30 September 2021

UAL Launches Fashion, Textiles and Technology Institute

Building on the Business of Fashion, Textiles & Technology (BFTT) Creative R&D Partnership, the UAL: Fashion, Textiles and Technology Institute has been launched to deliver sustainable innovation across the entire fashion and textiles value chain.

The FTTI brings together established research centres and hubs, with specialist fields spanning design, STEM and humanities. It will employ a whole-systems approach to challenges including climate change, ethical and working practices, and the circular economy.

The Institute’s combination of industry and academic expertise is a pioneering new model for academia, making it uniquely placed to deliver real-world solutions. Recent advances in chemical engineering and technology, such as Artificial Intelligence and machine learning, will be harnessed to drive a more sustainable future.

“As we look to the future, and the UK’s economic recovery, we have a once in a generation opportunity to build an economy which addresses the urgent challenges of our times – from climate change to ethical working practices. The FTTI, building on the extraordinary R&D work of the BFTT, will bring together industry and academia to shape thinking and deliver sustainable solutions for meaningful change across the wide-ranging fashion, textiles and technology industry.” James Purnell, President and Vice-Chancellor of UAL

The Institute is now is partnering with the British Council on an initiative to support new ideas for the future of sustainable fashion, textiles and related technology. This pilot programme called New Landscapes: Fashion, Textiles and Technology (FTT) Catalyst R&D Grant Scheme will encourage international cooperation to re-evaluate the industry’s relationship with climate change, the environment, and the need for radical transparency and social responsibility.