisation, innovation and strategic transformation to adapt to global challenges. It aims to deliver GPs to support the creation of new business models, manufacturing
technologies and marketing strategies with a sharper focus on quality, technology, design, sustainability, and user-driven production. 

The approach of the project is to mobilise public authorities  and stakeholders with a strong presence of the T&C sector in their territories to share their best policy solutions that can help restructuring the  existing models of productivity and economic development.  By collecting, analysing, exchanging and transfering successful good practices, the project will allow the partners to learn from each other and increase the effectiveness of their policies to support the entire value chain of the T&C sector. 

According to the partners' policy priorities, the focus of the experience exchange will be on the following six policy areas:
1. support young entrepreneurship and innovative business models in the T&C sector; 
2. diversify production towards high-quality, speciality and high-tech textiles and niche products;
3. increase levels of  art, design and creativity into market production;
4. support clustering and internationalisation of T&C SMEs;    
5. foster eco-innovation and social responsibility in the T&C industry;
6. foster T&C incubation and start-ups.        
These themes will be the focus of a series of interregional exchange activities (Policy Learning Cycles) that will allow the partners to capitalise upon their most successful good practices.

The project will eventually deliver Implementation Plans defining how the partners’ policy making levels can best integrate the policy lessons into their strategic objectives. These Plans will be formalised as Partnerships for Regional Innovation that will identify the key actors and measures that can durably capitalise upon the project's results within the local/regional policy framework.