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

It has produced a free guide, "Textile Manufacturing: How digital transformation is securing a sustainable future", to help companies in the sector take their first steps to future-proof their business.

The downloadable PDF explores the environmental impact of waste, the role of digital technologies in solving some of the sector's main challenges, and details some real-world use cases.

More than 120 textile manufacturers based in the North West, including 15 in Cheshire, are embracing change by tapping into Made Smarter's impartial expert technology advice, digital transformation workshops to help them take their first steps, a leadership programme, digital technology internships, and skills development support.

Meanwhile, several companies are also using matched-funding to invest in new digital technology to solve key challenges while increasing productivity, growth, and creating new high value jobs.

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'.

Alain Dilworth, North West Adoption Programme Manager at Made Smarter, said: "The textile industry in the North West was at the centre of the first industrial revolution with technological advances enabling cottons, wools, silks and dyestuffs to be produced at unprecedented rates for export around the globe.

"It is fitting that Made Smarter is now offering its support and expertise to help the same industry embrace the opportunity to lead the fourth industrial revolution.

"Covid-19 has had a huge impact on the industry with supply chains broken, falling sales and regrettably, some businesses having to close. Rebuilding is an opportunity to create a more sustainable approach which enables better resilience by taking advantage of the new digital technologies.

"I am delighted that Made Smarter has been able to support so many of the region's textile manufacturers to start their digitalisation journey.

"Our ambition now is to reach out to the hundreds of others across the region to support them to take their first steps to future-proof their business."

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.

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.

To download a copy of the free guide visit here.