How the Portuguese Footwear Industry Is Driving Innovation Amid Mounting Competition – WWD

Report on the Portuguese Footwear Industry’s Strategic Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals

Executive Summary

The Portuguese footwear industry has initiated a strategic transformation plan, committing 600 million euros by 2030 to align its operations with the digital era and principles of sustainable development. Spearheaded by APICCAPS, the Portuguese Footwear, Components, Leather Goods Manufacturers’ Association, and supported by the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), this initiative directly addresses several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production). The investment is channeled through two primary programs: FAIST, focusing on technological innovation, and Bioshoes4ll, dedicated to sustainable materials.

SDG 9: Fostering Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

The industry’s strategy is fundamentally rooted in advancing innovation and upgrading its industrial infrastructure to remain competitive and resilient. The FAIST (Factory Agile, Intelligent, Sustainable and Technological) program is the cornerstone of this effort.

The FAIST Initiative

FAIST represents a collaborative investment of approximately 80 million euros, with 50 million from 45 private enterprises and 30 million from government PRR funds. The program is designed to build a technologically advanced and sustainable industrial base.

1. Smart Production: Fostering automation through robotics and intelligent production lines to enhance efficiency.
2. Digitization: Implementing data-driven manufacturing processes and comprehensive digitization to enable rapid response to market trends.
3. Sustainable Products: Developing energy rating systems and promoting the creation of sustainable products.
4. Circular Economy: Launching pilot programs to integrate circular economy principles into manufacturing.

The integration of robotics, as seen at facilities like Carité, demonstrates a seamless blend of high-tech automation with artisanal craftsmanship, improving production efficiency and traceability while redefining growth goals.

SDG 12: Ensuring Responsible Consumption and Production

A significant portion of the total investment is allocated to transforming production patterns to be more sustainable, directly contributing to SDG 12.

The Bioshoes4ll Project

This 60-million-euro project, led by APICCAPS and Portugal’s center for footwear technology (CTCP), involves over 70 entities committed to advancing the circular economy.

• Objective: To scale the use of sustainable and bio-based materials in footwear production.
• Innovation in Materials: The project focuses on developing and implementing materials derived from bio-residues, including:
  • Olive residues and coffee grounds
  • Rice husks and eggshells
  • Extracts from pine, mussels, and tomato pulp

By converting waste streams into valuable resources, the Bioshoes4ll project aims to reduce the industry’s environmental footprint and promote a circular model of production and consumption.

SDG 8: Promoting Decent Work and Economic Growth

The industry’s modernization plan is explicitly designed to foster sustainable economic growth and create high-quality employment, addressing key targets of SDG 8.

Workforce Development and Job Creation

Contrary to concerns about automation leading to job losses, the FAIST program is projected to create 300 highly qualified jobs. The strategy focuses on enhancing, not replacing, the human workforce.

• Reskilling and Upgrading: The initiative replaces repetitive, unqualified tasks with skilled roles, requiring workforce reskilling and training in new technologies.
• Improving Working Conditions: Automation is utilized to handle tasks that are physically demanding or undesirable, thereby improving the quality of jobs.
• Attracting Talent: High-tech, innovative factories are seen as a means to attract a new generation of workers to the manufacturing sector, addressing labor shortages in Europe.

Industry leaders emphasize that technology serves as a complement to human skill, ensuring that people remain central to the company’s value and societal contribution. This human-centric approach ensures that economic growth is inclusive and provides decent work for all.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

1. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
   • The article highlights the Portuguese footwear industry’s focus on business growth, competitiveness, and increasing exports, which stood at 2.1 billion euros in 2024. It also addresses the creation of “300 highly qualified jobs” and the reskilling of the workforce, aiming to improve job quality by replacing repetitive tasks with technology-assisted roles, thus promoting productive employment.
2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
   • This is a central theme, with the industry investing 600 million euros by 2030 to “take its know-how into the digital era.” The FAIST project is a prime example, focusing on fostering “automation for smart production lines, digitization processes, data-driven manufacturing,” and advancing high-tech capabilities through robotics to upgrade the industrial sector.
3. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
   • The article explicitly mentions the industry’s commitment to sustainability. The FAIST project includes goals for developing “sustainable products and materials as well as pilots for the circular economy.” Furthermore, the Bioshoes4ll project is dedicated to the “larger-scale implementation of sustainable materials,” utilizing bio-based ingredients from waste products like olive residues and coffee grounds, directly promoting sustainable production patterns.
4. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
   • The initiatives described are built on multi-stakeholder partnerships. The transformation is led by APICCAPS, an industry association, in collaboration with the private sector, government, and academia. The FAIST project involves “45 entities… including universities and technology centers, in addition to footwear players,” and received a 30 million euro contribution from the government, exemplifying a public-private partnership.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

1. Target 8.2: Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation.
   • The article details the industry’s mission to “future-proof its craftsmanship and business growth” by investing in technology. The FAIST project’s focus on robotics, automation, and smart production lines is a direct effort to upgrade technology and innovate to improve production efficiency and maintain global competitiveness.
2. Target 9.5: Enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors in all countries… encouraging innovation.
   • The 600 million euro investment plan is aimed at upgrading the technological capabilities of the footwear sector. The collaboration with universities and technology centers within the FAIST and Bioshoes4ll projects is designed to enhance research and development, fostering an environment of “constant innovation.”
3. Target 12.5: By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse.
   • The Bioshoes4ll project directly addresses this target by aiming to scale the use of “bio-based ingredients derived from olive residues, coffee grounds, rice husks, eggshells.” This initiative focuses on reusing waste materials from other industries to create new, sustainable products, contributing to a circular economy.
4. Target 17.17: Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships.
   • The article provides a clear example of this target in action. The FAIST project is a partnership between 45 different entities, including private companies that invested 50 million euros and the Portuguese government, which contributed 30 million euros through its Recovery and Resilience Plan. This collaboration is essential for driving the industry’s transformation.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

• Financial Investment: The article provides specific financial figures that serve as indicators of commitment and progress.
  • Total investment in modernization: 600 million euros by 2030.
  • Investment in the FAIST project: 50 million euros from enterprises and 30 million euros from the government.
  • Investment in the Bioshoes4ll project: 60 million euros.
• Economic Performance: Data on exports is provided as a key performance indicator.
  • Value of exports: 2.1 billion euros in 2024.
  • Export growth: A compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.2 percent since 2020.
• Job Creation: A specific number for job creation is mentioned.
  • Number of new jobs: “creation of 300 highly qualified jobs” as a result of the investments.
• Partnership Scale: The number of participating entities indicates the breadth of the collaboration.
  • Number of partners in FAIST: 45 entities.
  • Number of partners in Bioshoes4ll: “over 70 entities.”
• Project Completion: A progress metric for the FAIST program is stated.
  • The program currently stands at “75 percent of completion.”

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: wwd.com