Projectes

FutureProofTextiles: SME Support for Digital and Green Resilience

Project facts

Project starting date 1 October 2025
Project end date 30 September 2028
Project duration36 months

Partners

  1. UNIWA (University of West Attica, Greece) – Project coordinator, responsible for overall management, financial oversight, and research contributions.
  2. BCCI (Bursa Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Turkey) – Regional economic development partner, supporting SME access to funding and market expansion.
  3. BUTEKOM (Turkey, affiliated to BCCI) – Research and innovation center specializing in advanced textile technologies and sustainable production methods.
  4. AECIM (Spain) – Business association contributing to SME capacity-building, market research, and policy engagement.
  5. CS-POINTEX (Italy) – Expertise in textile innovation, digitalization, and sustainable material development.
  6. GREMI TEXTIL (Spain) – Industry representative supporting SMEs in green and digital textile transformation.
  7. GW LLC (Ukraine) – Textile sector stakeholder focusing on digital transformation and sustainability initiatives.
  8. CCE (Cluster of Circular Economy, Ukraine) – Supporting circular economy principles and sustainable textile innovations.
  9. BDC (Bulgaria) – Cluster organization focusing on SME development, training, and innovation acceleration.

About the project

The FutureProofTextiles project aims to support 40 SMEs in the textile industry as they navigate the twin transitions toward digital transformation and green sustainability. The textile sector, vital to Europe’s economy, faces significant challenges in adopting advanced technologies and sustainable practices, especially among SMEs with limited resources.

This project provides direct financial support, capacity building, and collaborative opportunities to empower SMEs and enhance their resilience, competitiveness, and innovation potential. The project will offer €50,000 cascade funding grants to 40 SMEs—20 focusing on digital innovation (automation, AI, data analytics) and 20 on green initiatives (circular economy practices, waste reduction, sustainable material use). SMEs will also benefit from training, mentoring, and access to a collaborative innovation space.

Key objectives

  • Facilitate the adoption of digital tools and technologies to improve efficiency and productivity in the textile sector.
  • Promote sustainable practices by integrating circular economy principles, reducing waste, and enhancing resource efficiency.
  • Build capacity among SMEs through tailored training, mentoring, and technical support.
  • Strengthen cross-border collaboration to create a connected and innovative ecosystem for textile SMEs.

Expected outcomes

  • Implementation of transformative digital and green projects by 40 SMEs.
  • Enhanced resilience, competitiveness and sustainability across the European textile sector.
  • Creation of replicable models and best practices for SME support in digital and green transitions.
  • Contribution to EU priorities such as carbon neutrality, resource efficiency, and digital transformation.
FutureProofTextiles aligns with the EU’s Green Deal and Circular Economy Action Plan. By empowering SMEs with the right tools and resources, the project supports long-term sector resilience and competitiveness.

 

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/company/future-proof-textiles/