MATREC is a company specializing in consulting on sustainable materials and products, trends, market scenarios, and eco-friendly product innovation. Today MATREC cooperates with Companies, Research Institutes, Architects and Designers through the provision of a variety of services and the opening of its International Observatory for Innovative Sustainability made up of thousands of materials and products, in order to promote the research, design, and development of new socially and environmentally sustainable products.
In 2002 MATREC created the first Eco-Materials Library solely dedicated to recycled materials. The project was also launched with the support of major national recycling consortia – Corepla, Comieco, and Cial. In 2006 MATREC expanded to include recycled materials and natural materials in its data base. Partnerships with companies, Universities, and Research Centers allowed MATREC to take an international reach and build a network for daily collection of information on sustainable materials and products. In 2014 MATREC has become Sustainable Materials & Trends. Leveraging on the network established in time, MATREC has developed into an International Observatory for Sustainable Innovation of materials and products as a supporting consulting service at companies for: research on sustainable and innovative materials, development of new products of high social and environmental value, definition of social and environmental sustainability trends and market scenarios for different product types.
The authority on world dress – discover a wide range of text and images from across cultures and throughout history. Biographies of important designers, 150,000 fashion images, 100+ ebooks on fashion including Berg Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion
Since 1995 Core77.com has served a devoted global audience of industrial designers ranging from students through seasoned professionals. Core77 publishes articles, discussion forums, updates on materials, an extensive event calendar, hosts portfolios, job listings, a database of design firms, schools, vendors and services. Core77 provides a gathering point for designers and enthusiasts alike by producing design competitions, lecture series, parties, and exhibits.
GreenFILE offers well-researched information covering all aspects of human impact to the environment. Its collection of scholarly, government and general-interest titles includes content on global warming, green building, pollution, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, recycling, and more. The database provides indexing and abstracts for more than 384,000 records, as well as Open Access full text for more than 4,700 records.
Material District stimulates and inspires architects, designers and producers to apply materials to their designs. The company is a knowledge centre for developments and innovations in materials, and their applications for architecture and design. Material District is familiar with many innovative materials from all over the world, as well having knowledge of their specific characteristics.
A companion to the Transmaterial books written by Blaine Brownell and published by Princeton Architectural Press, Transmaterial online is intended to be a clear, concise, accessible, and carefully edited resource that provides information about the latest and most intriguing materials commercially available.
Books and eBooks
Manufacturing Processes for Textile and Fashion Design by Rob Thompson; Martin Thompson