Poreč Launches Croatia’s First Digital Wardrobe Powered Sustainable Shopping Guide with COSH!

COSH!, a pioneering European platform for sustainable shopping, launches its first Croatian route in the city of Poreč, spotlighting verified local sustainable retailers. Backed by the EU’s FU-TOURISM Acceleration Programme, this milestone initiative accelerates Croatia’s progress toward a green and digital economy while enhancing the tourism experience.

As tourism rebounds and EU sustainability regulations tighten, Croatia faces urgent challenges: under-digitised local sme’s, including retail and limited visibility for eco-conscious shops. COSH! tackles these head-on. Tourists and locals alike can now use the COSH! app ‑free of charge- to explore verified sustainable stores and plan ethical shopping trips in Poreč.

Why Poreč, Why Now

With tourism rapidly rebounding post-COVID and the European Green Deal setting stricter sustainability targets, cities like Poreč face urgent challenges. FU-TOURISM aims to help local SMEs adapt to climate change, digital disruption, and seasonal overcrowding. COSH! brings a solution that puts ethical consumption and soon personalised AI-powered discovery at the center of urban tourism.

“Croatia still has a big leap to make in digitisation, especially when it comes to spotlighting sustainable stores. As they are not online they don’t get picked up by search engines, nor AI. This project is the first step in putting them on the (digital) map,” says Niki de Schryver, founder of COSH!.

3‑Phase Rollout to Digitise Conscious Tourism

Call to Action

Local Croatian brands and shops interested in joining the next phase can contact COSH! to be featured in the app and take part in upcoming AI pilots. COSH! invites tourism boards, retailers, and tech partners across Croatia to join this mission to make sustainable shopping easy and accelerate the transition of the fashion sector.

“The Future of City Shopping Tourism is about more than shopping. It’s about degrowth, and reshaping urban tourism to be personal, sustainable, and local. With COSH!, we empower small retailers and help citizens and tourists make more mindful choices, which benefit the local economy” Niki de Schryver, CEO, COSH!

Important links:

*the app is free for citizens, no in-app purchases

WHAT IS EU FU – TOURISM programme and why do they support this project? 

FU-TOURISM, funded by the Single Market Programme, is a groundbreaking programme that empowers tourism SMEs to thrive in the green and digital era. FU-TOURISM offers two main support programmes: the Accelerator Programme, which provides 20K funding and expertise to innovative SMEs, and, later this year, the Scaling-Up Programme to help these businesses expand their impact. Through a network of business support organisations across six European countries, the FU-TOURISM Accelerator Programme supports 102 SME projects aimed at transforming tourism practices by making them more sustainable, resilient, and innovative, while contributing to the European Green Deal and the Digital Single Market. 

“COSH! perfectly aligns with FU-TOURISM’s commitment to sustainable development and innovation. It offers a unique opportunity to drive meaningful change in the tourism sector, one of Europe’s most important yet challenged industries, by helping shift towards practices that are environmentally responsible, socially inclusive, and economically sustainable. As a key player in the project, COSH! contributes to building a tourism ecosystem that not only benefits local communities and preserves cultural heritage but also meets the values and expectations of today’s conscious travelers.” Laia Mani Rodriguez, Finnova partner in FU-TOURISM

COSH! brings a unique blend of sustainability, digital innovation, and AI personalisation to urban tourism. Its standout feature, COSH!’s Shop with Your Closet, uses artificial intelligence to recommend local sustainable shops based on a traveller’s personal style, encouraging conscious consumption and reducing fashion waste. Unlike traditional retail or tourism platforms, COSH! decentralises economic activity by guiding visitors to ethical, often-overlooked local retailers, helping ease congestion in busy areas and supporting under-visited urban districts. The app also enables knowledge-sharing and the exchange of best practices among participating cities, contributing to wider societal benefits. COSH!‘s potential to balance tourist flows and strengthen local economies is significant. COSH! offers a future-proof model for greener, smarter tourism in Croatia and beyond.

City of Poreč – Parenzo

Poreč, like many Croatian cities, is still unlocking the full potential of its small retailers in the digital space. COSH! supports this progress by spotlighting sustainable local shops through its smart COSH! platform and app. Ethical and eco-conscious retailers, especially those outside tourist hotspots or the main shopping street can gain much-needed exposure, helping to decentralize foot traffic and spread economic benefits more evenly across the city.

“Aligned with EU and FU-TOURISM goals for greener tourism, COSH! promotes low-impact, responsible shopping among visitors. Its soon to be AI-powered, personalized shopping routes turn retail into a meaningful, cultural experience. As Croatia’s first COSH! city, Poreč can position itself as a national model for sustainable and digital tourism, benefiting from shared knowledge, future pilot features, and more balanced tourist flows that reduce pressure on overcrowded areas, while supporting its SMEs.” Ema Čehić, Poreč-Parenzo

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