The footwear industry is still struggling to identify and implement ecologically sound methods for producing its ware and recycling raw materials. Highly fragmented and composed largely of small and medium-sized enterprises, shoe manufacturers rarely employ environmental specialists, leading to potential oversight of economically viable green solutions. The widespread use of adhesives and solvents in footwear manufacturing and recycling are especially could notably benefit from streamlining into a more resource-efficient industrial process. The manufacturing, transportation, and recycling of materials in footwear production also have great room for improvement toward both cost- and resource-efficiency. Companies based in three EU countries in particular Spain, Italy, and Romania have been identified as primary actors for innovation in this sector, accounting for 73% of all footwear production in the EU.

The REWEART project aims at improving both proactive and reactive waste management in the production of footwear in the EU, starting with companies based in Spain, Italy, and Romania. The optimisation of resource-selection and the implementation of new technologies in designing footwear will lead to more resource-efficient recycling and waste management. Innovations adopted in the easily-removable soles of shoes manufactured by Vesica Piscis offer one example of innovative materials and design can help make the footwear industry greener, notably reducing its use of water, lowering its greenhouse gas emissions and scaling down the waste that it produces. In addition to improving production and recycling processes, the project aims to develop transferable methods to spread innovations across the sector. By working toward reusable materials, resource-efficiency and low-carbon manufacturing processes, the project will support the EU circular economy package, the Industrial Emissions Directive and the 2020 climate and energy package.

Expected results:

• Create a service-oriented framework to reduce the resource consumption, energy demand and waste generation of consumer goods;
• Improve industrial design and assembly methods to recycle and reuse more materials in footwear products;
• Develop methods to evaluate the recyclability, resource consumption, waste generation, and cost impact of footwear products;
• Develop practical Eco-Design decision-making applications to better inform consumers on the environmental impact of their purchases;
• Provide ICT tools to support manufacturers with advanced 3D configuration of their products; and
• Reach 15 million in sales by 2021 by demonstrating the benefits of the REWEART project to consumers and footwear brand owners.