The recently set up collaborative Fibre-fragmentation and Environment Research Hub (FibER Hub) will build on existing knowledge and compliment those learnings through the exploration of additional environmental settings in which textiles shed fibres.
- The research will inform the development of more sustainable textiles in the future, with targeted interventions throughout the lifespan to reduce shedding rates.
- It will extensively test a wide variety of fabrics to determine the level of microfibre loss under different conditions and the associated environmental impacts.
COLLABORATION: The FibER Hub is the result of a collaboration between the Northumbria School of Design, Arts and Creative Industries and The Microfibre Consortium (TMC), a science-led nonprofit.
- TMC connects academic research with the reality of commercial supply chain production to facilitate science-led change within the industry. It is the first and only organisation that is fully focused on this issue and works on behalf of its 95 signatories, which include global brands and retailers, suppliers, and NGOs.
- The FibER Hub has been developed as part of the IMPACT+ project – a multi-disciplinary network of academics and industry experts, set up to challenge the way environmental impact is measured and assessed across the fashion and textiles industries.
- Established in 2023, the project is funded through UK Research and Innovation’s circular fashion and textile programme NetworkPlus, and includes academics from Northumbria University, King’s College London and Loughborough University, covering a variety of expertise, such as water, air and soil pollution, forensic science, design, and big data.
- Working alongside them are representatives from global fashion brands including Barbour, Montane, and ASOS; sustainable clothing companies Agogic and This is Unfolded; campaign groups Fashion Revolution and WRAP; and the Northern Clothing and Textile Network, Newcastle City Council and Newcastle Gateshead Initiative.
THE CONTEXT: In recent years, efforts have focused on quantifying microfibre loss from domestic laundering.
- Recent research has shown that the clothes we wear shed microfibres throughout their entire lifespan, from textile manufacture through to everyday wear.
- Even microfibres from fabrics considered ‘natural’, such as cotton, can have a negative impact on the environment, as manufacturing processes introduce chemical dyes and finishes to the fabric so that it is no longer in its natural state.
WHAT THEY SAID:
This strategic partnership reflects the core aim of the IMPACT+ Network by focusing on microfibres as an overlooked and unmeasured environmental pollutant. Interdisciplinary collaboration with design and environmental science will enable our research to reduce fibre shedding at the root cause, whilst implementing these insights directly within an industry setting
— Dr Alana James
Principal Investigator
Northumbria University
The FibER Hub collaboration enables TMC to draw on the interdisciplinary skills and technical capabilities of Northumbria and the IMPACT+ team to expand our knowledge offering to our signatory community. Through this collaboration, the TMC research team will provide direction to relevant research informed by industry needs, to go beyond what is possible today and create robust, wide ranging and comprehensive lifespan data on fibre fragmentation.
— Dr Kelly Sheridan
Associate Professor (Forensic Science) / Chief Executive Officer
Northumbria University / The Microfibre Consortium
