UK fashion retailer New Look is involved in a project which seeks to reduce the textiles industry’s carbon footprint and accelerate the adoption of hydrogen energy. Digital technology company Digital Catapult is behind the ‘Made Smarter Innovation Digital Supply Chain Hub’ programme in which four technology firms receive up to £100,000 in funding from sponsors to tackle specific challenges.
New Look will sponsor software provider Looper to develop a tool that will aggregate information from product life cycle assessments (LCAs) to gather more accurate data on product-based environmental impacts. This would enable New Look to provide customers with more sustainable clothing options, and meet growing demand from environmentally-minded consumers.
Transport management company Loadar will work to develop a pricing engine to optimise truck fill and cut the carbon footprints of logistics providers, with support from Norfolk-based Shred Station, which specialises in safe and sustainable clothing disposal.
Technology startup Made By will look to develop a new solution to track the flow of materials for different products across the textiles supply chain, in a challenge sponsored by circularity consultants QSA Partners. Meanwhile, green energy platform Heuris Energy will be supported by hydrogren energy developer Hydro Genus in a project aimed at helping to overcome the financial and operational challenges that come with hydrogen adoption.
Tim Lawrence, Director of the Digital Supply Chain Hub, said: “The UK’s textiles and hydrogen industries are critical to the economy, and the challenges set to be solved on this programme will play a crucial role in helping these sectors to simultaneously improve efficiency and cut cost through sustainable innovation.
“As sustainability remains front of mind for key stakeholders in these sectors, the tools developed and deployed on this programme will further arm the challenge sponsors with the solutions they need to meet demand from their customers and commercial partners, and will sharpen their competitive edge.”
