The UK fashion industry contributes £50bn to UK GDP. However the textile industry is very water intensive with 5000 gallons of water needed to dye and produce just one cotton T shirt and a pair of jeans. This has direct impact on the countries which manufacture product and globally through overuse of water resources.
The project brings together an innovative SME, an established and innovative UK textile dyehouse; the University of Leeds and a UK equipment manufacturer to develop a technology that will significantly reduce water use in natural fibre textile production leading to significant environmental benefits.
Currently UK fashion employs 800,000 people but only 40,000 in manufacturing. This project offers the potential to revitalise manufacturing in the UK and reshore jobs to traditional textile towns without adverse environmental effects.