A new network will offer grants of up to £100,000 for “mini-projects” to make sustainable fashion a reality.

Future Fibres Network Plus officially launches at the Design Museum in London today (Wednesday 22 May 2024) with an event involving designers, manufacturers, small businesses and researchers.

Globally, the clothing industry generates 10 tonnes of textile waste per second, a fifth of the world’s water pollution, and more greenhouse gas emissions than aviation and shipping combined.

Led by the University of Exeter, Future Fibres Network Plus will bring environmental science into the heart of the UK fashion, clothing and textile sectors.

As part of this, the network is offering £1 million in total for short-term, targeted mini-projects to encourage academic-industry collaborations.

Ananas Anam

Future Fibres is part of the UKRI Network Plus in Circular Fashion and Textiles, and the wider UKRI Circular Fashion Programme which aims to keep the UK at the forefront of the global fashion and textiles industry.

“It’s no longer good enough to design textiles and garments without thinking about what happens to them at the end of their life,” said the project’s director Professor Tamara Galloway, ecotoxicologist at the University of Exeter.

“We need to design in sustainability from the start – developing more circular, less wasteful supply chains and changing people’s perceptions and attitudes to the clothes they wear.

“The funding call for mini-projects is a practical step towards enabling a more sustainable future for the industry, and aims to fund a wide range of relevant new projects and innovations.”

Dr Rosie Hornbuckle, from University of the Arts London (UAL), added: “Future Fibres is a ground-breaking network bringing fashion brands, design and environmental science together to work on new solutions to tackle the huge impact of the fashion and textile industry on the natural environment.

“The network will build a new repository and innovative resources for education, as well as engaging with policy and citizens to increase the impact of environmental science relating to fibre and textile pollution and its many devastating impacts.”

Image: Future Fibres Network Town hall Meeting (22 May 2022)

The event will be chaired by BBC science journalist Victoria Gill, who will talk about the importance of storytelling – especially positive stories.

The event will include talks on how the fibres enter the environment, the impact this has on marine life, and how one company uses the tops of pineapples to create a sustainable yarn.

The project team includes the universities of Exeter, Leeds, Huddersfield, Plymouth and UAL, in partnership with UKFT the UK Fashion & Textile Association (UKFT).

Professor Galloway added: “We are really excited to be leading Future Fibres Network Plus, which will bridge the gap between industry and science.”

For more details of Future Fibres Network Plus, including how to apply for the new funding, click the link below.

Visit the Future Fibres Network Plus website

Find out more about UKFT’s activity and projects supporting Innovation, R&D and Sustainability for the UK fashion and textile industry here.