Measuring impact, digitising supply chains: A Material Impact Tool for the circular textiles economy by RoundRack and The Royal College of Art

GHGs from the global fashion industry will be nearly double the level required to stay within 1.5 degrees of warming by 2030 (McKinsey,2020). With 70% coming from upstream activities, particularly energy-intensive raw material production (McKinsey, 2020), a fundamental shift is required in how textiles are produced.

The market of alternative, 'next-generation' materials designed from waste and bio-engineering is nascent but growing rapidly. These materials reduce reliance on energy-intensive agriculture and are designed specifically to build and support a circular textiles economy. However, the adoption of such materials in the industry remains low (McKinsey,2019) with barriers including cost, lack of material information and operational challenges of integrating new suppliers.

In response, Roundrack has developed an innovative, collaborative platform that addresses these barriers and creates one 'source of truth' for all stakeholders across the supply chain, from sourcing through to manufacture, streamlining and incentivising the integration of next-generation materials.

This project is a collaboration between Roundrack and The Royal College of Art, alongside selected pilot trial partners and potential future customers, to develop understanding of the commercial case for adoption of circular, next-generation materials, and validate additional platform capabilities in preparation for market-entry.