• The Lithuanian Minister of Environment Simonas Gentvilas, representatives of Eurotex and professors from the universities of Kaunas, Piedmont and Veneto presented the main barriers that the textile sector must face to combat climate change
• Partner Finnova presented the CirCoAX by CircularInnoBooster and Adelante Ventana 2 projects and multiple European funding tools to develop sustainable innovations in the sector

The EU4Bussines textile consortium together with Eurochambres held a hybrid conference on Thursday 6 October in Kaunas, Lithuania, which was attended by leading experts in this area where they presented the main points to combat and proposals and projects to address these issues. Among the speakers, the presence of the partner Finnova Foundation and its general director, Juan Manuel Revuelta, who presented the CirCoAX by CircularInnoBooster project co-financed by the European Commission under the COSME programme, its extensions at European level with the Nextextilegeneration initiative and in Latin America with the Adelante Ventana 2 initiative.

CirCoAX by CircularInnoBooster was an example of good practice in this conference, which was celebrating its sixth edition. This year, the Lithuanian Minister of the Environment, Simonas Gentvilas, European entities active in the sector such as Eurotex, and professors from the universities of Kaunas, Piemonte and Veneto met to discuss sustainability and circular economy in the textile sector. The Spanish-Belgian foundation Finnova added value with the presentation of its initiatives Nextextilegeneration, a platform that gives visibility to the 4 COSME projects that share the same objective of transforming fashion and textiles, and Adelante Ventana 2, an initiative that, together with the Chamber of Commerce of Bogotá and the Sustainable Fashion Cluster of Peru, aims to promote sustainability in the fashion sector for its internationalisation, through a programme of cooperation activities.

In addition to sharing the good practices and vision of alliances created with this European fashion and textile project, Revuelta also highlighted the importance of the European Union’s financial tools to achieve the necessary transformation of this highly polluting sector. Among others, he mentioned the NextGenerationEU funds which, with 2,018 trillion euros, is the largest economic recovery plan in history, 12 times the Marshall Plan. He also highlighted the LIFE ENVIRONMENT programme, a tool aimed at innovation in climate change mitigation and adaptation with a total budget of 5.4 billion euros for this 2021-2027 framework.  

Revuelta’s intervention highlighted a holistic approach to European political and financial strategies. In this sense, the director of Finnova took up the New European Bauhaus to highlight that projects such as CirCoAX by CircularInnoBooster and its 30 accelerated entities will be supported under this programme. He therefore invited those present to take advantage of financial tools and create projects together. “Some, such as INTERREG, which allow the exchange of good practices and cooperation, or, in view of 2023, which will be the European year of skills and competences, the ERASMUS programme, can boost training in digitisation in the sector,” he concluded.

About COSME   

COSME is the Competitiveness of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises programme of the European Commission’s Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME).  

Through this programme, assistance is provided to SMEs to help them develop their business models, access finance, and internationalise. It also supports public administrations in improving the business environment and facilitating economic growth in the European Union. During the 2014-2020 funding period, this programme earmarked €2.3 billion to support SMEs. 

About Finnova  

Finnova is a foundation working for the promotion and development of innovation and entrepreneurship at EU level. Based in Brussels, it operates through collaborations and partnerships in all EU countries. Finnova’s expertise in leading European project communication and dissemination activities is combined with a strong proven track record in start-ups and business support programmes, such as accelerators, incubators and ceremonial event selection and awarding.