A project led by Northumbria University has been awarded almost £2m of funding to work out a collective approach to measuring and assessing the sustainability of the fashion industry.
- The aim of the programme is to fulfil UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) ambition to transform the circular fashion and textiles sector.
- A core component of this mission is to fund networks that bring together different communities to identify, prioritise and develop emerging research and knowledge exchange challenges.
THE STUDY: Over the next two years the group will work together to gain a better understanding of how the environmental impact of fashion garments is currently measured, sharing their expertise to get a true picture of the scale of the problem.
- There are many issues with the current process for assessing environmental impact within the fashion industry. For a start, it relies very much on the self-reporting of data and is operated on an opt-in basis rather than as a mandatory requirement.
- The complexity of the global supply chain means that tracing a product from start to finish is challenging and results in a lot of average measurements being used when reporting.
- Industry experts also need to start thinking beyond the carbon footprint of a garment and look at factors such as how microfibres from clothes are shed and the impact this has on the health of our oceans, rivers, soil and air quality.
THE FUNDING: The project has received the funding through a joint programme between the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), and the UK’s national innovation agency Innovate UK.
THE STAKEHOLDERS: The project will be led by Dr Alana James of Northumbria University, whose research focuses on creating sustainable change in the future of the fashion industry.
- She will work alongside colleagues from Northumbria, as well as King’s College London and Loughborough University, covering a variety of expertise, including water, air and soil pollution, forensic science, design, and big data.
- They will be joined by 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.
WHAT THEY SAID:
By bringing together both academic and industry experts we hope to combine our knowledge to establish a meaningful network and a lasting legacy which will lead to changes in how the fashion industry measures its impact on the environment. This will lead to much greater transparency, allowing consumers to make more informed decisions about where they spend their money.
— Dr Alana James
Assistant Professor, Northumbria School of Design
Northumbria University
