Portugal has experienced, in recent years, one of the most silent yet profound transformations in the European textile industry. What was once a sector marked by subcontracting and price competition has become an ecosystem that combines technological innovation, traceability, and industrial responsibility.
The Sustainable Transformation of Textiles: When Sustainability Becomes a Competitive Advantage
In the North of the country, between Barcelos, Guimarães, Vila Nova de Famalicão, and Santo Tirso, one of Europe's most advanced and important textile clusters has formed. There, companies prove every day that sustainability can be an economic driver, not just rhetoric. Portuguese companies of different sizes have begun integrating environmental and social objectives into their operations, not out of regulatory obligation, but because they understood that this is what creates value, increases efficiency and productivity, and builds loyalty among international clients.
"Made in Portugal" is no longer just an indication of origin. It has become a promise of alignment between what brands say and what they actually do. Instead of green and ecological marketing campaigns, what distinguishes Portuguese textiles today is the ability to demonstrate, with evidence, clean processes, traceability, and factories with renewable energy and digital production control systems.
As consultants observe after visiting national factories, "sustainability here is not a slogan, it's a way of operating." And this explains why so many international brands, from Scandinavia to the United States, now look to Portugal as the new European and global reference in sustainable and responsible production.
How Textile Product Companies Use Portugal as a Sustainability Credential
For home textiles and apparel brands, "Made in Portugal" has become a seal of trust. It's not just about artisanal quality, but environmental compliance, transparency, and proximity to the European market.
Several examples show how foreign companies use Portugal as an active part of their sustainability narrative:
Tekla Fabrics (Denmark) stands out for its sheets and towels produced in Portugal, made with 100% French linen and conceived according to high environmental standards. Their collections prioritise natural and durable materials and are produced in factories recognised for quality and responsibility in manufacturing processes, with OEKO-TEX® certifications applicable to various products.
Secret Linen Store and Bedfolk (United Kingdom) emphasise that they produce in Portuguese factories. Secret Linen Store requires third-party ethical audits aligned with ETI/ILO and works with OEKO-TEX® certified factories. Both highlight chemical safety in their collections.
Juniper (Sweden) and Delilah Home (USA) stand out for their sustainable collections produced in Portuguese factories, the former with Supima cotton towels certified OEKO-TEX®, and the latter with organic cotton and hemp bedding certified GOTS and vegan, manufactured in family-run factories with responsible practices.
Parachute Home and The Citizenry (USA) tell stories about family mills in Guimarães, conveying authenticity and industrial heritage.
VEJA, a French footwear brand, openly communicated the nearshoring of production to Portugal as part of its effort to reduce transport footprint and increase agility for the European market.
BAINA (New Zealand) and Weezie Towels (USA) produce organic towels in Portuguese factories and emphasise chemical safety standards.
These brands choose Portugal not only for competitiveness, but because it closes the gap between rhetoric and practice.
Unlike other production hubs, the Portuguese cluster offers moderate scale, controlled quality, and a culture of continuous improvement, three critical ingredients for building more sustainable supply chains.
Portugal as a Driver of Business and Industrial Sustainability
Portugal has become a case study on how a peripheral country can use sustainability as a reindustrialisation strategy.
Three factors explain this success:
Clean and stable energy. In 2024, approximately 71% of national electricity consumption originated from renewable sources, and the goal is to reach 85% by 2030. This allows Portuguese factories to communicate a significantly smaller carbon footprint than competitors in geographies where fossil fuel energy is still dominant.
Innovation infrastructure. CITEVE, the textile and apparel technology centre, has become an anchor for R&D, certification, and testing of new fibres and processes. It is the engine of decarbonisation, green chemistry, and bioeconomy projects involving dozens of national companies.
Collaborative ecosystem. From designers to yarn producers and garment manufacturers, supported by universities and research centres, there is a complete chain that shares know-how and organises around clusters like Textile Portugal, with support from European programmes and the Recovery and Resilience Plan.
This alignment between public policy, technical capacity, and business ambition created a culture of applied sustainability that already generates tangible value: access to new markets, export awards, partnerships with international universities, and growing reputation among premium brands.
The result is a new paradigm: sustainability has ceased to be a cost to become a competitive asset.
Examples of Portuguese Textile Companies That Made Sustainable Transformations for Export
The Portuguese textile industry has long ceased to be just an industry; it has become a reinvention movement. In factories that once competed solely on price, solutions now emerge that combine biotechnology, circularity, and regeneration.
Companies like Valérius 360 realised they could leverage and transform their own waste to create new fabrics and knitwear, and Tintex has shown that, by exploring green chemistry, it can deliver colour and textile finishes in a biodegradable way. Others, like ATB, have stood out as a true living laboratory. They develop and optimise dyeing processes based on bacterial fermentation, which drastically reduces impact through lower water and energy use. This has made the company a reference in shared innovation, attracting international startups to co-develop lower-impact technologies.
TMG, a leader in coated fabrics for the automotive sector, combines technical performance with sustainability, with a patent portfolio that reflects decades of R&D investment. The Impetus Group channels its research capacity into developing technical and functional underwear, showing how innovation can generate comfort, value, and differentiation.
These are some national examples that prove open innovation can be allied with aesthetics and efficiency, investing in decarbonisation, digital traceability, and new functional materials.
At the base of the chain, Tearfil continues to spin the story, literally. One of the few spinning mills still active in Portugal, it combines tradition and cutting-edge technology. A partnership with Spinnova led to a pilot unit to produce yarns from regenerated fibres for the global market, placing the country on the map of European bio-innovation.
Meanwhile, new voices like Next Generation Chemistry, which has the first molecular genetics laboratory applied to the textile sector where DNA is dissected for creating chemical products and dyes without resorting to petrochemistry, and which has already proven that clothing can be produced without petrochemicals. Or like RDD Textiles and Positive Materials that are expanding the limits of matter, crossing science, design, and purpose.
This bubbling ecosystem shows that sustainability in Portugal was not born from marketing; it was born on the factory floor, from the courage of those who decided to change before being forced to. And that's why "Made in Portugal" is no longer just an origin: it's a declaration of value, a promise of alignment between what is said and what is done.
The LYCRA Company – Cradle to Cradle Certified®
Sustenuto collaborated with The LYCRA Company in obtaining the C2C Certified® Material Health Gold certification for LYCRA® fiber used in apparel, ensuring a product safe for both human health and the environment. This certification, integrated into the Cradle to Cradle Certified® program, represents an important milestone in the transition to safer and more sustainable textile products.
The process involved a rigorous assessment of the chemical composition of the fibres, ensuring that all materials used are free from hazardous substances and meet the highest sustainability standards.
Sustenuto's role was essential in managing and coordinating the project, ensuring data quality and information confidentiality. The company led a complex process involving a global value chain, ensuring that chemical data was accurate and from credible technical sources. Additionally, it created the necessary conditions of trust and security for sharing sensitive information by suppliers, contributing to a transparent and effective material assessment.
With this certification, The LYCRA Company consolidates its position as a reference in sustainable innovation in the textile industry. Its products stand out not only for high quality but also for being safe for people and the planet. This continuous commitment to sustainability and product safety reflects The LYCRA Company's leadership in a competitive sector increasingly oriented toward responsible production practices.
Conclusion
The case of Portuguese textiles shows that sustainability has ceased to be an external narrative and has become the very system of value creation. What was once reaction has become anticipation, and what was cost, or even science fiction, has become competitive advantage.
While others wait for the next European regulatory wave, Portugal multiplies proof that acting early pays off. Here there are factories making the future happen. Not through marketing, but through conviction. The Portuguese textile sector transformed restrictions into opportunities, uniting resilience and innovation to build a relevant industry model.
The new competitive advantage is not in producing more, but in producing better, with purpose, and with proof.
It is this rare combination that makes Portugal not just a supplier, but a living laboratory of European sustainable transition.
Context of this article
This article was prepared by the Sustenuto team, in collaboration with consultant Luís Cristino, a specialist with extensive experience in the textile sector, in the context of the Textile Exchange conference, held in October 2025, in Lisbon.
Sustenuto is a European consultancy specialising in corporate sustainability and business transformation. It supports companies, investors, and public institutions in integrating sustainability as a strategic axis, uniting regulation, management, and impact.
In Portugal, it operates with local teams and an international network, closely monitoring developments in CSRD, CSDDD, and the European Union's climate and circular transition agenda.
With experience in multiple sectors, from energy to retail, from health to manufacturing, Sustenuto helps companies navigate regulatory uncertainty and transform sustainability into economic and reputational value.
Sustenuto is present in Portugal under the leadership of Ana Quintas and Tomás Adão da Fonseca.
Luís Cristino is a sustainability strategist and founder of OMA, a platform dedicated to transitioning to circular and regenerative models. With more than two decades of experience in the Portuguese textile industry, especially in dyeing and finishing areas, he moved from operations to transformation, helping companies rethink how to create value without causing harm.
Today, he connects industry, science, and strategy to accelerate the textile sector's transition from 'less impact' to 'more positive.' He is a consultant to boards of directors in sector companies, a member of the Technical Standardisation Committees for Circular Economy (CT218) and Digital Product Passport (CT228), and an advocate for authentic and systemic sustainability.
