UKRI Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Centre for Textiles: Circular Bioeconomy for Textile Materials

The current global fashion supply chain is characterised by its lack of transparency, forced labour, poor working conditions, unequal power relationships and overproduction caused by fast fashion.

The Textiles Circularity Centre (TCC) proposes materials security for the UK by circularising resource flows of textiles. This will stimulate innovation and economic growth in the UK textile manufacturing, SME apparel and creative technology sectors. It will also reduce reliance on imported and environmentally and ethically-impactful materials, and diversify supply chains. The TCC will provide underpinning research to enable the transition to a more circular economy that supports the brand ‘designed and made in the UK’. To enact this vision, the project will catalyse growth in the fashion and textiles sector by supporting the SME fashion-apparel community with innovations in materials and product manufacturing, access to circular materials through supply chain design, and consumer experiences.

As a human-centred design led centre, TCC is uniquely placed to generate these innovations that will catalyse significant business and skills growth in UK textile manufacturing, SME fashion-apparel, and creative technology sectors, drastically reducing waste and carbon emissions, and environmental and ethical impacts of the textiles sector.