According to figures from the European Footwear Industry Confederation (CEC), around 1.22 million tonnes of footwear imported by the European Union each year end up in landfill.

The figures presented at the conference ‘Bioeconomy in Motion: How Portugal is Shaping Europe’s Sustainable Future’, which was organised by the Portuguese Footwear Association (APICCAPS) on the 16^th of June as part of the BioShoes4All project, reveal the scale of the environmental challenges associated with footwear consumption in Europe, as well as the urgent need to accelerate the transition to more sustainable and circular business models.

The organisation indicated that European Union countries import approximately 1.98 billion pairs of shoes every year. Assuming an average weight of 616 grams per pair, this equates to approximately 1.22 million tonnes of potential waste, which is comparable to the weight of numerous large commercial aeroplanes.

These figures emerge at a time when Brussels is tightening environmental requirements for the fashion and footwear industry by promoting measures that encourage product durability, material recycling, and waste reduction throughout the value chain.

Portuguese footwear: an example for Europe

Valdis Dombrovskis, the European Commissioner for Economy and Productivity who coordinates the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), described the Portuguese footwear industry as a model for how Europe can increase its competitiveness by focusing on innovation, sustainability, and quality, highlighting the results achieved by the BioShoes4All project.

In a message delivered in Brussels by Arnolds Eizensmits, a member of the Commissioner’s cabinet responsible for Portugal, Dombrovskis emphasised that the footwear sector demonstrates the ability of European industry to compete in international markets “not by being the cheapest, but by being better and more reliable”. 

“The footwear sector in Portugal is part of the country’s industrial identity. It brings together skilled workers, family-run businesses, exporters, designers, technology centres, researchers and suppliers”, he said, adding that the Portuguese industry has shown “a remarkable ability to adapt” to the new demands of global markets.

The European official also highlighted the importance of the BioShoes4All project, emphasising that “it supports areas directly linked to future competitiveness”, such as biomaterials, resource efficiency, digital tools, waste recovery, and the connection between research and industry. “This is the kind of investment Europe needs”. 

Luís Onofre, the President of APICCAPS, believes that “the current European model is not sustainable”. The Portuguese footwear industry has therefore sought to position itself at the forefront of this transformation by investing in innovation projects related to biomaterials, waste reuse and the development of new, more efficient production processes. Initiatives such as BioShoes4All specifically address the challenges posed by new European environmental requirements.

In front of representatives from European institutions, policymakers, business leaders, and researchers, APICCAPS and the Portuguese Footwear Technology Centre presented the results of a transformation process that has attracted over 70 million euros in investment in recent years, much of which was supported by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP). “While many are discussing the future, we have chosen to build it”, said Luís Onofre, arguing that Portugal is demonstrating how European reindustrialisation can be achieved in practice. 

According to Onofre, the Portuguese sector has chosen a different path to that of many competing economies. “Portugal has not chosen to compete on price. It has chosen to compete based on knowledge, innovation, sustainability, technology and creativity”, he highlighted. 

This vision gave rise to BioShoes4All, one of the largest collaborative projects ever developed by the national industry. It brings together companies, technology centres, universities and brands around a common goal: to develop the footwear of the future. “It will be more sustainable, smarter, more transparent and more European”, summarised Luís Onofre.

Maria José Ferreira, coordinator of BioShoes4All, says that this mobilising project brings together around 70 partners and is structured around five strategic pillars: biomaterials, eco-friendly footwear, the circular economy, advanced production technologies, and capacity building and promotion. “Over the last few years, it has enabled the development of new products, biomaterials, recycling solutions, more efficient production processes, and digital tools aimed at reducing the industry's environmental impact”, she emphasised.

At a time when the European Union is seeking to reduce external dependencies, strengthen strategic value chains, and rebuild industrial capacity, the Portuguese experience was presented as a concrete example of how the industry can be part of the solution. “It is a solution for competitiveness, innovation and skilled employment, as well as for Europe’s strategic autonomy”, said Luís Onofre.