Textiles Circularity Centre to develop new UK-made supply chains
16/11/2020
A new Textiles Circularity Centre, led by the Royal College of Art, aims to reduce the UK’s reliance on imported and environmentally- and ethically-impactful clothing materials. The centre plans to develop new ‘designed and made in the UK’ industries.
The centre will lead research to turn post-consumer textiles, crop residues and household waste into renewable materials for use in textiles. By doing this, they will develop new UK-based supply chains from waste management and farming through to textile production and design.
The TCC has received investment of £5.4m over four years and is one of five circular economy centres funded by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Centres Programme.
Led by the RCA’s Professor Sharon Baurley, with Professor Phil Purnell (University of Leeds) as co-director, and working in collaboration with Cranfield University, University of Cambridge, University College London, University of Manchester and University of York, the TCC will also work with a wide range of partners from industry, the NGO sector, and the public sector.
The TCC research programme has three interconnecting Research Strands: Materials Circularity (MC), Circular Supply Chain (SC), and Consumer Experience (CX).