A centre pioneering digital design creation and printing for the fashion industry is among four projects to receive a $3.7 million funding injection from the federal government.
The new projects will be supported by the Textile Clothing and Footwear (TCF) Strategic Capability Program.
Minister assisting for industry and innovation Senator Kate Lundy today announced the grants, worth a combined $3.7 million, as part of the third round of the program.
"These projects will combine research with industry know-how to boost the capability of the textile, clothing and footwear sector," she said.
"The TCF sector is important to Australia's economy and, while it faces challenges from cheap overseas competition, these projects demonstrate that through innovation our industry also has significant potential.
"The four new projects are about creating new opportunities - they combine industry with cutting-edge research to develop and capitalise on new ideas."
The grant recipients and projects are:
Digital Textile Printing: $1,269,299 to create a Centre of Digital Excellence to develop and facilitate accredited training courses on digital design creation and printing for the TCF industry.
Materialised: $461,189 to undertake a project with the CSIRO, developing a sheer curtain textile that can provide reduced noise reverberation while providing a high degree of light transmission for the hospitality, health care and aged care sectors.
Bekaert (Australia): $1,152,185 to underake research to improve the performance of restorative sleep through textiles and bedding products with a focus on the health and aged care markets, in partnership with RMIT and CSIRO.
Bruck Textiles: $793,585 to research the potential for a membrane distillation process to convert waste heat and waste water from textile processing to recycled water, in partnership with Victoria University.
The TCF Strategic Capability program has funded 21 projects worth $33 million that will run to 30 June 2015.
The program has also funded the Textile and Fashion Hub in inner city Melbourne, which provides state of the art design, training and short-run production to Australian designers and manufacturers.
Pick up a copy of Ragtrader's January 2013 edition to view some of the Hub's most dynamic fashion creations.