A Single Thread X Bath Spa Uni Launch Restitch The Future 4-Year Programme

Thanks to National Lottery players, Bath Spa University’s Future Fashion Works, part of the University’s Creative Engagement Unit, and A Single Thread CIC are joining forces to deliver the Restitch the Future project, a four-year programme supported through The National Lottery Community Fund’s Climate Action Fund. This long-term commitment from The National Lottery supports communities across the UK to tackle climate change and inspire more people to take positive environmental action. 

Working with A Single Thread CIC’s established Sustainable Fashion Week network and with communities across the UK, Restitch the Future will develop a playbook for building high street hubs for sustainable fashion that are resilient and impactful for local communities. These hubs build on A Single Thread’s unique decentralised, grassroots model for collective action. 

They will provide hyper-local solutions for engaging in sustainable fashion that are accessible to all. They will deliver repair workshops, clothing swaps, youth programmes, campaigns and skills-sharing opportunities designed to reduce textile waste, extend the life of clothing and make sustainable fashion more achievable for everyone.

Combined with Bath Spa University’s Inclusive Communities partnerships and expertise in community engagement, the project will work closely with local partners and community organisations to ensure activities are shaped by and for the communities they serve. 

The project aims to engage more than 250,000 people nationwide, creating lasting behaviour change around fashion consumption while tackling one of the world’s most environmentally damaging industries.

Fashion is responsible for up to 10% of global carbon emissions, often due to sustainable alternatives being deemed inaccessible, unaffordable or out of reach for many communities.

As well as reducing textile waste and encouraging longer clothing lifespans, Restitch the Future aims to strengthen wellbeing, build practical skills and create more affordable pathways into sustainable fashion.

The programme will activate 32 community hubs annually and establish a further five to eight hubs in underrepresented areas, including Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.The project will make use of SOMER, Bath’s community-based and sustainable immersive learning environment (shop pictured right) and a key delivery platform within Future Fashion Works. Through year-round clothing swaps, repair cafés, upcycling workshops, skills-sharing opportunities and community events, SOMER will provide a space for community engagement, innovation and learning, helping to test approaches that can be shared across the wider Restitch the Future network. 

Alongside community activity, Bath Spa University will lead a major research and knowledge exchange programme exploring the barriers that prevent people from engaging with sustainable fashion, including affordability, access, representation and skills. Working alongside communities, the research will generate evidence about what drives lasting behaviour change and identify practical ways to make climate-conscious fashion choices more inclusive and accessible. 

The project brings together Sustainable Fashion Week, Future Citizen, Somer and Future Fashion Works in a national programme designed to connect community action, education, research and creative practice. Together, these initiatives will help grow a national movement rooted in community action, creativity and collaboration.

Amelia Twine, Founder of A Single Thread CIC, said: “Fashion is one of the most urgent but often overlooked climate challenges we face. Yet too often sustainable fashion is perceived as expensive, exclusive or unrealistic. Restitch the Future is about changing that narrative. 

By working with communities, sharing skills and creating practical opportunities for people to repair, reuse and rethink clothing, we’re making sustainable fashion more accessible and empowering people to take meaningful climate action in ways that fit into everyday life. Thanks to National Lottery players and The National Lottery Community Fund, we can now scale that work nationally and support communities across the UK to lead lasting change from the ground up.”

Tamara Parsons-Baker, Head of Future Fashion Works at Bath Spa University, added: “Restitch the Future demonstrates the power of collaboration between universities, communities and grassroots organisations to tackle climate change. Through research and community partnerships, we want to better understand what enables lasting behaviour change around fashion consumption and how sustainable fashion can become more inclusive and accessible for all communities. The project will generate vital evidence while creating meaningful social and environmental impact across the UK. We are excited to be working with A Single Thread and communities nationwide to generate both practical impact and valuable new knowledge.”