Executives representing Portugal’s footwear and fashion industries appeared at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Thursday in tandem with New York Fashion Week.
The event, which is part of the “Made to Matter: Portugal” initiative, saw Luís Onofre, president of the Portuguese footwear association APICCAPS, and César Araújo, president of national association of clothing and apparel industries ANIVEC, discuss how Portugal has built a globally competitive fashion and footwear industry without compromising quality or sustainability. Further discussion points included lessons the Portuguese model can offer other manufacturing countries.
During Thursday’s discussion, Onofre noted that now is an “important opportunity to show how our industry has evolved.”
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“Portugal has generations of craftsmanship and manufacturing expertise, but today that heritage is supported by significant investment in technology, research, new materials and more sustainable methods of production,” Onofre said.
And to present that story at the United Nations headquarters, during one of the most important moments on the international fashion calendar, allows Portugal to communicate that “it’s not simply a manufacturing destination but a strategic partner,” he added.
“Portugal offers a combination that is increasingly difficult to find: craftsmanship, advanced industrial capabilities, flexibility, proximity to the European market and a strong culture of collaboration between manufacturers, designers, technology centers and research institutions,” Onofre maintained. “We do not believe the future of manufacturing will be defined by price alone. It will be defined by quality, responsiveness, innovation, and the ability to produce more responsibly. Those are areas in which Portugal has invested considerably, and we believe they position our industry very strongly for the future.”
Aside from comments by Onofre and Araújo, Thursday’s program also included Annemarie Hou, executive director of the UN office for partnerships, and Carlos Moura, director and trade and investment commissioner for USA at AICEP, the portuguese trade and investment agency.
Held as part of the annual meeting of the United Nations Fashion and Lifestyle Network, the event aimed to leverage the international visibility of New York Fashion Week to foster dialogue around the sustainable development goals.
With more than 6,000 companies and exports exceeding 7 billion euros, the Portuguese fashion industry is one of the country’s major export sectors and one of the most internationally oriented areas of Portuguese manufacturing.
Over the past three years, the sector has mobilized more than 200 million euros in investment, with the support of Portugal’s Recovery and Resilience Plan. In the footwear sector, particular attention will be given to the BioShoes4All project, which aims to transform the Portuguese footwear industry into an international benchmark for the development of sustainable solutions.
