Bio-based local sustainable circular wear

2026-07-22

HEREWEAR innovates with a holistic, systemic approach towards the creation of an EU market for locally-produced circular textiles and clothing made from bio-based waste. New material solutions will build on the latest bio-based polyesters and cellulose developments. Three novel waste streams (seaweed, manure, straw) will be developed for cellulosic textile fibres. Emerging sustainable technologies for wet and melt spinning, for yarn and fabric making, will be developed and piloted at semi-industrial scale. For finishing innovation, coating and colouring biobased agents will be evolved. Microfibre release will be significantly reduced via measures all along the textile manufacturing process. Garment prototypes for streetwear and corporate clothing will be produced by connecting up microfactories, organised into regional value creation circles; or by platform-supported, networked production resources. Use phase and end-of-life processing management - repair, re-use, recycle - will be implemented through novel structures. Full transparency will be provided through blockchain-enabled labelling and the configuration of a digital twin, informed with LCA information. A database and guidelines will be produced to support the design of fashion goods; with a focus on the best performance for bio-based materials and for reuse/recycling. Further guidelines will help the industry to take-up these results. The consortium includes 6 research organisations, 1 LE and 8 SMEs coming from EU and 1 from US. To maximise impact, we will build on the TCBL community (>240 sustainable textile businesses) and use the SOURCEBOOK platform (>25000 organisations). Via these networks, blueprints for the transition to bio-based circular textiles will be shared and implemented. That way HEREWEAR aims to establish a bio-based circular textile clothing market segment of ca. €300 million, thus trying to maintain ca. 1200 textile manufacturing jobs in EU.

Belgium

2025-11-01