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Erasmus+ SHOEGAME: Making the Footwear Industry More Attractive Through Serious Games

Tuesday, November 15, 2022 - 16:11English

On 19 and 20 October 2022, the Erasmus+ SHOEGAME project partners met in Porto to assess the exploratory phase just completed, and move forward on the development of the serious game for VET footwear studies and the training material. In the first six months of the project, the consortium, led by the Technical University of Iasi in Romania, completed the analysis on training and education needs for pre-VET and VET, as well as the opportunities of serious games in education as a mean to attract students to the footwear sector. They also agreed on a benchmark regarding the serious game and the specifications for the methodology and contents.

C.E.C. Promoting the well-being of DFS patients

Tuesday, October 4, 2022 - 16:49English

On 28th-29th September, the consortium of the Erasmus+ project DiaSHOE met in Iasi (Romania) at the Technical University “G. Asachi” (TUIASI). The project of expected duration of 24 months is on its last phase. As previously explained, DiaSHOE aims at raising awareness among different categories of people supporting diabetics on the Diabetes Foot Syndrome (DFS), and on the importance of appropriate footwear in order to improve the quality of life of the patients. In this regard, the partners coming from 7 different EU countries (Belgium, Czechia, Germany, Romania, Poland, Portugal and Spain) are developing training materials for specific target groups, namely footwear designers and technicians, shop assistants and DFS patients.

Seizing growth opportunities in Bulgarian TCLF industries

Tuesday, September 27, 2022 - 08:34English

The textile, clothing, leather and footwear (TCLF) industries employ 80,000 workers in Bulgaria. However, employment has gone down by 20% in the past four years which is a concern. Social partners discussed the challenges and opportunities of the new EU Sustainable Textiles Strategy and focused on both environmental and social sustainability. They agreed that for the Strategy to be successful, all stakeholders must come together, and that a level playing field must be maintained between EU (Bulgarian) and non-European companies. In the face of tough global competition, huge investment will be needed in both technology and people to ensure that the Bulgarian TCLF sectors can become greener and more digital. The modernisation of these sectors would also help the sector to become more attractive to Bulgarian workers, thus reducing the need to hire workers from abroad.

Finally Together - 35,470 INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS ATTEND FASHION TRADE FAIRS

Thursday, September 22, 2022 - 12:16English

Micam Milano, Mipel, TheOneMilano, and HOMI Fashion&Jewels Exhibition join forces under the hashtag #finallytogether to welcome buyers from all over the world Milan, 20 September 2022 – Optimism, dynamism and a forward-looking attitude: their enthusiasm is what brings together the 35,470 professional dealers attending the fashion trade fairs held over the past few days at fieramilano – Rho (+20% more than in March 2022). International footwear show MICAM Milano and international leather goods and fashion accessories showcase Mipel joined forces with TheOneMilano, featuring Haute-à-Porter (part of the Confindustria Moda galaxy) and HOMI Fashion&Jewels Exhibition, an event focusing on quality jewellery and accessories, all held on overlapping dates to attract top-level buyers from all over the world, making all the events a great success.

Istanbul will host the next World Footwear Congress

Tuesday, September 20, 2022 - 15:01English

On the occasion of the CEC Board meeting in MICAM Milano, the CEC Members confirmed yesterday that the 7th edition of the World Footwear Congress will take place in Istanbul, Türkiye, on 9th-11th May 2023, under the joint management of the Footwear Industrialists Association of Turkey (TASD) and the CEC Secretariat. The World Footwear Congress was created in 2003 by the European Footwear Confederation (CEC). As a well-recognised worldwide event among the footwear community, the Congress aims at bringing closer all footwear players around the world with the aim of increasing international collaboration that supports the industry competitiveness and growth, while working together for a free and fair global market with equal chances for all on a reciprocal basis.

MICAM Milano 94: ALL THE BEST OF THE FOOTWEAR INDUSTRY, WITH SUSTAINABILITY, QUALITY AND TALENT

Wednesday, September 14, 2022 - 22:24English

The coming edition of MICAM Milano has opened with a bang! Under the slogan #finallytogether, 1,012 brands, 54% from Italy and 46% from abroad (+23% over March 2022), will meet with buyers from all over the world at fieramilano (Rho) between 18 and 20 September, confirming the importance of MICAM Milano not only as the biggest footwear show but the biggest post-pandemic fashion show in the world. The Italian footwear industry continues to recover, recording further growth in sales (+14.5%) and in domestic consumption (+ 18.2% by value) in the first half of the year, following upon a total growth rate of +18.7% in 2021. But there are a number of unknowns looming on the horizon. According to Assocalzaturifici Chair Giovanna Ceolini: “The industry as a whole has recovered significantly, but high energy costs, raw materials costs and the consequences of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine (with the value of exports to the two markets down -30%, a total drop of - 46% since the start of the war) are putting short-term growth at risk. Our member companies are satisfied with sales to North America and the main EU markets, though spring lockdowns slowed sales in China. While designer brands are performing very well, half our member companies have not yet returned to pre-Covid sales figures. We hope that MICAM will, as usual, offer a chance to take advantage of business opportunities and discover new trends and opportunities on world markets”.

LIFE GreenShoes4All: Working towards a circular footwear industry

Tuesday, September 13, 2022 - 16:01English

On 7th September 2022, the partners of the LIFE GreenShoes4All project met again in hybrid format, this time in Elda (Spain) at the INESCOP premises, or virtually. The meeting was an occasion to wrap up the four years of intense work undertaken by all partners from Belgium, Portugal, Romania and Spain, to assess the main achievements and to define the last activities before Friday, 30th September, official end of the project, as well as the after-life of the project. The project goes beyond the definition and implementation of the Product Environmental Footprint category rules (PEFCR) which are being addressed by the Technical Secretariat for Apparel and Footwear supported by the European Commission. In the first part of the project, the partners drafted Eco-design guidelines for footwear, which have been tested with fruitful confirmations of the original theses. Supported by the eco-design guidelines and by using the PEFCR, the companies partner in the project are currently recycling up to 100% of their manufacturing waste. The resulting products have already been certified and will be soon placed on the market, meaning that the project’s efforts on bringing the industry towards a greener footwear industry have exceeded the original expectations.