The Bio-based local sustainable circular wear “HEREWEAR”, funded by Horizon 2020, aimed to reduce microfiber release, implement digital tools for local textile production, and assess environmental and social impacts while fostering an EU-wide network for circular economy practices.

The project developed new material solutions that built on bio-based polyesters and cellulose developments. Specifically, they transformed three novel waste streams (seaweed, manure, straw) into cellulosic textile fibres. Centexbel was responsible for coordinating the project and developing high-strength filaments and fibers using melt spinning, creating comfort-focused filaments and fibers through wet spinning, producing hybrid yarns with improved functional properties, scaling up and optimising the spinning processes to generate materials for later stages, and establishing guidelines for industrial-scale wet and melt spinning in garment production. Key outcomes include 1 policy brief, the collection of several 100s of samples, the production of 50+ garment prototypes, the publication of several academic papers (at least 5), the development of 40+ resources available in the HEREWEAR Hub, and the establishment of a community of over 200 actors related to sustainable textiles in EU.