Non-departmental public body UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has awarded £6 million to the UK fashion and textiles industry in an effort to move towards more sustainable and responsible practices.

UKRI, which is sponsored by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), said the donation will be used to create three “complementary networks of researchers to support the industry in transitioning to sustainable practices".

The first of the three projects to be funded via the investment will be the Back to Baselines in Circular Fashion and Textiles Network, led by the University of Leeds, which will “establish a baseline in order to analyse the current status of practices in the industry”.

The second will be the Future Fibres Network, led by the University of Exeter. This aims to “embed environmental sciences at the heart of fashion, wider apparel and textile sectors, and establish systematic, circular and sustainable principles as the industry norm".

The final project will be Impact+ Network led by Northumbria University. This will create a “cross-disciplinary team to improve the collation, analysis and assessment of data to advance the reliability and authenticity of environmental impact measures”.

Professor Peter Liss, interim executive chair of the Natural Environment Research Council, part of UKRI, said: “The fashion industry makes a significant contribution to the UK. But it also impacts the environment, including using water resources and causing emissions of greenhouse gases. We need to better understand the true impact."

The UK fashion and textiles industry is estimated to be worth £21bn to the national economy, providing over half a million jobs. However, the industry is also responsible for an estimated 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions and 20% of wastewater.

Caroline Rush, chief executive of the British Fashion Council, added: “The British fashion industry leads in creativity and its founders and entrepreneurs are leading innovators in their field. However, in order to responsibly grow businesses at a time of great change requires platforms, support and co-ordination.”

The investment is a key part of UKRI’s £15m Circular Fashion Programme. Its first instalment was a £4m funding competition for businesses, to develop and demonstrate closed-loop recycling for the fashion industry, via new technologies, services, processes and business models capable of addressing the recycling and sorting challenges within the industry.

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