Workshop – Cooperation between trade and industry in the INTERREG project Symcaft, Vienna, December 15, 2025
On December 15, 2025, an intensive workshop was held in Vienna (Wiedner Hauptstraße 63) as part of the Interreg project SYMCRAFT – Creative craft for industrial symbiosis in circular economies with representatives from the BI for arts and crafts and the BI for fashion and clothing technology. The aim was to test the key content and possible applications of SYMCRAFT in a practical setting and to develop them further together. (Interreg Central Europe)
Dr. Madeleine Block led the workshop, structuring the discussions and summarizing the results along with the next implementation steps.
Practical test of the SYMCRAFT service portfolio
The focus was on testing the SYMCRAFT service portfolio—in particular the modules for
- Reuse of industrial waste materials,
- Development of business plans for recycled products and
- legal framework and cooperation agreements between industry and trade.
In the process, challenges and success factors from practical experience were collected and fed directly back into the tool logic (reuse/recycling, eco-business models, legal elements, and cooperation agreements).
Focus: Contracts and collaborations – questionnaire completed
A key item on the agenda was the joint review of the questionnaire for collecting key data on contract components for cooperation between industry and crafts/creative professionals. The aim was to specify the relevant building blocks for successful cooperation models (such as responsibilities, material flows, exploitation, liability, rights/uses, agreement logic).
Practical input from the upcycling sector
Federal Managing Director Iris Dittenbach also mentioned specific upcycling projects and contact points that have already gained experience in this field. These contacts will be specifically addressed as the next step in data collection in order to systematically incorporate practical knowledge and comparative cases into the design of cooperation and contract models.
Informal cooperation as a practical reality
One important practical aspect became particularly clear during the discussion: in many cases, agreements between industry and small creative businesses are not based on formal contracts, but are made verbally or in the context of donations/material transfers. This level of contractual commitment is therefore often very informal – a circumstance that will be relevant for data collection and the subsequent development of practical cooperation and contract models in the project.
Result: important milestone on the path to sustainable business models
The workshop was a very successful step on SYMCRAFT's journey: Together, the foundations were laid for identifying the best business models for recyclable products—while also structuring the necessary contracts and cooperation agreements in such a way that they work in practice between industry and trade/creative professionals.