On 16 June 2026, the Permanent Representation of Portugal to the European Union hosted the conference “Bioeconomy in motion: How Portugal is shaping Europe's sustainable future.” The event, organised through the joint effort of Portuguese footwear industry representatives and institutional partners, brought together policymakers, industry experts, and European partners to discuss the future of the footwear industry within a global contest.

The conference revealed the large scale of environmental challenges that the industry is facing in Europe. As reported by the European Footwear Industry Confederation (CEC) and underscored during the event, the 1.98 billion pairs of shoes which the EU imports every year translate into 1.22 million tonnes of potential waste, thus calling for urgent action to tighten the environmental requirements for the industry. The Portuguese industry presents itself as a sustainable, alternative model, focused on high-quality, sustainable production.
 

Associação Portuguesa Ind. Calçado Componentes Artigos Pele Sucedaneos (APICCAPS) presented the outcome of the BioShoes4All project, funded through the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR). Over the past three years, the project united seventy partners in a consortium to produce fifty new eco-products and biomaterials. This industry-level collaboration aims to accelerate the transition of the footwear value chain towards the bioeconomy, emphasising the importance of biomaterials, innovative processes, digitalisation, and waste recovery. 

The Portuguese footwear industry has driven change and innovation in the bioeconomy through such initiative. The BioShoes4All project is firmly grounded in the principles of biomaterials, ecological footwear, circular economy, advanced production technologies, and training and promotion. Its results indicated that the Portuguese model could be an inspiration for new initiatives focused on innovation, sustainability, and quality.