Royal support for first Sustainability in UK Textiles conference
The first Sustainability in UK Textiles conference was opened by Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal (Anne), who is president of conference organiser UK Fashion and Textile Association (UKFT).
The conference, organised to share best practice on sustainability and discuss how the sector can grow, welcomed speakers from textile manufacturers including Alex Begg, AW Hainsworth, Camira Fabrics, and John Smedley while academics from the University of Huddersfield and University of Leeds outlined how the research and education can support the sector.
Dr John Parkinson from iinnouiio explained how his start-up is reinvigorating traditional recycling techniques to recover wool and cashmere, while Jo Dawson, founder of HD Wool and chairman of wool merchant H Dawson, outlined how he is building on a 130-year heritage to take the performance benefits of wool to a new audience.
Resources and waste minister Jo Churchill said: “The fashion industry accounts for around 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions and 20% of industrial water pollution globally – so I am hugely excited to see innovations in our textile manufacturing industry which will reduce over-reliance on virgin materials and boost the green credentials of our UK textiles sector.
