A new network has been launched to bring environmental science into the heart of the UK fashion, clothing and textile sectors.
- The Future Fibres Network Plus (FFN+) officially launched at the Design Museum in London Wednesday with an event involving designers, manufacturers, small businesses and researchers.
THE WORK: The FFN+ is a collaboration between the University of Exeter, University of Leeds, University of the Arts London, University of Huddersfield and University of Plymouth.
- It is part of the UKRI Network Plus in Circular Fashion and Textiles, and the wider £15 million UKRI Circular Fashion Programme which aims to keep the UK at the forefront of the global fashion and textiles industry.
- The network is offering £1 million in total for short-term, targeted mini-projects to encourage academic-industry collaborations.
- The project includes a partnership with the UK Fashion and Textile Association (UKFT), which represents UK retail, luxury brands as well as textile manufacturers.
- The project director is Professor Tamara Galloway from the University of Exeter.
- A key objective of the project is to counter the current siloed disciplinary approach that exacerbates the complexity of the environmental challenge.
- The FFN+ consortium is uniquely placed to address this issue, operating across established networks of expertise spanning environment, design, STEM and humanities capabilities across academic, industrial, public and private organisations, communities and networks.
The Team: The team members include:
- University of Exeter: Tamara Galloway, Ceri Lewis, Fiona Charnley, Jacqui Richards, Ruth Cherrington.
- University of the Arts London: Kate Goldsworthy, Mahbub Hassan, Rosie Hornbuckle.
- University of Leeds: Richard Blackburn, Paul Kay.
- University of Huddersfield: Pratik Goswami.
- University of Plymouth: Richard Thompson, Katie Major-Smith, Kayleigh Wyles, Max Kelly.
- UKFT: Adam Mansell.
WHAT THEY SAID:
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—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.
— Professor Tamara Galloway
Ecotoxicologist
University of Exeter
Future Fibres is a ground-breaking network bringing industry and researchers from design, technology and environmental science together to work on new solutions to tackle the huge impact of the fashion and textile industry on the natural environment. It begins with designing materials, products and systems that consider our ecosystems from the start and importantly involving stakeholders from the entire value-chain. We are asking the question ‘what would we design differently if we understood the environment as our end-user?’
— Professor Kate Goldsworthy
Circular Design and Innovation, Chelsea College of Arts
University of the Arts London
