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Future Fibres Network Plus June Newsletter
Dear subscribers,
Welcome to our June newsletter! You can catch up on all the latest news, events and interviews below. If you would like to promote an event or share research, please do get in touch at ffnplus@exeter.ac.uk.
With warm wishes,
Tamara
Tamara Galloway is Professor of Ecotoxicology at The University of Exeter
Future Fibres Network Plus event at the Design Museum
We were thrilled to host a vibrant showcase event at the stunning Design Museum in Kensington, London. This was an opportunity to share the progress so far of our eight mini projects funded through our Network. One year on, each project shared exciting developments and insights into their research, highlighting the diverse and innovative approaches shaping the future of sustainable fibres. The event also provided a fantastic opportunity for networking, sparking new conversations and collaborations across disciplines. There was real appetite, energy and enthusiasm to work together, to, for example, educate the wider public about sustainable fashion. We need to provide evidence to secure future funding and progress. The commercial viability of scaling up these mini projects was also discussed. We will share more details in our next newsletter. Here are some photos of the day!
Ben Parker's recent talk at Envirochat
Ben Parker's update at University of Exeter's HSE themed seminars: 'Envirochat'. As well as working on one of our mini projects, Bio-based sequins, Ben has recently had a paper on “Impacts of non-petroleum and petroleum-based microfibers on aquatic organisms: a meta-analysis”* (link below) published. He'll soon be part of a team working on Fibre properties and fate - more news on that to follow!
Future Fibres | New Future Fibres Network+ publication now available online!
Launched this month: Future Forward Factories
Fashion for Good and Arvind Limited have joined forces in a ground-breaking initiative called Future Forward Factories, which tackles what we know (and especially, what we can change) about sustainable textile manufacturing, highlighting real-world implementation.
Future Forward Factories will deliver two interconnected components: an open-source blueprint that can be adopted industry-wide, and a first-of-its-kind physical facility in Gujarat, India that proves these innovations work at commercial scale. Read more here.
UKFT launches the 'Reshoring for Real: The future of domestic UK apparel manufacturing' report
UKFT is delighted to launch the ‘Reshoring for Real: The future of domestic UK apparel manufacturing’ report, which explores opportunities for growing domestic fashion manufacturing. It presents a comprehensive analysis of current sourcing trends as well as future prospects for apparel manufacturing in the UK. The research is based on insights from eight leading UK retailers with a combined turnover of £26.1 billion and operations in 180 countries. It explores current sourcing behaviours, global supply chain dynamics, circularity initiatives and provides recommendations to boost domestic UK manufacturing. SP&KO consultancy have strongly contributed to the delivery of this report contributing in-depth industry research and ESG expertise
New PCT Knowledge and Information Portal
The Network Plus in Circular Fashion and Textiles, the umbrella body under which all three subnetworks sit, has launched a Knowledge and Information Portal (KIP). This open-access website will bring together the outputs developed as part of the work programme across all three subnetworks, as well as curated research and resources from across the fashion and textile sector.
A monthly e-bulletin will be launched shortly, which will send news of all the latest resources direct to people’s inboxes - visit the portal to subscribe.
For more information: https://circulartextilesportal.org
ECR Seminar Series
The ECR Network, led by Dr. Abigail Irving-Munro is hosting a monthly seminar series, spotlighting career journeys in circular fashion research across academia and industry. Their second session kicked off on 27 June with guest speaker Dr. Alana James. Please contact Abigail Irving-Munro for upcoming sessions at a.irving-munro@northumbria.ac.uk.
Fashion, Luxury and Education Summit 2025 – The Milan Edition: Emerging Challenges for Fashion, Luxury and Education in 2025 and Beyond
📍 Milan | 🗓️ Monday 14 July 2025
The Fashion, Luxury & Education Summit – The Milan Edition invites leading professionals, scholars, and forward thinkers to engage in focused dialogue around innovation, sustainability, digital transformation, ethics, and education in the luxury landscape.
This one-day event offers a rare platform for conversation and collaboration between those shaping the future of fashion and those preparing the next generation of global talent. Read more...
Textile Institute World Conference (TIWC) 2025 - Fibre to Future: Transforming Fashion and Textiles through Sustainability and Digitalisation
The 93rd Textile Institute World Conference (TIWC) 2025 will be hosted by AQUITEX and take place from 7 – 10 October 2025 at Porto Palácio Congress Hotel and Spa, Porto, Portugal. The conference will explore cutting-edge approaches to addressing sustainability challenges, from the environmental impact of textile production to the development of circular economies. It will showcase innovative digital technologies that enhance efficiency, transparency, and sustainability across the entire supply chain—from fibre production and manufacturing to consumer use and end-of-life solutions. Read more here.
Future Observatory: Tomorrow’s Wardrobe
Discover the urgent research and innovation taking place to design a future for fashion that is both stylish and sustainable. Tomorrow's Wardrobe brings together a diversity of designers from across the fashion industry who are revolutionising the way we create, make, and wear clothes – including exhibits from friends of Future Fibres – Project Plan B and Dr Laetitia Forst. Professor Kate Goldsworthy supported the exhibition as curatorial advisor alongside Jalaj Hora (Nike) and Susan Postlethwaite (Manchester Metropolitan University). More information here. This event runs until August 2025.
The leading conference for research and innovation in the creative industries, bringing together thinkers, makers, researchers, creatives, start-ups, students, investors and policy-makers from across the globe. This year’s conference takes place on November 24 – 26 in Media City, Salford and explores the intersection between imagination, technology and place, focusing on the rise of CreaTech, Innovation Districts and the Creator Economy. For more information, please visit the link: BEYOND 2025
PLATE (Product Lifetimes and the Environment Conference)
This event will take place at Aalborg University in Denmark from 2-4 July. More information can be found here.
To keep up-to-date with Future Fibres Network+ latest events, go to the website, www.futurefibresnetworkplus.com, follow us at @futurefibresnetwork+ or to sign up to our newsletter register here.
Call for Papers for SETAC: EFFECTS OF TEXTILES MICROFIBERS & CHEMICALS IN THE ENVIRONMENT
There is still time to submit your manuscript to the Special Issue “Textiles Microfibers and Chemicals” that Professor Tamara Galloway is guest editing. More information can be found here.
New paper published: "Rethinking fibres: Integrating environmental sciences with textile innovation" by Ruth Cherrington1, Ben Parker1 and Tamara Galloway1
Dr. Ruth Cherrington, together with Dr. Ben Parker and Professor Tamara Galloway, has published a case study titled "Rethinking fibres: Integrating environmental sciences with textile innovation." The study considers the environmental impact of textile fibres, including microfibre pollution from both synthetic and natural materials. It emphasizes the importance of incorporating environmental science into textile design and promoting circular strategies to reduce fibre loss, waste, and ecological harm. The paper also discusses the role of interdisciplinary networks (using FFN+ as a case study), identifies current research gaps, and highlights opportunities for sustainable innovation in the textile industry. Read more...
New Blog Post: "Vienna- City of Music, City of Dreams, and the City of Research"
Read a new blog post by Ishrat Badruddin, University of Leeds, "Vienna - City of Music, City of Dreams, and the City of Research" here.
Information on Future Opportunities
UKRI Policy Fellowship 2025
UKRI fund a cohort of policy fellows. Fellows will provide research and expert advice on the host’s policy priority areas and support wider knowledge exchange between government, policy, and academia. UKRI policy fellowships 2025 – UKRI
UKRI Policy Internship Scheme
As part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)’s postgraduate training portfolio, the UKRI Policy Internships scheme provides an opportunity for UKRI-funded doctoral students to undertake a three-month placement at one of a selected group of influential policy organisations. UKRI Policy Internships scheme – UKRI
ECR Fellowships (in cultural and heritage institutions)
This fellowship offers early career postdoctoral (or equivalent) researchers the opportunity to gain research and career experience in the galleries, libraries, archives, and museums (GLAM) sector. More details here.
Follow us on Instagram or LinkedIn to hear about the network's latest events throughout the UK. We have moved from X to Bluesky.
The Future Fibres Network+ newsletter is published monthly.
Email ffnplus@exeter.ac.uk to join our mailing list and network.
Do you have any news, an event or paper you would like to promote? Email the details with any links or images to: ffnplus@exeter.ac.uk by 20 June 2025.
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