Textile Manufacturers In Cumbria Urged To Adopt Digital Tools To Drive Sustainability And Growth

Made Smarter, the technology adoption programme, is urging textile manufacturers to adopt digitalisation to drive sustainability and growth.

125 companies from the sector based in the North West, including 12 in Cumbria, are embracing change by tapping into impartial expert technology advice, digital transformation workshops to help them take their first steps, a leadership programme, digital technology internships, and skills development support.

Among those tapping into Made Smarter support are Oubas Knitwear, a manufacturer of knitted textiles, garments and accessories based in Ulverston; and Cumbria Embroidery & Print, a manufacturer of corporate and personalised workwear uniforms and leisurewear, based in Barrow-in-Furness.


Meanwhile, a number of companies, supported by matched-funding, are investing in new digital technology to solve key challenges while increasing productivity, growth, and creating new high value jobs.

Stead McAlpin, a manufacturer of luxury furnishing fabrics in Carlisle, has capitalised on a variety of elements of the Made Smarter programme.



But with more than 1,000 fashion and textile manufacturers in the region employing around 15,000 people and with a collective turnover of £1.83 billion*, Made Smarter believes the sector and region synonymous with the ‘first’ Industrial Revolution has a golden opportunity to lead the ‘fourth’.



The fashion and textile industry is under substantial pressure to change to reduce its environmental and social impact. It is responsible for 10% of all global carbon emissions, water pollution from the use of chemicals and dyes and microplastics in the oceans, as well as staggering levels of waste. In the UK 300,000 tonnes of clothing** - worth an estimated £140m - are sent to landfill or incinerated.

With the increase in consumer awareness of the devastating impact of the fast fashion phenomenon and a willingness among millennials to pay more for sustainable goods, the UK’s £32 billion*** fashion and textile industry has a huge opportunity to grow greener and more ethically.

Digital transformation is enabling a move away from traditional production methods and processes to make clothes, footwear and household textiles.

Digital textile printing, for example, produces less waste, requires little set-up and equipment, and uses fewer resources like water. 3D printing also reduces waste as fewer samples, and therefore fabric, are produced.

Companies are opting to provide more data to boost transparency across the supply chain. QR codes, for instance, to detail the item’s country of origin and carbon footprint. Others are using analytics to track fashion trends and cycles, helping reduce the number of clothes that end up in landfill.

Commending the impact of the Made Smarter programme, Adam Mansell, CEO of UKFT, UK Fashion and Textile Association (UKFT), which brings together a network of 2,500 designers, manufacturers, agents and retailers, said: "The success of the Made Smarter Adoption Programme in the North West has demonstrated the value of targeted support for SME manufacturers to help them take those first steps on their digitalisation journeys.

"The UK fashion and textile industry has a worldwide reputation for originality, quality, and innovation, combining skilled design and craftsmanship with cutting-edge technology. To continue building on this achievement and ensure the UK remains competitive against global competition, manufacturers need to embrace current and emerging technologies, and the huge potential digitisation offers, as well as to raise the skills and productivity of the people who work in our sector to the highest level."