Innovation, R&D and Sustainability for UK fashion and textiles
Textile innovation can be found in the cars we drive, the buildings we live and work in, the planes and trains we use, on the sports field, in operating rooms, the battlefield and even in outer space and there are major growth opportunities for UK companies in medical textiles, advanced materials and composites and smart textiles.
Textile innovation in the UK is ranked number 3 in the world and number 1 in Europe in terms of patent generation and a recent survey shows that spending on R&D in the industry stands at 5% of turnover – above the average for all manufacturing industries.
At the same time the demands placed on the sector to transform to a sustainable, environmentally responsible and ethical model has never been stronger. Circularity, sustainability and a transparent use of resources now dominate the agenda of all progressive fashion and textile companies.
UKFT works across a wide range of projects to help the UK industry take full advantage of these new technologies and markets and to help change the future landscape of the textile industry in the UK into one where circularity and environmentally sustainable supply chains are the new normal.
UKFT Innovation and R&D projects

Sustainability 101
UKFT is launching a new series of guides to support UK fashion and textile businesses on their sustainability journeys
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Back to Baselines
UKFT is part of a project led by the University of Leeds to develop scientifically-backed environmental and design baselines to analyse the current status of sustainability practices
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Autosort for Circular Textiles Demonstrator (ACT UK)
UKFT is leading a £4 million project to develop and pilot a pioneering fully-integrated, automated sorting and pre-processing demonstrator for waste textiles
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Circular Fashion Innovation Network
UKFT is co-chairing a new programme in partnership with the British Fashion Council (BFC), which will support and guide the creation of a circular fashion ecosystem in the UK
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EPR Data Sandbox
Creating a fair, industry-led extended producer responsibility system that incentivises circular economy principles across the supply chain
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Digital Supply Chain Hub Testbeds
Improve the visibility of data flows of waste textiles, as part of our ambition to create a circular textile supply chain in the UK
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Sustainability in UK Textiles
An event to share best practice on sustainability within the UK textile industry and discuss how the sector can grow its capacity and capability, while remaining competitive
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Future Fibres Network+
UKFT is part of the new Future Fibres Network+ (FFN+) led by the University of Exeter and aims to embed environmental sciences at the heart of fashion, wider apparel and textile sectors
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Sustainable Supply Chain Optimisation
A pilot project to create a data-driven platform, enabling manufacturing supply chain real-time decision-making, effective track and trace, and sustainability
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Future Fashion Factory
A £5.4 million R&D partnership exploring and developing new digital and advanced textile technologies to boost the design of high-value creative products. UKFT's Adam Mansell is chair of the project
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The Business of Fashion, Textiles and Technology (BFTT)
The Business of Fashion, Textiles and Technology (BFTT) is a five-year industry-led project, which focuses on delivering sustainable innovation within the entire fashion and textile supply chain
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Sustainability & Government Policy
Find out more about UK Government Policy around sustainability in the UK fashion and textile industry, and UKFT's role in activity
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Textiles Circularity Centre
A new Textiles Circularity Centre, led by the Royal College of Art, aims to reduce the UK’s reliance on imported and environmentally- and ethically-impactful clothing materials
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Traceability for Sustainable Garment and Footwear
A UNECE project to develop an international framework initiative to enhance transparency and traceability. UKFT is on the main strategic committee board and in the subgroup for industry pilots
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Textiles 2030
UKFT is a signatory to Textiles 2030, which aims to accelerate the fashion and textiles industry’s move towards circularity and system change in the UK. UKFT's Adam Mansell is on the advisory board
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Institute for Positive Fashion
BFC's Institute for Positive Fashion celebrates industry best practice and encourages future business decisions to create positive change. UKFT's Adam Mansell is on the steering committee
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