Fashion & Textile Transformation

The fashion and textile industry is facing a rapid transition. New EU requirements, digital product passports, extended producer responsibility and AI are changing how products are developed, produced and monitored. For companies in the industry, it is no longer just about understanding what to expect, but about acting in time. Testing new solutions, developing sustainable business models and finding the right collaborations are becoming crucial in an increasingly circular and data-driven value chain. Through the innovation portfolio, we bring together researchers and students from Lund University together with partners from industry to explore what the transition means in practice. We create collaborations that provide access to new knowledge, new technology and unique opportunities to test and develop solutions for the fashion and textile industry of the future.

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Would you like to be part of the innovation portfolio where we work to understand what the changes mean for your research or your  business and at the same time gain access to groundbreaking technology, new knowledge and relevant test environments? Contact Lars Mattiasson, lars.mattiasson@futurebylund.se

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What?

The fashion and textile industry is facing a profound transformation. New regulations, digitalization and increased traceability are changing how products are designed, manufactured, used and circulated. In this portfolio, we collect initiatives that explore new solutions for a more sustainable, circular and adaptable textile value chain. Here, research, technology and practice are connected to drive development from materials and production to business models, data and consumer meetings.

Why?

The transformation is needed both to meet new demands and to seize new opportunities. AI, digital product passports and transparency requirements are changing the playing field for the entire industry. To succeed, collaboration between research, business and society is required. By bringing together different perspectives and skills, we can develop solutions that strengthen both sustainability, competitiveness and future resilience in the fashion and textile industry.

Who?

The portfolio is led by Future by Lund and connects research, industry and policy to shape the fashion and textile industry of the future. Through projects such as MCRS, INTERWeuVEN, Fashioning AI and ekip, we build bridges between local and global initiatives and create synergies with other portfolios within the platform. Among our most important partners are Lunds University, REAL Logistics & E-commerce, TU Delft, Politecnico di Milano, Technical University of Dresden, Enschede Textielstad, whatt.io, CLO Virtual Fashion, Lululemon, Circular Rotterdam, Canon Production Printing, Lost boys Lab, Tillskärarakademin in Malmö and Svenska Skrädderiförbundet.

Our projects in this portfolio

Reduced waste and new products with wool trading app

Should sheep farmers and those looking to buy wool be able to trade directly with each other without intermediaries? And should the customer be able to express their wishes on products early on? It is examined in the project “Bridge builders for personal small-scale design, from farm to consumer”. The goal is to create an app that acts as an intermediary between the agricultural sector and consumers. In the project, the example is wool, but the idea is that the test will pave the way for other small-scale activities as well.

How does AI affect the fashion industry?

Lund University aims to establish new research at Campus Helsingborg on how AI is changing practices for the design and consumption of fashion. Here one can explore ideas that AI can make work more efficient, democratic and sustainable but also concerns that creative work is left to machines, that design can be controlled by sales data and that AI can reinforce normative body ideals. The work will run for 2.5 years and will include, among other things, the creation of an interdisciplinary network and the implementation of a pilot study.

LAGOM: Trelleborg invests in sustainability through innovation-driven policy development

The project “LAGOM” aims to strengthen Trelleborg's transition towards sustainable, digitalised logistics and trade through an innovation-driven policy process. The core value of LAGOM is a healthy balance between commerce, utility, experience and behaviour. The idea is to develop policy recommendations that concretely support companies, municipalities and community actors in implementing more sustainable and resource-efficient systems. In addition to the municipality of Trelleborg, Lund University and Future by Lund participate.

This is how the DPP can stop fraud with returns

International experience shows that trade makes heavy losses due to return fraud when stolen products are returned, genuine goods are exchanged for copies and receipts are forged. The new digital product passport that the EU plans to introduce on clothing, among other things, gives the products a digital twin and has the potential to provide more secure return handling and a secondary market. Swedish Trade has granted support to a project that aims to create a deeper understanding of how return fraud and loss of information in circular product flows affect Swedish retail and at the same time see how DPP and digital solutions can strengthen resilience. Klas Hjort at Lund University leads the work done jointly by Future by Lund, whatt.io, REAL and ASTER, among others.

Unexpected — arts and science innovation forum 2025

Unexpected is a forum that approaches innovation in a different way, and in 2023 the first event was held. On June 4, 2025, Unexpected returns to Mejeriet in Lund. This is an opportunity when art, science, business, creative industries and philosophy come together to shape the future. The aim is to enable stakeholders to build an inclusive innovation ecosystem guided by both ethics and aesthetics, and where the cultural and creative sectors and industries are shown their capacity to play a leading role in addressing complex societal challenges.

MCRS: Sustainable manufacturing industry tested in Lund

Climate change, resource scarcity and increased environmental requirements mean that the manufacturing industry faces significant challenges that require a radical transformation. The solution could be a production that is more on-demand and circular, where manufacturing matches demand, where products and components can be repaired and replaced, and where resources are reused and recycled as efficiently as possible. But how will it be done in practice? In a new project, Future by Lund and partners will explore how we can build a system demonstrator where the goal is not only to see how the industry can become more sustainable and circular, but also more local and resilient.

Small-scale and circular solutions are changing the textile industry

What if our clothes could be made when we ask for it and by small-scale producers in our vicinity? And if, in addition, the clothes are provided with information that allows us to know not only how the garments are made, but also how they can be recycled and repaired? Future by Lund and Lund University have brought together a consortium of fourteen partners and another twenty associates to jointly create value chains to manufacture, distribute and recycle clothing in a new way.

Lund University: Clothes get their own identity

In the future, our clothes will include a tag that we can scan to obtain information. In this way, we can see how the garments are produced, where we can get them repaired and how they can be recycled. Perhaps we can even see who has previously worn the garment or given the opportunity to rent it out. In the spring, an innovation project was started in which students at Campus Helsingborg find out what consumers see as the benefits of having tags in their garments.

Lunda researchers are recognized for circular business model for textiles

The textile industry has a major climate impact and the reuse of clothing is seen as part of the sustainable transformation of the industry. Daniel Hellström and John Olsson at Lund University present their award-winning paper on a circular business model that creates a more sustainable fashion trade. In addition to the actual business model, the work is also interesting in that the researchers show how important it is to put the consumer at the center of the innovation process for circular business models and because they, as researchers, have also found a way to provide insight into the future of a more sustainable textile industry.

Researcher Network for a Green Transition of the Fashion Industry

Fashion is a word that is often associated with the latest in clothing and textiles. But the industry is much more than that — it's everything from cultivation, production, working conditions, transportation, design and marketing to customer habits, garbage sorting, returns and recycling. It is also a historical perspective, which materials are suitable for healthcare and how the whole process affects our environment. For Lund University, this means that all faculties are involved in the work towards a more sustainable textile and fashion industry. This is why researchers in the Fashion @LU network come together to define cross-border projects that also include the business community in order to contribute to the green transformation of the textile and fashion industries.

Textile & Fashion 2030: Project on sustainable and circular textiles

‍ The Swedish government wants to develop the textile and fashion sector in terms of sustainability and the circular economy. Through the platform Textile & Fashion 2030, it is hoped to create the conditions for putting Sweden at the forefront of working towards the goals set out in Agenda 2030. One hope is to strengthen the forces of good that already exist.

NEST: New initiative for a sustainable future for the textile and fashion industries

The textile and fashion industry has a major impact on climate and the environment. To help change the industry, the NEST initiative was launched in spring 2022, which was created by four incubators with different specialized expertise and with different geographical starting points, from Umeå to Lund. Entrepreneurs with ideas that can make the industry more sustainable applied to NEST's free acceleration program, which is a catapult-like process for startups with innovative ideas for the textile and fashion industries.

Intermediary actors wanted!

Future by Lund works in the gap between research, organisations and institutions, the public and private sectors, academia and business. Are you as an actor interested in working with us in the gap – get in touch!

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