UKFT is dedicated to supporting the growth of member businesses and enabling the UK fashion and textile industry to meet future challenges and global opportunities.
UKFT’s activity is focused on five key areas: representation, international business, innovation & sustainability, skills & training, and compliance & regulation. We also offer tailored business support to members from across the industry.
🔗 Grow your business and help to build a stronger UK fashion and textile industry > JOIN UKFT
UKFT is the largest network for fashion and textiles in the UK. As the industry’s leading trade association and Sector Skills Body, we are committed to delivering sustainable growth for the entire UK fashion and textile supply chain.
We bring together brands, designers, manufacturers, suppliers, educators and retailers to promote their businesses and our industry, both in the UK and throughout the world. We offer practical advice and technical support to help member companies grow and trade internationally.
With a growing focus on sustainability and innovation, UKFT is driving meaningful action in the transition to a circular economy.
We work to elevate the skills of the UK fashion and textile industry to maintain our competitive position for the future.
We support businesses with complex global supply chains, as well as helping to drive a resilient and innovative UK manufacturing sector.
Our President is HRH The Princess Royal.
🔗 Grow your business and help to build a stronger UK fashion and textile industry > JOIN UKFT
Field visit reflections from Ghana.
During a recent UKFT visit to Accra and Kantamanto Market, Mohammed Patel, UKFT's recycling and reuse manager, saw firsthand the realities of the global second-hand clothing trade after more than 17 years working in the UK’s textile collection and sorting sector.
Organised by The Or Foundation (@theorispresent ), the visit highlighted the scale and complexity of Kantamanto, which supports more than 26,700 livelihoods and thousands of businesses focused on resale, repair, tailoring and upcycling.
The experience challenged many common assumptions around “waste exports”. Kantamanto is not a passive system. It is an active market driven by resilience, repair, reuse and entrepreneurship.
Key priorities highlighted during the visit included:
- Stronger export regulation
- Improved traceability and accountability
- Better understanding of reuse market realities
- Fairer distribution of financial risk
- More coordinated policy and collaboration
The visit also reinforced the importance of policy action on EPR in both the UK and EU. Without mechanisms that support the full reverse supply chain, including reuse markets, there is a risk that waste displacement continues under the banner of sustainability.
There is value in these materials. Realising that value depends on coordinated legislation, investment in recycling infrastructure and stronger circular systems globally.
Please note: This was an awareness and intelligence-gathering visit to help inform future policy discussions and potential solutions around global textile reuse and recycling systems. Read more here /kantamanto-market-may26/
British Wool has launched its new Scottish Wool certification logo, a scheme designed to verify products made using 100% Scottish wool.
🔗 Visit ukft.org/news to read more
UKFT members Toray Textiles Europe Ltd and @pincroft_ltd have formed a UK defence textile collaboration, responding to the need for printed woven technical textiles in the UK defence sector.
This post is part of UKFT’s Member Spotlight series, celebrating the work of our members.
🔗 Visit ukft.org/news to read more
As part of UKFT membership, members have access SS28 colour and textile trend information from Peclers Paris, who help brands around the world decipher new consumer trends, interpret beyond seasonal colour aesthetics and translate them into products and concepts.
UKFT members can access the latest trend books in London or Huddersfield, or gain the information via a webinar or online.
🔗 visit ukft.org/news to read more
UKFT member @cashmere_circle offers invisible cashmere repair services and circular economy solutions to cashmere brands across the UK.
This post is part of UKFT’s Member Spotlight series, celebrating the work of our members.
🔗 Visit ukft.org/news to read more
At the UKFT Regulation Summit 2026, “Exploring the legislative landscape of circular textiles” on 9 June in London, Chelsea Murtha of the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) will bring a vital US perspective to the conversation on circularity, trade and compliance.
Expect further discussion on:
- Circular textiles and the global regulatory landscape
- Extended Producer Responsibility in practice
- Key EU & US regulatory changes for UK businesses
- Industry challenges, opportunities and real-world implementation
This is your chance to understand not just what’s changing, but how it’s being shaped.
This event is for UKFT members. Contact us to book: [email protected]
Discover the UKFT May webinars ands events ➡️
The UKFT webinar programme covers the latest news and developments within the sector and helps businesses to address their most pressing issues.
Stay up-to-date by visiting: ukft.org/events
New UKFT podcast episode is now live!
Podcast host Tara Hounslea speaks with John West, Director of Skills and Training. They explore how businesses can attract, train and retain the talent they need to grow.
From sewing machinists and textile technologists through to sustainability roles, the conversation looks at recruitment, upskilling, succession planning and how UKFT is helping build the next generation of talent.
Listen now on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Applications for the Weavers X UKFT bursaries are now open, a great opportunity to gain hands-on industry experience with financial support.
Each year, five students receive a £1,800 bursary to support a 12-week summer internship, helping you build your skills, confidence and industry insight.
The bursaries are for second-year (Level 5) students studying Textile Design, Textile Technology or a related specialist courses in the UK.
Applications from must be made through your course tutor at participating universities.
The deadline is 26 June 2026.
🔗 Visit ukft.org/news to read more
UKFT member @johnsmedleyknitwear and Bill Nighy present drop two of their collaboration. The Bill Nighy for John Smedley unisex collection features a refined range of pieces designed with modern influences – larger collars, more prominent ribs, and subtle yet transformative tailoring cues
This post is part of UKFT’s Member Spotlight series, celebrating the work of our members.
🔗 Visit ukft.org/news to read more
