The Sustainable Textiles Research Accelerator

A new fundraising project will help the University tackle the global issues of the textiles industry, which is facing increasing environmental scrutiny.
With global clothing consumption expected to increase by 63% in the next five years, the fashion and textiles industry needs cutting edge solutions to address an already urgent environmental crisis.
Textiles has been woven into the fabric of the University of Leeds since its earliest days. For 150 years, our textiles researchers have worked hand-in-hand with businesses to tackle challenges.
A brand new research programme, the Sustainable Textiles Research Accelerator, will enable Leeds to use its expertise to find sustainable solutions for the textiles industry.
Why now?
The fashion and textiles industry is one of the most polluting on the planet, and consumption is only increasing.
Fashion and textiles is estimated to be responsible for up to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Almost 100 million tonnes of waste goes to incineration or landfill each year, with growing concerns about fibres and microplastics leaking into the environment.
It puts pressure on vital resources like land and water, and in the UK alone over 300,000 tonnes of textile waste is thrown away annually.
That's why the UN and other stakeholders have outlined the need to transition away from the overconsumption of fast fashion towards a circular textiles economy – in which materials are kept in use for as long as possible before being recovered and regenerated.
As consumption continues to rise, the sector must become more sustainable if it is to be fit for the future.
150 years of expertise
Leeds is well placed to drive positive change in the textiles industry – the University has been doing so for over 150 years:
- In the mid-nineteenth century, 40% of the population of Leeds were employed in the textiles industry.
- Local industry helped establish the Yorkshire College of Science, one of the Victorian institutions which formed the University. The College helped them to harness emerging technologies, develop skilled workers and retain textile expertise in the face of overseas competition.
- The Departments of Textile Industries and of Tinctorial Chemistry and Dyeing were founded at the Yorkshire College of Science in 1874. The Worshipful Company of Clothworkers, one of London’s ancient livery companies, funded its first buildings.
- Industry-leading breakthroughs were commonplace. In the 1920s and 30s, for example, textile physics lecturer William Astbury used keratin and collagen fibres to develop X-ray diffraction of biomolecules. This laid the foundations for the emerging field of molecular biology and the discovery of DNA’s double-helix structure.
- Over 150 years, a department focused on wool and early man-made fibres evolved into one exploring new materials and responding to the challenges of waste, climate change and our planet’s dwindling resources.
- The relationship with The Clothworkers’ Company continues to flourish. Their multimillion-pound investment to establish the Leeds Institute of Textiles and Colour (LITAC) is the biggest gift they have ever made to the University.

World leading initiatives
We are responding to the needs of industry, just as we did 150 years ago. It really feels like things have come full circle.
Leeds has the expertise, the state-of-the-art facilities, and the track record of brokering innovative industry collaborations to lead the way.
“We’re providing leadership on how we should design and manufacture textile products for the 21st Century,” says Stephen Russell, Professor of Textile Materials and Technology. "The Leeds Institute of Textiles and Colour is central to that."
With some of the most extensively equipped research labs of their kind in the UK, LITAC’s scientists and designers develop new solutions for a range of global challenges – from infection control to the prevention of microplastic pollution.
LITAC has more than 500 active industry collaborations to advance sustainable textiles.
Future Fashion Factory...
...is a £6.1m research and industry partnership at Leeds, which showcases the power of collaboration. Supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, researchers explore and develop new digital and advanced textile technologies alongside the UK’s luxury fashion industry.
Future Fashion Factory research led to the launch of a unique BSc in Textile Innovation and Sustainability at Leeds in 2024, which will help to create a future cohort of individuals equipped to tackle industry challenges.
It is the perfect platform from which to make global change.
The Sustainable Textiles Research Accelerator will capitalise on LITAC's expertise, collaborations, and infrastructure. It will take a whole-system approach that cannot be achieved in discrete research projects for a sector of this scale.
It will enable Leeds to find sustainable solutions for the global fashion and textiles industry.
The Sustainable Textiles Research Accelerator
Over five years, a series of research projects will deliver innovations that enable the transition to a circular economy in textiles.
Here's how:
- New technical solutions and insights will be found through at least 20 research projects. A global cohort of PhD and post-doctoral researchers will develop specialist skills and expertise in each area of a circular system – covering sustainable materials, manufacturing and processes, use and recycling, and consumer behaviour.
- Wide-ranging academia-industry collaboration and information-sharing will help to achieve impactful outcomes. That's where Leeds' long history of bringing together key partners and working as an established knowledge broker in professional networks will prove vital.
- A new generation of sustainable textiles technologists will become established, capable of taking leadership roles to drive circular innovation, decision-making, and strategy. The legacy of the Sustainable Textiles Research Accelerator will be felt long into the future.
And as well as technical solutions, attitudes must also shift. The group will work to foster positive behaviour change across the entire system – from raw materials to consumer behaviour – to incentivise and accelerate sustainable development.
The Sustainable Textiles Research Accelerator will develop new renewable materials and fibres, digital tools, fibre processing and production processes, as well as innovative recycling techniques.

What's next?
Donor support is needed to help find sustainable solutions for the global fashion and textiles industry.
For more information about The Sustainable Textiles Research Accelerator, and for details of how you might support the programme, contact Development Manager Suzie Moores at S.Moores@leeds.ac.uk