Investment in new AI tools takes the textile industry's digitalisation to the next level

The textile value chain is extremely complex, which makes it difficult to conduct a holistic analysis of the environmental impact of each part of the value chain and thus make a fair overall assessment for a product. 

Niina Hernández, one of the project leaders, explains the aim of the project, “In the long term, the aim is to be able to achieve sustainability savings by understanding the environmental impact of the entire value chain. At the beginning of the project, we will collect large amounts of data and then use AI and machine learning to analyse it. Based on this knowledge, the aim is to develop knowledge and systems that the textile industry can use to support their decisions that reduce the overall environmental impact of the textile products.”

These data sets will initially be collected from the machines used in the lab environments at the Swedish School of Textiles. The hope is to then work with the textile industry to collect even greater amounts of textile-related data. 

Utilising research in informatics

The project is not only carried out in collaboration with industry partners, but also together with Informatics researchers at the University of Borås.

“We need broader skills in textiles. We are already strong in the textile field, but together with informatics, with in-depth knowledge of applied AI for decision support and automation, we will be even stronger,” said Niina Hernández. 

Important support from the textile industry

Textile research has a long-standing collaboration with TEKO, the Swedish trade and employers’ association for companies working in the textile and fashion industry, not least when it comes to funding to be able to purchase technical equipment. Today, the Swedish School of Textiles has one of the best machine parks in the country, perhaps in Europe, in its labs. 

“Through this collaboration with TEKO, we gain knowledge about the needs of the textile industry in order to help them develop decision support based on research. We feel that we have support in this process and that we are doing this together with them, which means that we can be at the forefront both nationally and internationally,” said Niina Hernández.

Cecilia Nykvist, CEO of TEKO and Chair of SST, comments on the investment in the research project: 

“SST and TEKO's mission is to support the textile industry's competitiveness, including by making investments in research and innovation that can benefit the entire industry. Using AI tools to gain more transparency in the textile value chain is a very interesting area that will be able to be used in several different parts of the industry in the future.” 

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Read more about the project Digital Tools for Textiles and Fashion

The project runs until August 2026 and is co-financed by the Swedish Textile Research Foundation and the University of Borås.

About the Swedish Textile Research Foundation (SST) and TEKO

The Swedish Textile Research Foundation (SST) is a research foundation with the aim of supporting and promoting technical and scientific research and higher education on textile products and their production and use. In recent years, SST has invested over SEK 15 million in textile research. TEKO is the industry and employer organisation for Swedish textile and fashion companies and works to create a competitive and sustainable textile industry in Sweden.

TEKO, the Swedish Textile and Fashion Association, and the Swedish Textile Research Foundation (SST)