The Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), has just published the first partial resolution of the call for grants, on a competitive basis, for the promotion of the Circular Economy in the textile, fashion and shoe making sector within the framework of the PERTE (Strategic Project for Economic Recovery and Transformation) of Circular Economy, which can be consulted here. The projects will receive public aid of 30.5 million, which will channel 74.9 million total investment.
Of the 122 applications received, 37 projects have been selected (six of them are carried out by groupings that bring together 13 companies). In terms of their nature; 55.26% are led by medium-sized companies, 31, 57% by small companies and 31.57% by non-SMEs.
They will be executed by the 44 companies that stand out for their commitment to the circularity of their projects, which will receive grants between 110,000 euros and 5.3 million per project. Cofinancing varies between 15% and 60%, depending on the type of action and the size of the entity.
Regarding La Rioja, in the "Category A. Research and Development" have been beneficiaries, in the same file, Nasika Products, SA with 200,111.30 euros and Cauchos Ruiz Alejos, S.A.U. with 152,442.26 euros for the development of the project “Research and development of new formulations of materials free of classified additives of high toxicity and suitable for the preparation of shoe soles with different performance”.
Also, in “Category B. Nasika Products, SA, has benefited with a grant of 217,557.27 euros, with its project “Optimization of production performance through digitalization and automation of processes, with a significant reduction in derived waste and resources used”.
DISTRIBUTION BY AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITIES
The category that most projects groups is the increase in the level of environmental protection of the beneficiaries (environmental improvements of the entity that have an impact on less extraction of resources or less generation of waste, 17 projects and 14.9 million aid), revealing that reducing the consumption of virgin raw materials through improvements in the processes or through the use of recycled materials is one of the major concerns of the companies in this call.
In addition, the action aimed at the advanced management of third-party waste presents eight projects with a support of 9.65 million, which highlights the role that the implementation of innovative technologies that promote the circular economy by closing the cycle in the textile sector is acquiring. In this line, it also highlights that among the beneficiaries there are seven projects for research and development for ecodesign (2.64 million), key to minimizing environmental impacts in textile production and consumption, and five digitization projects for organizational and process innovations (3.36 million).
TYPOLOGY OF PROJECTS
Projects to improve second-hand clothing buying and selling platforms through digital innovations; lines of textile articles with vegetable dyes with optimal environmental properties; production of regenerated thread from discarded coffee or cocoa bags; shoe soles with fewer chemicals; increased incorporation of recycled materials in garments through ecodesign to replace virgin cotton; design and development of a new waste treatment line from footwear to obtain quality materials; a new treatment method to eliminate improper waste such as zippers and buttons; or the sustainable transformation of textile sanitary waste into antimicrobial boards for construction, among others.
The proposed projects are spread over nine Autonomous Communities: Catalonia (20), Cantabria (1), Community of Madrid (1), Valencian Community (8), Galicia (2), Balearic Islands (1), Canary Islands (1), La Rioja (2) and Basque Country (1), being the Valencian Community the region where the project is located with the highest funding that is proposed, with almost 5.3 million euros.
CIRCULAR ECONOMY PEARL
The Circular Economy PERTE, financed by the Next Generation EU funds, aligned with the Spanish Circular Economy Strategy and the European strategies in this field, has grants worth 492 million, with which it is expected to mobilize resources greater than 1.2 billion during its execution.
Within the framework of the PRTR, financed by the European Union – NextGenerationEU, this call seeks to align itself with the European Strategy for the circularity and sustainability of textile products, and with the Spanish Circular Economy Strategy (EEEC), Spain Circular 2030, approved in June 2020. This set of strategies seeks to reduce the presence of hazardous substances in fabrics, prevent the release of microplastics, promote sustainable consumption models, the durability of fabrics, or promote reuse and recycling in closed cycles, promoting circular models to reduce the environmental impacts of the sector.
The Circular Economy PERTE, approved in May 2022 by Agreement of the Council of Ministers, identifies the textile sector as a priority and strategic for Spain in terms of the dynamism of the textile, fashion and clothing sector and footwear in part linked to unsustainable production and consumption models, such as fast and ultra-fast fashion, associated with high environmental impacts marked by low rates of use, reuse, repair and integration of new technologies that allow prevention in the extraction of resources, reuse, repair and recycling of high quality that minimizes the generation of waste.
The textile and fashion and footwear sector contributed 2.7% to the Spanish Gross Domestic Product in 2022, being Spain one of the few countries in the European Union that has a leading industry that includes the preparation of fibers, spinning, weaving, dyeing and finishing, stamping and finishing, as well as dressmakers and leading companies at a global level.
In the European Union, the consumption of textile products, most of which are imported, today represents the fifth most intensive sector in the use of virgin raw materials, and the sixth in its contribution to CO2 emissions that cause climate change.
Every year, around 7 million tons of textile waste are discarded at European level, 900,000 tons in Spain alone where each person disposes of around 20 kilos of clothing per year, of which only 12% are collected separately for reuse or recycling, ending the rest of textile waste in landfills or incinerators, losing its value for the economy.
