TEX-DAN project meeting and Mid-term Conference held in Zagreb 12 Jun 2025

_{Mr. Mate Kovač, HAMAG-BICRO opens the Conference and welcomes guests and participants}

TEX-DAN mid-term conference, held in Zagreb on 12 Jun 2025, gathered all project partners, representatives of sister project GREEN-TEX, regional SMEs involved in the pilot projects, experts and academic researchers in textile industry and policy makers. Three major topics of the event were: 1) interactive presentation of the ongoing TEX-DAN and GREEN-TEX pilot projects, 2) synergies between TEX-DAN and GREEN-TEX which resulted in the pact between two project and 3) panel discussion where Croatian SMEs included in the pilot project presented their challenges and achievements in transition to circularity in their business processes.

After Mr. Mate Kovač, HAMAG-BICRO Head of Sector for Support and Development of Entrepreneurship, Coordination and International Cooperation opened the Conference, Prof. Aleksandra Anić-Vučinić, vice dean University of Zagreb, Faculty of Geotechnical Engineering, held a key not speech on novelties regarding extended producer responsibility in the textile industry.

The next session was held by project manager Mr. Bendó Zoltán (LP STRIA) who gave an overview of completed and current project activities and results. Ms. Katalin Kasza-Kovács, project officer, Interreg Danube Programme, Joint Secretariat, joined online to welcome all participants and to inform about the state of affairs, ongoing and future calls of the programme.

_{Prof Aleksandra Anić-Vučinić - What are extended producer responsibility in the textile industry}

Mr. Niko Bucalo, Textiloop SaaS: green, sustainable and matchmaking platform

Following session was opportunity to hear direct experience from the pilots SMEs: Textiloop (CR); Sabant (CR), Galeb (CR),
Pink Ponilo (HU) TSMP sro (SK) and ARCA CHrast sro (SK) were present in the venue, while Magbago , Sens21 Concept SRL (RO) and TXB Group sro (CZ) joined online. All SMEs presented their profiles, and how they contribute in the pilot projects. After that, TCBL experts Luca Leonardi and Alice Gras briefly commented each SMEs profile and suggested opportunities and directions they may take to be more visible on the EU market and textile industry.

_{Ms. Anna Kudron, Pink Ponilo founder and CEO, presents their sustainable fashion approach}

The Conference was closed by the panel discussion including CEOs of three Croatian SMEs: Textiloop, Galeb and Sabant who discussed their challenges and achievements in implementing new technologies and business models based on textile circularity model, namely: how they get seed capital to start companies , how they had ensured funding for scale up, how they went to green technologies and produced own energy and water necessary for production. They all underlined that raising awareness of environmental and health hazards as side effects of the fast clothing consumption among consumers and introduction of tax tariffs across the EU are the most important measures to tackle this issue. All participants welcomed recently imposed French eco-tex on cheap textile which aims to promote more sustainable practices.

^{Panel discussion Croatian SMEs and textile circularity: Sabant, Textiloop and Galeb}