Apiccaps and UCP survey finds 90.9% of consumers now adopt eco-friendly consumption patterns

Apiccaps — Associação Portuguesa dos Industriais de Calçado, Componentes, Artigos de Pele e seus Sucedâneos — in partnership with Universidade Católica Portuguesa (UCP), conducted a survey of 1,531 consumers from over 50 countries. The results revealed that 90.9% of respondents have adopted more sustainable habits over the past five years, while only 9.1% remain resistant to this global shift — a change that marks a significant transformation in fashion and footwear consumption patterns.

According to a statement from Apiccaps, sustainability is no longer a niche but a defining factor in consumer behavior. “Environmental awareness is now a decisive factor for the overwhelming majority of customers, with a direct impact on the fashion and footwear sector,” the statement read.

Almost half (48.1%) of consumers surveyed cited the search for more sustainable footwear as their top concern, followed by reducing consumption (26.6%), repairing footwear (15.5%), and donating shoes (9.8%). These behaviors confirm a growing cultural awareness around product value, durability, and circularity.

Apiccaps president and renowned footwear designer Luís Onofre stated, “We are all aware that there is still a long way to go, marked by the unbridled consumption of low-value products and the excessive concentration of production in Asia, which is responsible for 88% of world production.” However, he also highlighted that the results are “encouraging, since consumers are increasingly aware of environmental issues.”

“Portugal is on the right track. We have a dynamic, innovative sector that is increasingly committed to sustainability. In our latest strategic plan, we made it a priority to become an international benchmark in the development of sustainable solutions. That’s why we have the biggest investment ever in the fields of automation, robotics and, precisely, sustainability.”

The survey was part of the BioShoes4All project, supported by the PRR, which represents the largest collective innovation initiative in the Portuguese footwear sector to date. According to Maria José Ferreira, director of the Footwear Technology Center of Portugal (CTCP), the project is “an absolutely transformative initiative, because it acts on the entire value chain — from the development of new bio-based materials to the creation of cleaner and more efficient production processes.”

Ferreira added: “BioShoes4All is laying the foundations for the development of a truly new generation of products, combining design, technology and sustainability. This is an investment that not only responds to environmental demands, but also strengthens the international competitiveness of the Portuguese footwear industry.”

The project will be showcased at MICAM on September 9 from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Pavilion 1) during a conference titled “Bioshoes4all: Paving the Way to a Sustainable Footwear Industry.”