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Huddersfield is one of five universities comprising the £1.6m Future Fibres Network+ (FFN+).
The network’s research will embed environmental sciences at the heart of fashion and textile sectors. It will establish systematic, circular and sustainable principles as the norm and build a critical mass of transdisciplinary expertise and methodologies.
Alongside the Universities of Exeter, Plymouth, Leeds and the University of Arts London, Huddersfield will look into ways to improve the fashion industry’s poor environmental record.
The funding is part of £6 million awarded to three teams of researchers by the Natural Environment Research Council, Arts and Humanities Research Council and Innovate UK. It is a key part of UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) £15 million Circular Fashion Programme. The University of Huddersfield is also a key partner in a new £4 million project led by the UK Fashion and Textiles Association (UKFT) that aims to stop thousands of tonnes of waste textiles from going into landfill, and the project led by University of Leeds - Back to Baselines in Circular Fashion and Textiles Network.
Improving fashion industry's sustainability record
“The USP of this project is to embed environmental science in all our decision-making process and get informed by environmental scientists in our innovation ecosystem,” said Professor Parik Goswami, Associate Dean for Research, Innovation and Knowledge Exchange for Arts and Humanities, and Director of the University’s Technical Textiles Research Centre.
Professor Tamara Galloway OBE, Professor of Ecotoxicology at the University of Exeter, will lead the project. She said: “Our vision is to embed environmental sciences at the heart of the fashion and textiles sector. Building the Future Fibres Network is a first step towards transforming the fashion industry towards a new, low carbon future. We’re excited to be bringing together all sorts of expertise in business, design, manufacturing and the environment to achieve this.
“It’s no longer good enough to design textiles and garments without thinking about what happens to them at the end of their life; we need to design in sustainability from the start. This could include manufacturing smarter fabrics or garments that don’t cause harm to the environment during their manufacture, use and disposal. It could also include developing more circular, less wasteful supply chains or changing people’s perceptions and attitudes to the clothes they wear.”
Professor Goswami, who is also on the board of UKFT, added, “It is so refreshing to see that industry and academia are working together in all these projects for the betterment of the fashion and textiles ecosystem.”
Caroline Rush, Chief Executive, British Fashion Council, said: "The British fashion industry leads in creativity and its founders and entrepreneurs are leading innovators in their field. However, in order to responsibly grow businesses at a time of great change 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.”
Adam Mansell, CEO of UKFT, the UK Fashion and Textile Association, added: "Sustainable manufacturing and recycling infrastructure will be key drivers in the move to a circular fashion ecosystem here in the UK."