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Ignite Labs: a skills and growth opportunity for textile businesses

A programme of events tailored towards helping businesses and organisations in the textile industry, based in the North of England, to innovate towards sustainability and the circular economy.

These Ignite Labs are open for any businesses in the broad textile industry – to mean not only clothing and fashion, but mattresses, soft furnishings, medical applications, leisure and sports equipment, manufacturing, processing, recycling etc. Over 6 weeks the Ignite Labs series will combine on-site and online activities – comprising a mixture of site visits to innovative organisations and facilities in their area, along with in-depth online workshops which will help participants define their particular challenge through the lens of design innovation, and refine their strategies and projects.

Programme commences: 18 October 2022 – and concludes 24 November 2022

Contributors to the Lab include:

  • Innovate UK, the UK government’s innovation agency
  • Design Council, the UK’s national strategic advisor for design
  • The Catapults, a network of world-leading technology and innovation centres dedicated to supporting businesses in transforming great ideas into valuable products and services
  • The Textile Centre of Excellence, the recognised national Group Training Association (GTA) with a wide range of training and development for employees within the textile, fashion and apparel sector, and whose Board of Directors is made up of local business leaders from textile manufacturers that, both locally and globally, supply the world’s premier fashion houses and technical fabric markets
  • Leading academics from UK’s top academic institutions regarding Fashion, Textiles, Sustainability, Servitization and the circular economy 
  • A number of leading experts in design innovation approaches.

While travel to and from the site visits will not be covered, the Lab will be provided at no cost. A number of local site visit opportunities will be available for Lab participants, and the online workshops are free. Participants will be eligible to receive an invitation to the hugely successful and influential Design for Planet conference hosted by the Design Council in early November, and at a concluding event will receive bespoke end-of-Lab advice on where, how and when to gain access to a comprehensive ecosystem of grant funding, partnerships networks and collaboration opportunities, so that they can realise their project ideas and take them forward in the near future.

Ignite Labs Series invitation and registration page.