Investing in solutions to improve the sustainability of UK clothing

The Leeds Institute of Textiles and Colour (LITAC) has funded an exciting Scholarship opportunity to explore circularity solutions and garment durability in partnership with WRAP and the Textile 2030 initiative.

Textiles 2030 is WRAP’s award-winning ground-breaking, expert-led initiative, harnessing the knowledge and expertise of UK leaders in sustainability to accelerate the whole fashion and textiles industry’s move towards circularity and system change in the UK. The University of Leeds was the first to sign up as an affiliate to Textiles 2030 voluntary agreement aiming to tackle environmental impacts in the industry.

Garment durability and increasing utilisation of products are major and underexploited components of circular fashion. Applying textile science and consumer psychology, this Scholarship project intends to identify the key factors that drive garment utilisation and to provide practical guidance on how the carbon, water and waste footprints of clothing can be managed by a better understanding of how garments are used by consumers in the UK.

Whilst exploring the physical durability of garments and how this affects the utilisation, this project will also explore the emotive durability of clothing, to understand how this also influences utilisation. By considering both the technical and emotive aspects of clothing durability, the environmental performance of garments can be considered from a more holistic and circular perspective to provide a new view of sustainable fashion in the UK

If you are interested in applying for this fully-funded PhD Scholarship you can find further details about this and other LITAC funded Scholarships via research opportunities at the University of Leeds.

The successful applicant will join the Leeds Institute of Textiles and Colour (LITAC), a collaborative, multi-disciplinary research institute addressing global challenges in colour, fashion and textiles through research and innovation and teaching.