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Six partnerships between industry bodies and academia have been awarded funding to carry out short-term research projects designed to help inform the development of sustainable practices in the Fashion and Textile industry.

The projects are from the first call of the Sustainable Transition Fund, offered by the Back to Baselines in Circular Fashion & Textiles network. This collaborative initiative, led by the Leeds Institute of Textiles and Colour (LITAC), brings together academic researchers, leaders of industry, and other stakeholders to establish a data-driven baseline which will ensure future industrial practice and investment strategy is aligned with environmental targets.

The six successful projects are:

1. Back to baselines: study of end-of-life textiles in Greater Manchester: Analysing textiles destined for disposal in the Greater Manchester region, gathering data on the nature, quality, and material of end-of-life textiles.
2. LEGI-STANDARDS- mapping the relationship between eco-credentials, legislation and digital supply chain solutions in the Textiles and Fashion industry: Investigating the eco-credentials relevant to the UK fashion and textile industry, and mapping them against forthcoming regulations.
3. Testing the impact of a visible Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) fee on consumer clothing choices: Testing the concept of a visible EPR fee as an indicator of the environmental impact of clothing items, and determining whether this changes consumer buying habits.
4. Enabling Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR): Developing an open standard for textiles and fashion data: Developing an Open Standard to help drive consistent data across businesses, making comparable reporting and assessment more viable.
5. Material flow analysis of the non-clothing textiles economy in the UK: Analysing the flows of non-clothing textile streams in the UK, to enable the effective implementation of reuse and recycling strategies.
6. Cultivating a Culture of Clothing Reuse: Exploring Consumer Behaviours in Resale Participation: Exploring the under-utilisation of clothing in the UK, focusing on consumer perceptions and barriers to resale, in order to help cultivate a wider culture of re-use.

Professor Stephen Russell, Director of LITAC and Co-Director of the Back to Baselines network, said: “We are excited to get delivery underway for our first funded projects, which all offer innovative solutions to filling data and knowledge gaps for the fashion and textile industry. Having industry partners involved in the design and delivery of these projects ensures the outcomes generated will be useful, relevant, and will help businesses to meet and exceed sustainability targets.”

A further nine projects have been approved as part of Call 2 for the Sustainable Transition Fund, and will be announced in the coming weeks. The third and final call for the fund is set to open on 1st November 2024. As with previous calls, up to £50,000 of funding will be available for collaborative partnerships between industry and academia to complete projects within a six-month timeframe. Further details will be made available on the Back to Baselines website.

Notes for Editors

About the Back to Baselines in Circular Fashion and Textiles Network

The Leeds Institute of Textiles and Colour (LITAC) is leading the Back to Baselines in Circular Fashion and Textiles Network, in partnership with the UK Fashion and Textile Association (UKFT), the UK’s Waste Resources and Action Programme (WRAP), and researchers from multiple UK universities, to establish comprehensive and scientifically-backed environmental and design baselines, standards and principles for the UK Fashion and Textile industry. The partner universities in the Network are:

• University of Leeds
• University of the Arts London
• Nottingham Trent University
• University of Huddersfield
• Manchester Metropolitan University
• Newcastle University
• Heriot-Watt University
• Royal College of Art.

Back to Baselines is one of three sub-networks within the Circular Fashion and Textiles Network Plus, a collaboration that is working to help understand and drive the fashion and textile industry towards sustainable and responsible practices. The other sub-networks within the collaboration are:

• IMPACT+, led by Northumbria University, which aims to improve the collation, analysis, and assessment of data to advance the reliability and authenticity of environmental impact measures.
• Future Fibres Network+, led by the University of Exeter, which aims to embed environmental sciences at the heart of fashion, wider apparel, and textile sectors.

The Network Plus is part of the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Circular Fashion Programme, funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and Innovate UK.

October 2024

To join us, please email Maddie Ogle, the B2B Network Coordinator (m.v.ogle@leeds.ac.uk) or our sub-network inbox (nplusft@leeds.ac.uk) for the form to complete and return.

Connect with us on LinkedIn to keep in the loop with any news we share from our network, our fellow sub-networks and network members in the wider fashion and textile industry.