Public Funding for UK Fashion and Textile Association Ltd

Our project will assess the feasibility of a fair and balanced industry-led extended producer responsibility (EPR) system that can drive the transition to circular economy in the UK fashion system. This requires a radical and innovative approach to market data collation, appropriate incentivisation to switch to circular options and appropriate disincentivisation of linear systems. The system must accommodate all supply chain players: designers, manufacturers, brands, retailers, retail platforms (including those that are for resale and rental of clothing), service providers (e.g. cleaning, alteration and repair), collectors of used clothing, sorters, merchants, recyclers and reprocessors. This project is uniquely innovative because all previous producer responsibility systems have been implemented by governments through traditional policy & regulatory mechanisms - for example WEEE, batteries, packaging, etc. Such approaches typically focused only on end of life and recycling, and cannot adopt to rapidly evolving markets. Some fashion brands are said to be releasing up to **_1,000 new product lines each day_**. The UK government recognises the challenges of implementing effective EPR in new areas. As a result, it has been hesitant to implement measures that might unfairly penalise those on low incomes or unintentionally distort the market. Our project will work with key design, manufacturing, retail, collection and recycling trade organisations to assess and test a feasible, data-led market-based EPR system that can be dynamic, flexible and adapt to the emergence of new technologies, retail systems and consumer behaviour. The output will deliver a proof of value model for the UK fashion & textiles sector but may also be replicable to other EPR markets including mattresses, tyres, carpets, etc.

The UK fashion and textile industry contributes \>£32bn pa to the UK economy, yet it is an industry facing significant challenges. Consumer demands on the industry -- from fast fashion at competitive prices to manufacturing of luxury, high quality products, there is a need to ensure sustainability and ethical practices as well as address the needs of multiple channels from high-street to on-line portals. Then COVID-19 disrupted manufacturing supply chains and retail, creating unsold inventory and placing financial pressure on many businesses. This has accelerated the need to do things differently; leveraging technology, changing key processes, redesigning supply chains; to build back better with more sustainable, less wasteful and more cost effective processes, that better match customers needs with the right products, and supporting all manufacturing suppliers, logistics organisations and raw materials producers, to grow. Such capability would make the UK industry a true global leader. This project will build out a new industry digital platform that directly address these issues. It will allow manufacturers and retailers to meet emerging customer needs, more effectively managing day-to-day business delivery and global supply chains, infusing the system with more insight and transparency, using new digital technology to map organisations businesses and help them re-balance supply and demand using a new prototype set of digital tools. These same digital tools will enable us to address the long-standing environmental and social impacts of the Industry, transforming UK Fashion & Textiles into one of the most sustainable and resilient eco-systems in the world, strengthening the UK's competitive position and accelerating economic growth. Finally, the approach will also help to 'future proof' delivery, enabling issues such as the demands of Brexit to be managed as part of the solution. The defined framework will allow any size of UKFT business to participate, improving overall industry competitiveness and resilience. The project consortia has been brought together by the Future Fashion Factory Programme, one of nine ISCF-funded Creative Industries Cluster Programmes.