The STAND Up! Project, whose lead has been assigned to the Catalan Waste Agency, is the answer to the needs for a transition towards a sustainable and socially responsible circular model in the textile sector, a key industry by tradition in the Mediterranean basin. The plan aims to support textile entrepreneurs and eco-innovative initiatives in the five countries participating in the partnership and help them to seize the business and employment opportunities that the "green evolution" will inevitably generate in the regions involved. STAND Up! wants to improve scalable, replicable and inclusive circular economy initiatives in the Mediterranean area by developing an ecosystem of business support, innovation and technology transfer that will lead to the creation of sustainable jobs for young people and women.

Expected results

STAND Up! will lead to an increase in the income of existing “green” SMEs and to the creation of new sustainable textile businesses. This will generate a natural demand for new jobs which will be filled by highly skilled people. Specifically, 400 initiatives will be supported in the design phase to help create future job opportunities; 20 initiatives for the start-up and growth phases aimed at maintaining stable employment and creating at least two new jobs for each initiative.In addition to this direct and indirect impact, stimulating innovation and sector aggregation will minimize the negative environmental impact along the life cycle of clothing and facilitate the transition of the individual region towards sustainable consumption and production in the sector. textiles and clothing.

Partner: Catalan Waste Agency - SCP / RAC (Project leader, Spain); Textile Industry Confederation, TEXFOR (Spain); Berytech Foundation (Lebanon); SEKEM Development Foundation (Egypt); Textile Technical Center (Tunisia); Textile Museum Foundation of Prato (Italy); Tunis International Center for Environmental Technologies (Tunisia).

Budget:
1. Overall budget: Euro 3,693,986.68
2. EU contribution: Euro 3,324,588.68 (90% of the total budget)
3. Main source of funding: European Union (ENI CBC Med Program)

Project duration: 30 months (July 2020 - December 2022)
Website: http://www.enicbcmed.eu/projects/stand-up
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/standup.enicbcmed