In a country where the ocean represents around 97% of its territory, the sea is too often reduced to what reaches our plates. The Sea episode of Portuguese Soul offered a different perspective: the ocean is also a source of raw materials, and the resources generated by marine industries can become the starting point for innovative materials and products.

Produced through a partnership between the Portuguese Footwear, Components, Leather Goods Manufacturers’ Association (APICCAPS) and RTP2, and presented by renowned fado singer Gisela João, the documentary series explores the story of a different material in each episode and the people transforming it. The episode dedicated to the sea focuses on a simple but pressing question: what can be done with the resources generated by ocean-based industries, and how can the fashion sector help drive this transformation?

The question is far from theoretical. Every year, the European Union imports almost two billion pairs of shoes, generating more than 1.2 million tonnes of potential waste. It is at this intersection—industrial-scale resource use and circular innovation—that the episode’s guests come together.

B2E CoLAB provided the blue bioeconomy perspective. As a collaborative laboratory dedicated to advancing this field, B2E bridges research and industry to accelerate the transfer of scientific knowledge into market-ready solutions. Its work focuses on unlocking greater value from marine resources and creating new opportunities across fisheries, aquaculture, food ingredients, biomaterials and biotechnology.

The organisation was represented by Patrícia Gonçalves, Communication and Marketing Manager at B2E CoLAB, who shared the perspective of an organisation working at the interface between marine science and industrial innovation.

Cross-Sector Collaboration

The episode also featured a diverse group of experts.

From academia, Manuela Pintado, Full Professor at the School of Biotechnology of the Portuguese Catholic University and Director of CBQF, explained how by-products and residual biomass can be transformed into high-value bioactive compounds.

Maria José Ferreira, from the Portuguese Footwear Technology Centre and coordinator of BioShoes4All—the largest project ever undertaken by the Portuguese footwear industry—showed how the sector is embracing alternative and more sustainable materials.

Ana Silva Tavares, CEO of RDD Textiles, presented the company’s circular textile model, which recovers production leftovers and used garments, giving them a second life through fully traceable processes.

Representing the seafood industry, Manuel Ramirez, head of Ramirez, the world’s oldest canned fish company still in operation, highlighted the industrial reality behind seafood processing and the untapped value of its co-products.

The discussion was further enriched by Luís Gonçalves Ferreira, historian and specialist in the history of clothing and costume, who provided historical context to the evolution of materials.

“Bringing together a researcher, a project coordinator, companies from different industries, a historian and a blue bioeconomy collaborative laboratory was no coincidence. It reflects the central message of the episode: none of these transformations can happen within a single sector. Research, industry and design must work together if the blue bioeconomy is to move beyond being a concept and become a reality in the marketplace,” said Patrícia Gonçalves.

The Sea episode of Portuguese Soul is available on RTP Play.