Princess Royal visits University of Huddersfield for world textiles conference

The University of Huddersfield was delighted to welcome Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal to the university campus when she addressed the 92nd Textile Institute World Conference (TIWC) held in the Barbara Hepworth Building.

The Princess Royal was attending TIWC in her capacity as President of the UK Fashion and Textile Association (UKFT).

The Princess Royal has a keen interest in sustainable manufacturing, and with the theme of TIWC being ‘Sustainability of the Textile and Fashion Supply Chain – Transitioning to Zero Carbon and Zero Waste’ she met with delegates to discover more about how the conference had addressed strategies to manage the impact of the textile and fashion supply chain on the environment and climate change.

She was welcomed by University of Huddersfield Vice-Chancellor, Professor Bob Cryan, conference Chairman Professor Parik Goswami, the University of Huddersfield’s Professor in Technical Textiles and Director of the Technical Textiles Research Centre, and Adam Mansell, the CEO of UKFT.

After words of welcome from Professor Cryan, The Princess Royal attended a round-table discussion of the textile industry’s roadmap to Net Zero chaired by Professor Goswami.

After delivering a speech to the conference, The Princess Royal met final year students from the University’s Textiles, Fashion and Costume Design courses and was shown the 2023 Graduate Showcase.

“We were extremely honoured and proud to welcome HRH The Princess Royal to the 92nd Textile Institute World Conference here at the University of Huddersfield,” said Professor Goswami.

“Her interest in our industry, and in particular our commitment to improving its sustainability, is a long-standing one and we were delighted that she attended this conference with this vital issue at its heart.”