DESIGN DEBATE: Bridging the Green Skills Gap in Design through Collaboration, Education and Knowledge Exchange
“Everything that isn’t made by nature has been designed. That means design holds immense power—not only in shaping the crises we face but also in solving them.”
These are the words of Cat Drew, Chief Design Officer at the Design Council, and they couldn’t ring truer in 2025.
As the climate crisis accelerates and biodiversity diminishes, the responsibility of industries to adopt sustainable practices has never been clearer. But few industries hold the power and influence that the design sector does. From the products we hold to the services we consume, designers shape the way we live, work, and interact with our surroundings.
Yet, shockingly, only 43% of designers feel equipped to meet environmental design demands, even as 71% anticipate growing demand for green solutions.
This gap between aspiration and action is known as the green skills gap in design, and if it is not addressed, our progress towards creating a sustainable, regenerative future could stall. The solution? Building pathways for knowledge sharing, education, and collaboration to embed sustainable principles at every stage of the design ecosystem.
A new initiative “Skills for Planet” from the Design Council sets out a pathway for Green Design. “Working with leaders across education and industry, our aim is to embed green design into everyday design practice. This calls for a systemic change in design education, practice, and policy. Key findings from our research show that there is critical need to close the green design skills gap".
The Challenge of the Green Skills Gap
At its core, the green skills gap stems from three intertwined barriers.
Lack of Accessible Educational Resources:
The rapid growth of green design practices has outpaced the resources available to equip designers. A mere 27% of designers say that training and mentoring in green design is accessible at work. This means many learn on the job, without structured educational pathways.
The Disconnect Between Design Education and Practice:
The Design Council reports that only 50% of UK designers believe their education adequately prepared them to design for environmental impact. The absence of a systemic approach to embedding green skills in higher education and professional development has left a critical void in the pipeline.
Limited Collaboration Across Sectors:
Sustainable design is inherently interdisciplinary, requiring collaboration between designers, manufacturers, sustainability experts, and policymakers. Yet siloed practices prevent the collective action needed to innovate effectively.
Failure to close this gap risks leaving designers unprepared to tackle the pressing environmental and social issues of our time. Without embedding these critical skills, designs may continue to perpetuate harm, rather than solve it.
Green Design Skills Redefined
The Design Council’s Skills for Planet Blueprint offers a bold roadmap to address this gap and shape the next wave of designers. At its heart are 18 Green Design Skills, spanning six skill areas, which seek to interweave sustainability into every stage of the design process:
Regenerating Nature: Focuses on protecting and restoring ecosystems through strategies like nature-focused solutions and collaborative design with non-human stakeholders.
Embedding Circularity: Addresses waste elimination, material selection, and circular business models to combat our extractive systems.
Eliminating Emissions: Guides designers in reducing carbon impact throughout a product’s lifecycle, driving net-zero operations.
Empowering Green Communities: Encourages community-led design that fosters local stewardship and environmental justice.
Influencing Green Behaviours: Develops communication strategies to inspire sustainable decision-making by both consumers and businesses.
Evaluating Green Impact: Establishes systems to measure the environmental and social benefits of design outputs, ensuring accountability.
These skills are underpinned by a Green Design Mindset, which shifts focus from a narrow, human-centred perspective to a systemic worldview balancing the needs of both people and planet.
Cross-Sector Collaboration is Key
While designers are pivotal to the green transition, they cannot succeed alone. Closing the green skills gap demands a united effort across disciplines and industries to share knowledge, foster innovation, and create supportive systems.
Redefining Education:
Universities, colleges, and training organisations must take a proactive role by embedding green design education into their curricula. This can be achieved using the Design Council’s Skills for Planet Blueprint as a framework. By equipping emerging designers with these critical skills, we ensure a new generation enters the workforce prepared to lead green innovation.
Corporate Investment:
Organisations that employ designers should prioritise training programmes and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) opportunities. Companies can position themselves as market leaders through employee upskilling while aligning with global sustainability goals like net zero.
Policy & Advocacy:
Policymakers and governing bodies are essential allies in advancing the green transition. By funding design education, creating incentives for green learning, and embedding sustainability benchmarks into professional standards, they can catalyse change across industries.
Knowledge Sharing Platforms:
Creating platforms for interdisciplinary collaboration ensures that best practices can be shared. Imagine designers working alongside material scientists and environmentalists to innovate responsibly or brands co-creating with communities to align design with local priorities.
The Economic Imperative for Green Design
Beyond its ethical necessity, green design holds significant economic potential. A 2021 report from the World Economic Forum calculated that climate inaction has already caused over $3.6 trillion in damage.
Conversely, businesses adopting sustainable practices see accelerated growth as consumer demand shifts towards responsible brands. Innovative companies like Faith in Nature have demonstrated how sustainable materials and circular economy models create both financial and ecological benefits.
Embedding skills like circularity and emissions elimination enables businesses to thrive in this green economy while preparing for future regulations mandating sustainable practices.
The green skills gap should be viewed not as a barrier, but as an opportunity to reimagine the future of design. At its core, addressing this challenge is about creating a regenerative economy rooted in accountability and collaboration.
The Design Council’s Skills for Planet Mission invites individuals and organisations to help upskill one million designers by 2030 and drive action across education, industry, and policy. Their Blueprint is not only a guide but also a call to action—for every designer, educator, employer, and policymaker to play their part.
Together we Can Transform
Would you like to be part of shaping a sustainable future? The time to act is now.
Educators and Institutions: Embed green design skills into your curriculum and train the designers of tomorrow.
Organisations: Invest in upskilling your team with CPD programs that prepare them to design for planet and market demands.
Policymakers and Industry Leaders: Open channels for cross-sector collaboration and fund systems that integrate green learning into your national framework.
Collaboration will build the resilient framework needed for best practices. By sharing insights, resources, and a common goal, we can close the green skills gap and redefine what it means to design well.
Rebés's story isn't one of nostalgia - It's a working blueprint for how heritage manufacturers can stay indispensable in a market that rewards speed, certification, and specificity in equal measure. Four million metres of stock mean nothing without the digital printing capability to turn it into something distinctive.
A 150-year name means nothing without the R&D discipline to win a tender for antistatic, carbon-fibre-infused uniform fabric on the first attempt.
Image Credit: Tejidos Rebé
What if the next dress you wore never touched the factory floor?
This is no longer a fringe experiment. It is a maturing production model, backed by genuine material science, real circularity, and an AI-assisted workflow that is becoming more accessible by the month.
Her advice to designers and brands alike is refreshingly practical: start small, get hands-on with an accessible 3D printer, and build fluency before the technology becomes table stakes. The businesses that treat this moment with curiosity, rather than scepticism, will be the ones shaping fashion's next decade rather than reacting to it.
The 2027 FESPA Awards are now open for entry, and the message to businesses across textiles, apparel, interiors and beyond is simple: your work deserves recognition. Every gold winner featured here started in the same place every entrant does - with a project they believed was worth submitting.
As the only independent awards programme with 18 categories dedicated to print and signage, FESPA offers a genuinely global stage, with shortlisted entries displayed at FESPA Global Print Expo in Spring 2027.
Colour Is Too Important to Leave to Chance
Print will always be the part of the garment people see first.
But the sum of all parts — the fabric, the trims, the fasteners, the finish — is what determines whether a design actually delivers on its promise. Brands that continue to treat colour as a single creative decision, rather than a coordinated technical discipline spanning their entire supply chain, will keep paying for it in re-dips, delays, and disappointed design teams.
A Century of Textiles, and an Ever-changing World
Few companies can trace their roots back more than a century and still count themselves among their industry's innovators. Texia, headquartered in Monistrol de Montserrat, Spain, is one of them.
But the story of Texia is not simply one of longevity.
It is a story of continual reinvention. As the textile industry has grown more global and competitive, Texia has repeatedly reshaped its business, investing in technology, developing its own brands, and placing sustainability at the centre of its mission. In doing so, it offers a compelling example of how a heritage manufacturer can lead rather than follow through a period of profound industry change. Image Credit: Texia
What are we craving Ultimately?
The instinct to slow down while simultaneously optimising every measurable aspect of life isn't a passing curiosity. It's a structural response to a world that feels increasingly unstable, and it's reshaping what people expect from their homes, hotels, workplaces and healthcare environments alike.
For the design and manufacturing sectors, this means rethinking both product and process.
The Structual Shift is Real and its Already Here
Volumes are moving east, where digital production is accelerating rapidly. Consumer behaviour has shifted.
Demand is now driven by personalisation, shorter buying cycles, and an expectation of near-instant responsiveness. Regulatory pressure is intensifying, with supply chain transparency now a legal and commercial fact in many markets. And margins? They are under sustained, structural pressure.
This is not a temporary disruption. It is a fundamental reordering of how textile manufacturing must operate.
The Challenge: Standing Firm as the Industry Shifts
The wallpaper landscape has changed dramatically. Digital printing has lowered the barrier to entry, spawning countless direct-to-consumer brands and pushing much of the market towards faster, cheaper production.
At the same time, manufacturing in the UK has grown steadily harder - rising minimum wage, national insurance, energy and substrate costs all bear down on margins. Surface Print have embraced all of these challenges - and stand resolutely prepared for the future.
From Helsinki's printing mill to Paris's Le Marais, discover how Marimekko is scaling a design-led brand with purpose, craft, and bold innovation.
But what makes Marimekko's story compelling is not just its aesthetic legacy?
The word "toxic" carries weight. It conjures danger, harm, and things best avoided.
“Yet in the textile industry - Where between 3,000 and 10,000 chemicals move through the supply chain, a reflexive fear of the term is one of our biggest obstacles to progress.”
This article distils the key takeaways and what buyers, designers, and brands should be asking right now.
What Is the Digital Product Passport?
At its core, a Digital Product Passport is a digital record attached to a physical product - For a printed textile product, this means the DPP would capture data on the substrate, inks and dyes used, the printing process and technology, chemical compliance, environmental impact (including water and energy use), supply chain traceability, and end-of-life instructions.
The Market Gap that Changed Everything
Future Fashion was founded in 2019, timed deliberately to coincide with a pivotal moment in global textile technology: the commercial launch of the EFI Reggiani BOLT Single-Pass digital printing system.
The founders recognised that single-pass architecture had fundamentally changed what was industrially possible - and that Pakistan's domestic market had yet to catch up.
Print is no longer defined by the inefficiencies that once characterised it…as advances in production processes and technology have significantly improved its environmental performance.
Taran Rai, Corporate Sustainability Manager at Epson explains why?
The story of what happens when young designers access digital technology is still being written.
What once was a theoretical sustainability goal seems to have shifted into an active regulatory reality.
Is the Textile Market Finally Recovering?
After a difficult few years, there are genuine reasons for optimism. Duncan was candid about the challenges: "The market for textiles has been very difficult over the last three years. I'm not going to hide the truth there. But the tide is turning.“
A profound shift is currently reshaping the sector
Changing consumer expectations demand greater design diversity, faster turnaround times, and sustainable manufacturing practices.
To thrive, interior brands must adapt their supply chains, bringing production closer to the end consumer and moving away from bulk manufacturing.
Digital textile printing offers a definitive solution to these operational bottlenecks.
Digital transformation doesn't announce itself.
It accumulates - one innovation at a time - until an entire industry looks back and realises the ground has shifted beneath its feet. That's precisely where textiles stands today.
The conversations happening now about AI, automation, sustainability, and digital product passports are not theoretical. They are shaping decisions being made on factory floors and in boardrooms right now.
“By leveraging advanced digital textile printing, Marylene Madou has successfully merged traditional craftsmanship with cutting-edge technology. Her approach offers a blueprint for how independent designers can scale their brands globally while maintaining a minimal environmental footprint.”
The textile industry is undergoing a vital transformation. As the insights from Techtextil and Texprocess reveal, the path forward relies on a combination of sustainable hardware, intelligent chemistry, and seamless digital workflows.
From Zimmer's industrial-scale energy reductions and Stratasys's on-demand 3D embellishments, to Kornit's single-step technical printing and the unified digital ecosystems of NedGraphics and Optitex, the tools for change are here. To stay competitive, brands and manufacturers must adopt these innovations, moving away from fragmented, wasteful processes towards a truly connected, circular economy.
Friedmans stands as a testament to the power of combining traditional textile knowledge with forward-thinking innovation.
“Operating from their UK headquarters, Friedmans now serves a diverse array of sectors, including swimwear, dance, entertainment, sportswear, interior decor, prosthetics, and even pet apparel. With a strategic supply chain that reliably serves clients worldwide”
The apparel decoration industry is decisively moving away from isolated, analogue production tools toward connected digital manufacturing environments.
"Kornit’s unwavering commitment to transformative technology continues to disrupt the status quo. For business leaders and innovators ready to capture the future of apparel manufacturing, the path forward is clear”
Bologna, Italy – October 2026 – Valiani, a leading innovator in precision cutting technology, has today announced the launch of its new GEN 2 cutting machine at FAMAART Bologna.
Designed specifically for high-volume matboard production, GEN 2 represents a significant step forward in the industry's pursuit of greater efficiency without compromising on quality.
Fremont – Ca – October 2026 - Fiery, a global leader in digital front end (DFE) technology for print, has announced that the full recording of its webinar, Beyond CMYK: From More Colours to More Impact, is now available on demand.
The session addresses a pressing challenge facing today's commercial print providers: how to move beyond the limitations of standard CMYK to meet rising client demands for bold, brand-accurate colour.
Dubai, UAE – October 2026 – FESPA’s exclusive Leadership Exchange event, FLEX, will return to Dubai on 26 November 2026, bringing together senior figures from across the Middle East's print and signage industries for a day of strategic dialogue and knowledge sharing.
London, UK – October 2026 – Sanderson Design Group plc. has today announced a robust first-half performance, underpinned by sustained momentum across its business and the continued delivery of its focused growth strategy.
The results highlight the Group's growing international reach and its commitment to building a more resilient, sustainable future for the design industry.
Revenue for the period rose to £51.4m, while statutory profit before tax increased by 69% to £2.5m.
Adjusted profit before tax also grew significantly, up 47% to £3.3m
Telford, UK – October 2026 – China Print Supplies UK Ltd has today released its new 2026 price list, introducing new machines, updated bundle deals, and revised pricing across its range of print, cutting, and finishing solutions.
The updated catalogue reflects the company's ongoing commitment to equipping print businesses with reliable, cost-effective equipment as the industry continues to evolve.
With new machinery added to the lineup and refreshed bundle options, China Print Supplies UK aims to make it easier for customers to find solutions tailored to their operational needs and budgets.
Burgdorf, Switzerland / Geretsried, Germany, October, 2026 – Long-lasting performance textiles require solutions that address a wide range of consumer expectations, from lasting freshness and comfort to reliable protection against the elements.
SANITIZED and RUDOLF are highlighting their latest innovations, demonstrating how specialized textile technologies can support the functional durability and wearability of modern apparel.
Altstätten, Switzerland – October 2026 – Zünd has announced that it will open its headquarters in Altstätten, Switzerland, on 18–19 November 2026 for Zünd Technology Days 2026, a two-day event dedicated to live technology demonstrations, expert presentations, and an in-depth look at real-world production processes.
Milan, Italy – October 2026 – Agfa has confirmed its participation in Viscom Italia 2026, the international trade fair dedicated to visual communication and graphic arts.
The event will take place on 28–29 October 2026 at the Allianz MiCo Convention Center in Milan, with doors open daily from 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM.
Watford = Hertfordshire- October – 2026 – Epson has announced that selected SureColor printers and inks are now covered by the 3M™ MCS™ Warranty, marking a significant step forward in the company's ongoing commitment to delivering durable, high-performance graphics solutions.
The certification reinforces the longstanding relationship between Epson and 3M, and underscores both companies' shared dedication to quality and innovation in the graphics industry.
London, UK – October 2026 – ARTSTHREAD has today launched the Public Vote for its seventh annual Global Creative Graduate Showcase, inviting audiences worldwide to discover and support the next generation of creative talent.
The vote is now live at vote.artsthread.com, giving the public the opportunity to engage directly with graduating work from across the globe.
Shanghai – China -October 2026 – BARBIERI Electronics, a global leader in professional colour measurement solutions, has announced its participation in ALL IN PRINT CHINA 2026, taking place from 12–16 October 2026 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre.
The company will exhibit alongside its partner, Beijing Dingli Xintong Technology Co. Ltd, at Booth N2A219, where COO and Co-Managing Director Viktor Lazzeri will meet with customers, partners and print professionals from across the industry
Bracknell – Berkshire - October 2026 - UFABRIK has added IGEPA Hungária to its expanding European distribution network, bringing its digital textile portfolio to customers across Hungary through one of the country’s leading print and visual communications suppliers.
The agreement will see IGEPA Hungária introduce the UFABRIK range to customers from its operations in Budapest and Nyíregyháza, with local stockholding, technical support, and wide-format availability up to 5 metres.
New York – NY – October 2026 – Optitex, a global leader in fashion technology solutions, has announced a significant update to its CutPlan software, introducing Purchase Order (PO) Wise capability as part of its O/26.1 release.
The new feature allows manufacturers to plan multiple Purchase Orders for the same style independently, addressing a long-standing inefficiency within the cut planning process.
United Kingdom – September 2026 – Inkloft, a new specialist digital printing business founded by Gary Weyman and Andy Hancock, has announced its entry into the direct-to-film (DTF) market.
The company has been appointed as a distributor of DuPont™ Artistri® DTF products, including P1600 inks and Artistri Jettable Adhesive JA1100, both now available to purchase online through inkloft.co.uk.
Peterborough, UK – October 2026 – Snuggle Ltd has today reaffirmed its commitment to redefining industrial garment decoration, combining high-volume output with environmentally responsible production methods at its Peterborough facility.
The announcement highlights the company's investment in water-based pigment ink digital printing technology, a move designed to cut the environmental footprint of large-scale apparel decoration without compromising on quality.
At the core of Snuggle's operation is industrial water-based pigment ink digital printing, which replaces the chemical-heavy alternatives traditionally used across the sector.
Manchester – October 2026 – Premier Digital Textiles has today highlighted its 33130 Achill Natural Linen, a beautifully understated fabric defined by timeless texture and natural character.
The luxurious fabric reflects the company's ongoing commitment to quality materials that serve both designers and the environment
Gent – Belgium – October 2026 – Kongsberg Precision Cutting Systems has announced its participation in India CorrExpo 2026, following a successful week exhibiting at PRINTING United Expo 2026.
The company will showcase its latest advancements in digital cutting and routing technology, demonstrating how businesses across print, display, packaging and signage can achieve greater precision, productivity and scalability.
The event will take place from 14 to 16 October 2026 at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai, where Kongsberg will be exhibiting at Booth B80, Hall 4.
Konica Minolta Business Solutions (UK) Ltd has reinforced its two‑ decade partnership with Epson by expanding the range of Epson wide format print technologies now available for live demonstration at its UK Client Engagement Centre (CEC) in Dunstable.
The move reflects Konica Minolta’s commitment to supporting the UK commercial print sector with a broader, more versatile portfolio and giving customers hands‑on access to leading solutions.
Coalville – Leicestershire – October 2026 – Innotech Digital & Display has concluded a successful first-time exhibition at The Print Show, held at the NEC over three days, unveiling its new Black Display Hardware Collection and demonstrating its materials in action through a series of industry partnerships.
The event marked a significant milestone for Innotech, offering the company its first opportunity to engage directly with the wider print community on this platform.
Visitors to the stand were able to explore product samples, view the newly launched Black Display Hardware Collection, and speak with the Innotech team about the latest developments in digital and display materials
Las Vegas – Nv -October 2026 – Durst Group AG has confirmed its first US customer orders for the Durst P5 350 CORE, following the system's debut at PRINTING United Expo.
The announcement caps a milestone year for the platform, which launched earlier in 2026 at FESPA Global Print in Barcelona and went on to win an EDP Award ahead of its US introduction.
The P5 350 CORE drew significant attention from attendees throughout the Expo, with interest converting directly into sales as the first American customers placed their orders on the show floor.
Altrincham- Cheshire – UK – October 2026 – Funkifabrics, a provider of fabrics for fashion and design, today highlighted a striking collection of garments created by renowned designer [theofficialglobegirls], which prominently features its textiles.
The collection showcases the versatility and quality of Funkifabrics' materials, reinforcing the company's commitment to supporting bold, creative expression across the fashion industry.
The collaboration, shared across Funkifabrics' social media channels, has already generated significant engagement from the fashion community, with many praising the craftsmanship and visual impact of the designs.
Belgrade, Serbia – October 2026 – Brother Industrial EMEA today announced that its GTX300 digital textile printer has been awarded the prestigious Gold Seal Award at Grafima 2026, the 46th International Fair of Graphic, Paper and Creative Industries, held in Belgrade.
The machine received top honours in the category "Digital Printing Machines for Textile Materials up to 160cm Wide", as judged by the fair's expert panel.
The Gold Seal Award recognises outstanding quality, innovation and professional capability within the graphic and textile printing industries.
Shanghai, China – October 2026 – FabricVision, a global innovator in textile production, has marked the successful completion of its first full year of operations, announcing ambitious expansion plans across both China and Europe.
The milestone was celebrated last week during China Expo in Shanghai, where the company convened with its team at Jinmao to review achievements and set strategic priorities for the year ahead.
The company's first year has been defined by rapid growth and deepening customer relationships, according to leadership.
Rapidity, a nearly 40-year-old London print and communications specialist, needed finishing equipment capable of matching the speed and complexity of its growing client roster, which includes Arsenal, Shell, and Aston Martin.
By partnering with Vivid Laminating Technologies and investing in three Veloblades, two Matrix systems, and an Easymount unit, Rapidity strengthened its production capabilities while maintaining the meticulous quality standards that have defined the business since 1986.
Klagenfurt - Austria – October 2026– Zimmer Austria, a global leader in textile printing and coating solutions, will be at IGATEX Pakistan 2026, one of the region's premier textile machinery exhibitions.
The company will exhibit its latest digital printing, screen printing, and coating technologies from 15–18 October 2026, at Hall 2, Booth F-2-09, in Karachi, Pakistan
Returning for the fifth time to Manchester’s GNCCF (Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair) are the GREEN GRADS,** 20 of the brightest of the UK’s new wave of eco-activists who have just graduated from universities all over the country, from Falmouth to Glasgow. The Fair runs from Thursday October 15 (private view) to Sunday October 18 (closes 4pm).
GREEN GRADS in the NORTH are taking over the 46 “changing cubicles” with their distinctive framework of blue cast iron, that fringe the gallery of Pool C, in the splendid Victoria Baths, Manchester. There is also a shop, curated by Laura Wigham, GREEN GRAD of 2024, with exclusive arts and crafts by GREEN GRAD makers from previous years.
Crewe, Cheshire – October 6th 2026 – Hybrid Services Ltd, the UK and Ireland distributor for Mimaki, has announced three dedicated demo days at its Crewe showroom, giving businesses a further opportunity to see the latest Mimaki machines in action.
Running from Tuesday 13th to Thursday 15th October, the drop-in sessions follow the machines' debut at The Print Show 2026 at the NEC Birmingham and are designed for those who missed the event, or want more time to explore the technology at their own pace.
Chesterfield, UK – October 2026 – Resolute DTF, a leading provider of direct-to-film printing solutions, has concluded its participation in The Print Show, last week, with an overwhelmingly positive response from attendees.
The event gave the company an opportunity to showcase its latest innovations in DTF and UV DTF printing technology to print businesses from across the industry.
Visitors to the Resolute DTF stand were given hands-on access to the company's expanding product range, including its R-JET PRO DTF and UVi-3D UV DTF printers, alongside its portfolio of inks, films, and finishing equipment.
Capurso, Italy – October - 2026 – Agfa Inkjet Solutions today announced that Digibux Print, an Italian digital print specialist, has invested in the Jeti Bronco H3300 HS, a 3.3-metre wide-format hybrid UV LED inkjet printer.
The investment marks a significant step in Digibux Print's evolution from digital print specialist to industrial production powerhouse, as the company expands its production capabilities to meet changing customer demands.
London, UK – 25 September 2026 – Sanderson Design Group PLC (AIM: SDG), the luxury interior furnishings group, today announced a 10-year licensing agreement with Dunelm for Designers Guild, the luxury interiors brand acquired by Dunelm in April 2025.
Under the Agreement, Sanderson Design Group has been granted the sole licence to design, manufacture and sell Designers Guild wallpapers, fabrics and paint worldwide.
The Agreement grants Sanderson Design Group access to Designers Guild's extensive archive design library, alongside the opportunity to create new designs under the brand, in exchange for a royalty fee paid to Dunelm