The compliance tool has been developed by the institute’s Textiles Transparency Team (MFITT), part of the Manchester Metropolitan University.
Fashtrax is designed to provide straightforward guidance on compliance, particularly in the wake of impending regulations like the EU Digital Product Passport (DPP).
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The platform is funded by InterAct, which is a £5.4m ($7.29m) Made Smarter Innovation and economic and social research council-led network. The tool also has support from the UK Fashion and Textile Association (UKFT).
Fashtrax connects the academia, technology provider and industry in providing solutions that can address real-world challenges.
It integrates more than 100 regulations with more than 40 environmental standards, utilising data from the UKRI-funded Legi-Standards database project.
Project co-lead Julie Hodson said: “Fashtrax is designed to simplify compliance in a complex world. With regulation coming from all angles, particularly around sustainability and transparency, small and medium-sized businesses often don’t have the resources to keep up. This platform changes that, offering clear, actionable insights and tools.”
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By GlobalDataCentral to the Fashtrax platform is the Compliance Navigator, a diagnostic tool that provides customised recommendations based on various company-specific factors like size, product type, and supply chain footprint.
The Compliance Navigator is currently under development and will undergo trials with 20 industry partners this summer with a full release scheduled for late 2025.
MFITT co-lead and founder Dr Hilde Heim said: “This is about futureproofing UK fashion. Fashtrax empowers brands to adapt quickly and cost-effectively to new rules, while embedding transparency and innovation at the heart of their business models.
“Fashtrax marks a major step forward in preparing manufacturers for digitalising the fashion supply chain. It drives innovation, sustainability, and competitiveness across the UK garment sector. Our vision is for it to become the go-to platform for enhancing transparency, efficiency, and sustainability in global fashion supply chains.”
The initiative has already influenced research, education, and policy-making.
It has reinforced MFITT’s position in supply chain transparency research within the SAFE group and has led to new collaborative efforts to create a consumer-oriented version of the platform.
Fashtrax’s findings are disseminated through various channels such as webinars and presentations to influential organisations including the UKFT and the EU Commission’s Joint Research Centre.
Interest in Fashtrax extends to several UK institutions such as the British Fashion Council and WRAP.
Soon, it will be presented to the British Standards Institution (BSI) and the government’s Circular Economy Taskforce.
Dr Heim added: “As the fashion industry undergoes digital transformation, the MFITT research team is proud to support this shift. Fashtrax is poised to be a game-changer for the fashion industry, offering clear benefits for the economy, manufacturers, and technology suppliers.”
The InterAct network aims to address challenges from the wide implementation of new technologies in the industry.
The programme has already funded more than 30 projects across diverse topics related to digital technology applications in manufacturing.
In March this year, digital fashion technology firm Style3D partnered with Manchester Metropolitan University to establish Styleverse, the company’s first garment simulation hub in the UK.
