The Centre for Sustainable Design® (CfSD) at UCA is a partner in the Just Fashion Project, which runs from 2024 to 2027. Funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme (Grant Agreement No. 101178623), Just Fashion aims to accelerate the climate transition within the fashion industry.
Just Fashion Project involves 20 partners across 8 European countries (Belgium, UK, Lithuania, Italy, Spain, Germany, North Macedonia, and Portugal). Just Fashion Project aims to support Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in navigating the transition toward a greener and more transparent fashion industry.
The coordinator of the Just Fashion Project is the University of Antwerp (Belgium) and the key objectives include:
Mapping sustainability in the European fashion sector to gain insights into existing challenges and best practices.
Developing and testing circular business models that support companies in reducing their carbon footprint and waste.
Implementing six pilot projects focusing on diverse aspects of circularity, such as material innovation, zero-waste prototyping, recycling, and transparency in supply chains.
Enhancing digital tools and AI-based solutions to assist fashion businesses in complying with the European Green Deal and future policy regulations.
The main role of The Centre for Sustainable Design® is to lead the project’s work package (WP7) on circular economy policy and standards implications for the fashion and textile industry. The objective of WP7 is to support (M)SMEs and other stakeholders with awareness, understanding and preparation for existing and forthcoming policy and standardisation developments in the fashion/clothing sector. Vice versa, this WP also aims to provide input for policy makers, supporting them with lessons learned from the Just Fashion project, creating a strong liaison between policy and industry.
WP7 deliverables are as follows:
A policy report on new policy development including Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR); Waste Framework Directive (WFD) amendment; Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and Corporate Social Due Diligence Directive (CSDD). This report will be updated every 6 months.
Two expert online meetings with national leaders in front-runner countries (e.g., Netherlands and France) to learn from the implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and related legislation.
Two online workshops with supplier countries to discuss the impacts of policy and standardisation developments.
Three awareness-raising webinars for SMEs to discuss policy development.
An international conference will be organised to disseminate findings
A foresight expert workshop in Brussels focusing on policy issues and the impact on (M)SMEs in 2035/2040/2050
A Foresight report that considers various scenarios for future development of policy and the impact on (M)SMEs in 2035/2040/2050.
A report with recommendations for policymakers.
An AI tool to inform SMEs of which legislation they must comply with at a certain point in time
