UKFT brings textile innovation to British Textile Week 22

UK researchers are exploring the shift from linear to circular economies, data-driven design, late stage customisation and aesthetic communication to shape the future textile industry, UKFT said in a press release.

UKFT spoke to Stephen Russell, professor of textile materials and technology at the University of Leeds, for British Textile Week to discuss how UK textile companies can work Future Fashion Factory and the new Leeds Institute of Textiles and Colour (LITAC).

Together with Keric Morris from IBM as part of British Textile Week, UKFT discussed a project they have been working on together to improve transparency of fashion supply chains that could create a new benchmark for the UK industry. Keric Morris, the executive partner for enterprise strategy and the global energy and sustainability lead at IBM Global Business Services, explained some of the benefits for UK textile companies and opportunities to get involved with the Sustainable Supply Chain Optimisation (SSCO) project. 

The SSCO project is a research and innovation initiative jointly funded by the UK government through UK Research and Innovation and Innovate UK and the project partners are UKFT, Tech Data, the Future Fashion Factory and IBM. SSCO is a nine-month pilot project which started in April 2021 which is aiming to improve visibility and transparency throughout the fashion supply chain. The pilot organisations working with the project were Next, New Look, Laxtons and N brown and H&M (the COS brand).

“The UK has a great heritage but I think the key strengths are probably quality, provenance and innovation. The quality, some of that goes without saying, because these are companies that work with luxury brands so it’s incredibly important. It’s very evident that a lot of effort goes into maintaining that quality. But also, the level of innovation is essential in order to be able to remain competitive. The provenance is important, too. It means something to be made in the UK and to be designed in the UK, because this is a regulated environment. There’s a tremendous heritage as well, in many cases, and a lot of expertise and know-how embodied in the design and manufacture of fabrics and finished products that come from the UK,” Russell said.

UKFT co-ordinated the project, with the generous support of The Clothworkers’ Company.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RR)