TEX4GREEN

Bio-based and Safe-and-Sustainable-by-Design Textile Chemistry for a Circular and Toxic-Free Green Transition in Textile Sector

Project details

Type of project
Innovation Action - Demonstration
Feedstock origin
Sidestreams from industry
Feedstock type
Lignin & wood residues
Project period
1 June 2026 - 31 May 2030
Status
Upcoming
CBE JU Contribution
€ 6 978 126,75
Call identifier
HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025

Summary

The textile industry remains one of the most polluting and resource-intensive sectors globally. It is heavily reliant on fossil-based chemicals and generating persistent contaminants, causing risks to human and environmental health. However, large-scale adoption of sustainable bio-based alternatives is limited by performance, cost, industrial instability, as well as gaps in recycling and regulatory frameworks. 

TEX4GREEN aims to directly address this challenge by validating and demonstrating at an industrial scale the development of bio-based alternatives across three critical textile value chains: coatings, surfactants, and dyes and fixing agents. By embedding circular design principles from lignin- and sidestream-based feedstock sourcing to end-of-life, the project will deliver validated solutions for three high-impact market applications: sportswear, interior textiles, and fashion. 

The solutions will be applied to both synthetic (PET/PA) and natural (cotton, hemp, linen, wool) textiles, ensuring compatibility with existing coating, dyeing, and finishing equipment. The project also integrates end-of-life strategies for both synthetic and natural fabrics, demonstrating fibre-to-fibre and textile-to-nonwoven recycling pathways.  

  • Optimise and scale lignin-based coatings, demonstrating high-performance, fluorine-free coatings based on lignin intermediates, tailored for PET/PA technical textiles (virgin and recycled), and validated in sports footwear by DECATHLON. 
  • Create safe-and-sustainable-by-design biosurfactants as alternatives to fossil-based copolymer blocks, tailored for seamless apparel and interior textiles. 
  • Validate algae-derived pigments (Spirulina, Chlorella, Haematococcus) combined with biodegradable dyes and fixing agents as safe alternatives to synthetic azo/heavy-metal dyes, ensuring scalability, colour fastness, and recyclability, tailored for seamless apparel and interior textiles. 
  • Demonstrate technical feasibility of implementing all three value chains in real textile/footwear environments, ensuring drop-in compatibility with existing equipment.  
  • Ensure that all materials and processes follow safe-and-sustainable-by-design principles, integrating life cycle safety, environmental, and socio-economic assessment. 
  • Deploy a digital twin framework to model and predict the performance, safety, and sustainability of TEX4GREEN bio-based textile solutions across the value chains.  
  • Ensure that the textile materials developed in the project can be recycled via nonwoven remanufacturing while maintaining material quality. 
  • Develop feasible and scalable business models that invest in a roadmap for each value chain, providing a holistic and long-term perspective on how project innovations create, deliver, and capture value. 

  • Deliver five new bio-based textile products and processes, contributing to the growth of the European bio-based textiles market, projected to reach €13.9 billion by 2030.  
  • Accelerate market adoption, replacing hazardous chemicals in at least 25% of product lines within 2-3 years post-project, particularly in sportswear, interior textiles, and fashion applications. 
  • Attract five new industrial partners/early adopters in textiles, fashion, and retail to foster SSbD uptake. 
  • Scale new value chains, creating skilled green jobs across the supply chain, supporting the just transition goals. 
  • Cut environmental and health impacts with 40% chemical oxygen demand reduction in wastewater, 50% lower effluent toxicity, and 0% PFAS release. 
  • Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20%, reduce water use by 15%, and maintain efficient scouring at 60°C. 
  • Generate high-quality knowledge on bio-based textile chemicals, setting new standards for toxic-free processing with durability >20 wash cycles and colour fastness >3, while sharing insights to advance a circular textile industry. 
  • Strengthen human capital in safe-and-sustainable-by-design bio-based textile chemicals by training over 20 researchers/technicians through workshops, exchanges, and pilot demonstrations. 
  • Promote knowledge in safe-and-sustainable-by-design bio-based textile chemicals through more than 10 high-impact open-access papers, eight public newsletters, five knowledge-sharing events, and engagement with over 500 stakeholders across academia, industry, and government to drive collaboration.

Consortium map

Project coordination

  • INSTITUTO TECNOLOGICO DEL EMBALAJE, TRANSPORTE Y LOGISTICA Paterna, Spain

Consortium

  • MEKREO ENGINEERING SOCIEDAD LIMITADA VALENCIA, Spain
  • CENTRE SCIENTIFIQUE ET TECHNIQUE DE L INDUSTRIE TEXTILE BELGE GENT, Belgium
  • DECATHLON PRODUZIONE ITALIA SRL MILANO MI, Italy
  • FINIPUR NV Deerlijk, Belgium
  • HOCHSCHULE FUR ANGEWANDTE WISSENSCHAFTEN HAMBURG Hamburg, Germany
  • CORMATEX SRL-MACCHINARIO TESSILE EIMPIANTI Montemurlo Po, Italy
  • DYNAMIC & SECURITY COMPUTATIONS SL MADRID, Spain
  • NEXT TECHNOLOGY TECNOTESSILE SOCIETA NAZIONALE DI RICERCA R L PRATO, Italy
  • Holiferm Limited Birkenhead, United Kingdom
  • UNIVERSITEIT MAASTRICHT Maastricht, Netherlands
  • POLYTEKS TEKSTIL SANAYI ARASTIRMA VE EGITIM AS BURSA, Türkiye
  • PARTICULA GROUP DRUSTVO S OGRANICENOM ODGOVORNOSCU ZA ISTRAZIVANJE RAZVOJ I PROIZVODNJU VISKOVO, Croatia
  • UNIVERSIDAD DE CASTILLA - LA MANCHA CIUDAD REAL, Spain
  • MARZOTTO LAB S.R.L. Valdagno, Italy
  • VERTORO BV Geleen, Netherlands
  • LINIFICIO E CANAPIFICIO NAZIONALE SRL SOCIETA' BENEFIT Valdagno, Italy