Portugal seeks short (and greener) supply chain
The economic and commercial department of the Chinese embassy in Portugal recently reported that the Portuguese government had called for the establishment of local consortia across fields including textiles, apparel and footwear.
Through this effort, Portugal hopes to discover new, greener materials and manufacturing processes, the report said. The country is therefore calling for collaboration among national companies, research centres, universities and non-governmental organisations.
Portuguese minister for environment and climate action, João Pedro Matos Fernandes, was quoted as saying: “We are convinced that Europe must be reindustrialised, and the pandemic has demonstrated the need for us to use our existing resources to create a short supply chain.”
The project is in line with the goals of the European Union’s recovery and resilience facility, which will reportedly invest €129 million ($156.7 million) in sustainable production in Portugal, including around €112 million ($136 million) across the nation’s textiles, apparel and footwear sectors.
