Sustainable Fashion and Textiles
Sustainable clothing and textiles innovation
The challenge facing the fashion industry
The fashion industry is one of the world’s largest consumer markets, playing a major role in the global economy and supporting the creation of countless jobs. The environmental impact of the industry is high, accounting for 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, 20% of industrial water pollution and contributing to the decline in biodiversity (source: Global Fashion Agenda).
Innovation in fashion and textiles
Innovations in science and technology are enabling the fashion and textiles industry to embrace a kinder and more sustainable future, helping companies and consumers to reduce their environmental impact and move towards eco-friendly, ethically sourced products.
There are clear business opportunities for companies that invest in sustainable products and manufacturing processes. CPI has the facilities and expertise to support technology innovation across the supply chain, including materials innovation, optimisation of manufacturing efficiencies, circularity in materials and manufacturing and supply chain traceability.
Interest in non-animal textiles is rising, with the vegan leather market set to be worth $85 billion globally by 2025.
Clare Trippett
Chief Technologist
How we can help you?
Sustainability is a major trend that is changing the landscape of the global fashion and textiles market. As your innovation partner we can support you with your sustainability strategy and give you the expertise and facilities needed to enable the development of low impact, eco-friendly alternative materials, supply chain traceability and optimised manufacturing efficiencies.
CPI can support you with sustainable fashion and textiles innovation, helping to deliver positive change for our planet. Our world-class, open-access facilities and expertise across a range of technology platforms allow you to scale up, demonstrate and prove your innovative products and processes.
- Industry-relevant expertise and assets: Delivering product development, proof of concept and scale-up services.
- Expertise in securing funding for partners: Enabling the right partnerships, connections and funding routes at the right time.
- Knowledge and application of innovation processes: Business services and consultancy to reduce risk and speed up time to market.
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Our unique capability
CPI’s facilities and expertise in materials and manufacturing innovation can support the development of low impact sustainable materials, enable product circularity, optimise manufacturing efficiencies and add functionality to clothing.
Textile recycling process development and scale-up
We can provide support for textile recycling process development and scale-up, including:
- Support for lab and pilot-scale demonstration of textile recycling technologies
- Process engineering and safety engineering for recycling processes
- Biochemical recycling processes based on microorganisms and enzymes
Materials innovation for sustainable textile development, alternative biomaterials and cellular agriculture
Through recombinant DNA expression and bioprocessing we can support the production of raw materials to create sustainable, low impact textiles that are composed of the same natural protein building blocks and have the same properties as animal-based materials such as leather.
Eco-friendly textile dyes from microorganisms
We can support the development of more sustainable textile dyes through microbial fermentation and help to optimise the manufacture of your microbial dye through developing an energy and time-efficient process.
Additive manufacturing
We can offer support with textile manufacturing technologies such as additive manufacturing to demonstrate on-demand manufacture of textiles and apparel, offer the opportunity for customisable products and multi-materials (biomaterials, recyclable polymers), and creation of micron-level structures and surfaces.
Product and coating formulations
CPI can support the optimisation, characterisation and scale-up of formulations for the textiles industry, including high-throughput capabilities for investigating a broad range of formulation possibilities for textiles and coatings and formulation of bespoke inks, thermoplastics and photopolymer resins for a range of deposition methods.
Printed electronics and smart clothing
Electronics can provide new creative elements for fashion designers. Electronic circuits can be printed and assembled on ultra-thin, flexible and stretchable materials, and integrated into clothing to provide a wide range of functions. This can give your products significant new value which can increase their lifetime but also potentially bring additional revenues from a data-driven business model.
Designing a clean manufacturing process
We can support the development of a clean, efficient and sustainable manufacturing process, including assessing the use of by-products and supporting the development of waste recycling processes
