Projects

The  textile  and  fashion  industry  are  one  of  the  most  important  manufacturing  industries  in  Europe; they  are,  however,  also  the  second  biggest  global  polluter  after the  oilindustry.  The  United  Nations(UN), in February 2018, described "Fast Fashion" as an environmental emergency.The  European  Union(EU)is  currently leading  the  work  globally  on  the  environmental  challenges  of the  textile  and  fashion  industry,  taking  concrete  steps,at  legislative,policy  andprogrammatic  level. This  has  positively  impacted  EU  SMEs working inthese  industries,  as  more  and  more  of  them  are shifting  towards  more  sustainable  modes  of  design,  production  and  recycle.  As  such,  these companies are achievingelements of differentiationand competitive improvement in the market. The FASCINATEproject   aims   to  leverage   this   competitive   advantage,   by   helping   shape   the   EU sustainable  fashion  and  textile  meta-cluster(s)  and  at  the  same  time  support  them  in  accessing  the global value chains.Thus,the proposed project contributes directly to theoverall objective of the COSME programme,by  fostering  the  creation  and  development  of  a European  Strategic  Cluster  Partnership –Going International (ESCP-4i)in the textile/fashion sectorandrelated industries (footwear and technology) based  on  circulareconomy  and  sustainability  principles,  which  is  oriented  towards  increased internationalizationand strengthened sustainability of European SMEs.