UAL hosts Designing for Recyclability workshop with Circular Textiles Foundation
- Written byKatie Moss
- Published date 11 December 2023
Earlier this month, UAL’s Fashion, Textiles and Technology Institute (FTTI) hosted the Designing for Recyclability workshop in partnership with the Circular Textiles Foundation at Chelsea College of Arts.
Participants discussed the impacts that the use of recycled fibres can have in reducing the carbon and water footprint within the fashion and textiles industry, and how these circular practices can be embedded within their operations.
The session was joined by some big brands - all working to create and embed change in their practices, including BAM Bamboo Clothing, The White Company, George at Asda and Farah.
The workshop was part of an ongoing 12-month research project looking into how we can quantify circularity, led by UAL and the Circular Textiles Foundation in collaboration with data analysts at Textiles 2030 and supported by Innovate UK.
The team are seeking to address the significant impact of textiles and apparel production on climate change, through the development of circular solutions with and for the textile and apparel industry.
Through collaboration with industry, academics, and solution providing stakeholders, the project seeks to deliver approaches and guidelines that will inform the design of clothing that fibre-to-fibre recyclers can recycle and will contribute to a circular value chain.
Throughout the project, the guidelines will be applied to redesigning apparel and uniform products from a number of partner brands, including those that joined the workshop. Researchers will also work with expert recycling organisation WRAP Textiles 2030 to identify the environmental and economic benefits of choosing circular design methods, to encourage industry investment and adoption for the longer term.
The next two workshops in this series will be held in early 2024, in Manchester and Kettering. If you are a brand interested in attending either of these research workshops.
Please get in touch with Professor Kate Goldsworthy and UAL FTTI for further information.