LaundRe integral to UK’s circular fashion plans
The UK-based Circular Fashion Innovation Network (CFIN) has published a report detailing two years of collaboration to accelerate the transition to a circular fashion ecosystem.
Led by the British Fashion Council and UK Fashion & Textile Association in partnership with UK Research and Innovation, the project brought together 250 organisations, from raw material suppliers to end-of-life.
The Circular Business Models (CBM) Working Group represented businesses accounting for 42% of UK clothing sales by volume.
The National Textile Recycling Infrastructure Plan provides a framework for developing domestic recycling capabilities to process the 1.3 million tonnes of post-consumer textiles generated annually in the UK.
The modelled National Textile Recycling Hub, integrating three automated sorting plants and a chemical recycling facility, represents a £277 million investment opportunity that would generate hundreds of new jobs and millions in economic benefits for the UK economy, said the partners.
One of the pilot schemes includes washing research and education facility LaundRe, which is in the final stages of setting up in Canning Town, London. LaundRe offers a responsive approach where unwashed jeans are finished in the UK with laser-designed patterns and sustainable processing techniques, allowing brands to create trend-led products without committing to inventory, and has worked with retailer River Island on a pilot.
To move the plan forward, the CFIN suggests an accelerator programme for mid-sized brands to scale circular business models; the testing of automation, robotics and artificial intelligence solutions in manufacturing environments; and a new five to ten-year plan including a cost and environmental analysis of the National Textile Recycling Infrastructure Plan.
