Doppelhaus are thrilled to receive R&D funding from the Business of Fashion, Textiles & Technology funding program (aka BFTT) at University of the Arts London. This new funding program, aiming to help the UK textiles and fashion industry innovate, pairs up SMEs with academics to work on exciting new developments,  and won public funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council as well as Creative Clusters. It focusses on delivering sustainable innovation within the entire fashion and textile supply chain.

Doppelhaus won the funding for a project to develop a fully UK supply chain for their circular nonwoven materials, using only local fibres and British manufacturers. The aim is to create a range of new materials designed specifically to meet the needs of mass market fashion. As so much textile manufacturing was outsourced to the Far East, the materials Doppelhaus develop may even be the first mass market textiles manufactured in the UK this century!

As even the largest retailers like H&M now also aim to be sourcing 100% of materials sustainably by 2030, it’s important that sustainable material suppliers like Doppelhaus scale up in line with growing demand. 

This grant from the BFTT R&D Support Programme enables Doppelhaus to hire experienced textile designer Stephanie Rolph as Project Lead to oversee the development of new materials made in the UK, and work closely with renowned British fashion brands on piloting these innovative new textiles. For progress on the project, watch this space!