The UK disposes of one million tonnes of textiles every year, 300,000 tonnes of which end up in landfill or incineration. Some figures suggest 10% of global CO2 emissions come from the fashion industry. 

The football sector is a huge contributor to this - approximately 2.45 million Liverpool and 1.95 million Manchester United sports shirts were sold worldwide in 2021 alone. 

The new project, KIT:BAG by RÆBURN, will work with local sportswear suppliers and the local community transform surplus football shirts into unique reusable tote bags, while educating them of the environmental impacts of textile waste and how we can extend the life of our garments. 

It aims to provide a fun, responsible way to keep kits in circulation while shining a light on the large-scale problem in the industry. 

Lindsay Pressdee, Senior Lecturer in Sustainable Fashion Marketing & Branding Communication at The University of Manchester, said: “Developing meaningful sustainable business models and consumer behaviours remains a key issue within the fashion sector and raises serious environmental concerns.  

“This project focuses on the overlooked area of sportswear; how we can extend the life of these polyester garments and avoid them going into landfill or incineration, through the key principle of community education. 

“The initiative aligns with The University of Manchester's objectives of promoting sustainability and social responsibility and by collaborating with Raeburn Design, which follows the REMADE sustainable ethos, we have an excellent opportunity to raise awareness and address this issue.” 

Christopher Raeburn, Creative Director at RÆBURN, added: “As our business has evolved, we’ve tried, tested and proven our “Remade, Reduced, Recycled” motif can be scaled and translated into other industries outside of fashion, such as architecture, furniture design, film and cultural placemaking. 

“KIT:BAG by RAEBURN marks our newest venture: bringing circular design solutions to the sports industry. We’re excited to have the University of Manchester on board as our research partner for this project. Together, we’ve set out a roadmap and a masterplan, now we’re inviting industry leaders to join us on this journey.” 

While many solutions are emerging to tackle the problem of sustainable fashion, the size of the problem relating to official sportswear remains unknown.  

As research partners, academics from the Department of Materials at The University of Manchester will focus on advancing current knowledge and generating new knowledge in this area. The researchers, including Lindsay Pressdee, Dr Amy Benstead,  Dr Jo Conlon and student intern Lena Bartoszewicz, will look at post-consumer waste, diverting it from landfill and repurposing it into a new usable product - a key part of the circular design model. 

Lindsay added: “The waste of sportwear is a hidden problem – we know that football teams can have on average three kits per season, but we do not know how many people have in their homes, shoved in their wardrobes, or put away in their lofts.  

“The problem requires a multifaceted approach and any change requires collaboration with consumers, sports clubs, garment recycling schemes, sports brands and producers. 

“It is difficult to distinguish who is responsible, so we must consider both the sustainable production and consumption of products – a key principle of which is education.” 

KIT:BAG by RÆBURN will launch on Thursday, 27 July with a party at The Lab E20 – Raeburn’s creative workspace in London. This will be followed by a community event for children and families on Saturday, 29 July.  

The team plan to extend this to Manchester, where they will invite the local community to various workshops and have a go at making their own reusable bags.

Urgent fundamental changes to ‘fast fashion’ clothing items which are treated by many as disposable is needed to stem a devastating impact upon the environment according to scientists.

The fashion industry has been heavily criticised for the devastating environmental pollution caused by its global operations. Despite the widely publicised environmental impacts, however, the industry continues to grow, in part due to the rise of fast fashion, which relies on cheap mass-manufacturing, frequent consumption and short-lived garment use.

A new research paper published in reviews state-of-the-art research to examine the environmental impacts at critical points in the textile and fashion value chain from production to consumption, focusing on water use, chemical pollution, carbon emissions and textile waste.

Impacts from the fashion industry include, over 92 million tonnes of waste produced per year and 1.5 trillion litres of water consumed, alongside chemical pollution and high levels of CO2 emissions.

LISTEN: Podcast with Dr Patsy Perry and Dr Amy Benstead - Fast Fashion: The dark side of modern fashion

Dr Patsy Perry from The University of Manchester said: “We highlight the need for urgent and fundamental changes in the fashion business model to minimise and mitigate the detrimental environmental impacts.”

“A transition away from fast fashion towards slow fashion requires a slowdown in manufacturing volumes, the introduction of sustainable practices throughout the supply chain and a shift in consumer behaviour to reduce the amount of new clothing being purchased and increase garment lifetimes. Such systemic changes could improve the long-term sustainability of the fashion supply chain.”

A solution to the negative environment cost would require substantial changes in the industry. A move towards ‘slow fashion’ would encourage the industry to focus on more sustainable practices, including the deceleration of manufacturing and an emphasis on better-quality materials which last longer.

Kirsi Niinimäki, co-author of the paper and Associate Professor at Aalto University said: “Slow fashion is the future, but we need a new system-wide understanding of how to transition towards this model, requiring creativity and collaboration between designers and manufacturers, various stakeholders, and end consumers.”

As well as industry required to be open to adopting large-scale changes in practice, consumers also have a crucial role and must change their consumption habits.

The paper 'The environmental price of fast fashion' by Niinimäki, Perry, et al is published in 

Produced by the FSE Communications and Marketing Team,  will feature interviews with leading academics, current students, alumni and more. 

It will explore one theme per episode, from fashion to dinosaur excavation, from women in science to graphene. It will look at each topic not only in relation to The University of Manchester, but also the wider context of the city of Manchester.

The Buzz will be released monthly and the first episode focuses on fashion's dark side: fast fashion. It features the ' , and recent graduate Rachel Cox. It also delves into Manchester's trendsetting past, from the Industrial Revolution and 'Cottonopolis' to the 'Madchester' scene of the late 1980s.

Listen, and find out more, on .

This article is written as part of #CoveringClimateNow – a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate emergency.

Two centuries have passed since Manchester established itself as the centre of the global cotton trade. Known as ‘Cottonopolis’, the city was using a third of the world’s cotton production at the height of its textile boom. In fact, Manchester was the first centre of mass production, thanks to the arrival of steam-powered machines in factories, which sped up the spinning process inexorably.

Yet by the start of the 20^th century, the factories fell quiet and the warehouses stood empty. Cottonopolis was over.

Less than a century later, Manchester has once again established itself as a centre of textiles production and sales. The question this time round is, at what cost does this success come?

A city on trend

Named for its unique selling point – the fact that you can have a new outfit delivered to you within days or even hours of ordering – ‘fast fashion’ is the great equaliser of western society. Consumers can get a new outfit at a reasonable price – identical to the one they’ve just seen modelled by their favourite influencer – and they can get it the next day. From runway to your wardrobe in record time, and without the designer price tag.

“Fast fashion does democratise fashion for everybody to engage with – not just rich people,” says Dr Patsy Perry, senior lecturer at the Department of Materials. “That’s a great thing – it’s a great social leveller because not everyone has the disposable income to be able to afford luxury brands.”

And the heart of this burgeoning industry is Manchester. “Post-1990s, a lot of UK clothing production moved to the Far East. But now, what we have are all these mills left over from the legacy of the industry in Manchester,” says Professor Liz Barnes, former fashion marketing lecturer at the University. “There was then a gap for big clothing importers dominated by the Indian and Pakistani communities to use their contacts and networks back home.

“From this came successful entrepreneurs who poured this knowledge and experience into online brands. And being online offers opportunities, as you don’t need a network of stores – you just need a good website,” she adds.

While Manchester’s Cottonopolis legacy meant it had infrastructure for a new fashion sector to thrive, the city and wider region had already established itself as a leader in catalogue retail. As Prof Barnes explains: “There’s that history and heritage there and catalogue is the natural predecessor to online.”

Today, Manchester-born brands like Missguided, Boohoo and JD Williams are leading the way in fast online fashion – and they, and others like them, show no signs of slowing down.

“Online shopping has really changed things. Speed is the norm but what we’ve got now is, very significantly, that the fastest growing retail sector is online and it’s online fast fashion,” says Prof Barnes. “As the erosion of the high street continues as it struggles to compete, that sector will continue to grow.”

A new outfit you can order on your phone as you watch TV on a Thursday evening and receive first thing Friday morning ready for your night out, all without spending more than £20 – there has to be a catch.

The elephant in the room

When it comes to fast fashion, there is a catch – in fact, there are several.

“Fast fashion is so accessible, so cheap, so readily available online, fast, free delivery – it’s too hard to resist,” says Dr Perry, who specialises in the environmental impact of the growing industry. “And then we end up with a mountain of textile waste. A lot of the products are made from polyester and synthetic materials, which don’t biodegrade. A lot of nasty chemicals and dyes involved in production lead to water pollution. So, it’s become a major problem.

“The elephant in the room,” continues Dr Perry, “is that the vast volume of the stuff is predominantly made of virgin polyester.” As polyester is derived from petroleum, coal, air and water, the environmental cost of its production is, obviously, high. Factor in the fact it doesn’t biodegrade and takes between 35 and 45 years to decompose, and it’s easy to see why it has become one of the top concerns among sustainability campaigners.

Earlier this year, the Environmental Audit Committee called on government to take action to ensure that fashion brands and retailers take responsibility for the waste generated by the industry. Mary Creagh MP, chair of the committee, said: “Fast fashion means we overconsume and under use clothes. As a result, we get rid of over a million tonnes of clothes, with £140 million worth going to landfill, every year.”

Even starting to unpick some of the damage done requires a sea change in both the production and marketing operations of fashion retailers, and in the behaviour of consumers.

“It’s fine to buy these items if you carefully consider what you’re buying; if there’s a specific need for it; if you look after it and keep it – what’s wrong with that?,” says Dr Perry. “But it’s the way that we think about it – almost like a cup of coffee to be thrown away once you’ve finished it – which is wrong, because there’s been so many processes that have happened to that clothing; so many people have touched it; it’s been across so many miles – to end up being purchased and maybe not even worn before it’s thrown away.”

However, it seems change is in the air. “Society is becoming more aware of sustainability issues – consumers are asking questions and various geographical locations are increasing legislation in this area,” says Dr Perry.

The true cost of being fastest

It is the ‘fast’ component of fast fashion that is the most damaging. Where previously manufacturing was outsourced, consumer demand to receive purchases within days of ordering means that the one-month wait for the shipping containers to arrive is no longer an option for these online brands. As a result, more and more clothing in now made in the UK.

Dr Amy Benstead is a lecturer in Fashion Management and specialises in the subject of modern slavery. “Outsourcing makes clothing cheaper. But to speed it up, the manufacturing has to happen here. Yet retailers still deliver…” she explains. There has to be a catch.

“These e-tailers are able to be fast because they are getting a lot made in the UK,” Dr Benstead explains. “But with that, there are stories emerging of exploitation.

“This is a global issue,” Dr Benstead warns, “And it is happening in the UK as well.”

Known as ‘dark factories’, these manufacturing units are present across the UK and their workers are paid far below the minimum wage. Yet few customers question who made their clothes or where they came from.

“I THINK THAT PEOPLE ARE A LOT MORE AWARE ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE, BUT NOT ABOUT THE EXPLOITATION THAT CAN ACTUALLY HAPPEN WHEN YOUR CLOTHES ARE BEING MADE.”

“There’s an assumption that when it’s made in the UK it’s better, because we are a civilised country with regulations,” says Dr Benstead. “But exploitation is still happening here.” She adds: “I think that people are a lot more aware about environmental damage and recycling and plastic use arising from the manufacture of their clothing, but not about the exploitation that can actually happen when your clothes are being made. I think people just don’t think about who made their clothes and that it’s actually a person who made that item.”

So, who takes responsibility? How can fashion be better? “It’s the brands really, fundamentally, who have to take responsibility, because they have trained us as consumers to shop in this way. They have created that demand and consumers only buy what’s presented to them,” says Dr Perry.

But where is the motivation for brands to take this step? “In the end, it’s about educating the consumer, and these businesses have no vested interest in making us more sustainable in the way we buy our garments as it would mean encouraging consumers to buy less – and no business is going to do that,” says Prof Barnes.

Yet consumer thinking is changing. In the wake of the Extinction Rebellion that has ignited debate about the damage done to the planet and how on Earth it can be reversed, consumers – and particularly young consumers – are asking questions.

“We all need to buy less and buy better,” says Dr Perry. “But we also need to be offered less and offered better.”

As a city that’s been at the forefront of two fashion and textile revolutions, can Manchester step up and lead the way? If ever there was a time to head up a revolution, it’s now.

Words – Hayley Cox

Images – The University of Manchester, , , 

Entitled "Reshoring and Modern Slavery in the supply chain: case study evidence and action research in the Textiles and Fashion Industry", the research was selected by the editorial team of the International Journal of Operations and Production Management.

The 2018 awards were open to those who had completed and satisfied examination requirements for a doctoral award between 15 January 2016 and 28 February 2019. Entries were judged on the following criteria:

• significance/implications for theory and practice;

• originality and innovation;

• appropriateness and application of the methodology;

• quality of data/research.

The research was funded through an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) studentship. It focuses on two very current issues: reshoring and modern slavery, which are attracting growing interest from researchers, practitioners and government alike.

Dr Benstead, a Lecturer in Fashion Management in The University of Manchester's , also recently received an IJOPM award for one of the papers from her thesis.

Journal articles from the thesis appear on the and websites.

Presented at the European Operations Management Association (EurOMA) Conference 2019 in Helsinki, Finland, the International Journal of Operations and Product Management (IJOPM) Highly Commended Paper Award is given for a paper with a unique contribution to the field that is innovative, timely and well executed.

Dr Benstead's paper, , is an investigation into collaboration amongst brands and retailers in the textiles and fashion industry in response to modern slavery legislation.

Modern slavery is an important global issue that is affecting the textiles and fashion industry given the growing demand for cheap, fast fashion - which can lead to worker exploitation. This research advances knowledge on the creation of socially-sustainable competitive advantage (eg cost savings, knowledge sharing and enhanced reputation) through horizontal collaboration. 

A key breakthrough is in understanding how competing buyers collaborate with one another. Previous research has focused on vertical collaboration between buyers and their suppliers, particularly in a socially-sustainable supply chain context. Successful horizontal collaboration is dependent on both relational capital (eg trust and commitment) and effective (formal and informal) governance mechanisms (eg legislation and the involvement of non-governmental organisations and trade bodies). 

Dr Benstead's research provides managers with examples of how successful collaborative relationships can be formed in response to new legislation.

The Editor in Chief of the IJOPM presented the award to Dr Benstead. He said: "With this award, we hope that other authors will follow your path and pursue research that is as exciting and relevant as yours."

Dr Benstead's research can also be viewed .