UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has invested £6 million into supporting the fashion and textile industry to become more sustainable and integrate responsible practices.
The UKRI has funded three complementary teams of researchers, working in partnership with industry experts and other stakeholders to support the industry in adopting sustainable circular fashion business models.
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UKRI’s Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) interim executive chair Professor Peter Liss said while the fashion industry makes a significant contribution to the UK it also “impacts the environment, including using water resources and causing emissions of greenhouse gases.”
In fact, the fashion and textile industry is estimated to be worth £21 billion to the UK economy, and provides more than half a million jobs. But globally, the sector causes 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions and 20% of wastewater.
To combat this, the three networks that will research circular fashion include:
- the Back to Baselines in Circular Fashion and Textiles Network, which is being led by the University of Leeds. It will establish a baseline to analyse the current status of sustainability practices in the industry
- the Future Fibres Network, which is being led by the University of Exeter. It aims to embed environmental sciences at the heart of fashion, wider apparel, and textile sectors, and establish systematic, circular and sustainable principles as the industry norm
- the IMPACT+ Network, which is led by Northumbria University. It will assemble a cross-disciplinary team to improve the collation, analysis and assessment of data to advance the reliability and authenticity of environmental impact measures.
British Fashion Council CEO Caroline Rush said growing businesses responsibly “requires platforms, support and co-ordination.
“We look forward to working with industry and government to support the UK in retaining its reputation as creative leaders in a global industry and to develop its ability to responsibly and collectively address how we accelerate to a leading Circular Fashion Eco-System in the UK,” she added.
