Material blends
Fibre-level composition across the whole set, so students see for themselves why blended fabrics are a recycling problem.
Who we help · Universities
Sustainable Fashion Curriculum and ESPR Teaching for Universities
Fashion programmes teach a data-intensive subject without data.
We license the Symolem Sustainable Product Hub to universities — thousands of real products, fully queryable — and support the teaching and research built on it through course design, workshops and lectures.
Circular economyEU ESPRDigital Product PassportsTextile EPRGreen claims
Academic in Residence
Dr Vinayak Sharma, circular economy researcher
Dr Vinayak Sharma completed his PhD in Circular Economy at the University of Exeter, affiliated with the UKRI National Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Research (NICER) Programme. He is a Postdoctoral Research Associate on the EPSRC-funded DECHI programme at Exeter and a Lecturer in the Department of Management. His advisory work spans Defra, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and NHS England.
His doctoral work proposes reacting as a fourth dynamic capability, extending Teece's sensing–seizing–reconfiguring framework. His presence ensures what Symolem publishes, teaches and validates meets a scholarly standard.
- Harmonising Social Considerations in Firms Transitioning to a Circular EconomyDoctoral thesis, University of Exeter, 2026.
- Advanced Clothing Solutions: Digital Technology Enabling Circular Fashion at ScaleWith D. Bermudez. DICE Network+, 2026.
- Global challenges – local responses: Scaling up local sustainability innovations and business models to address the SDGsConference proceedings, University of Iceland, 2025.
Full profile: University of Exeter · ORCID 0000-0003-1827-7457
Case study
University of Exeter circular fashion research partnership
Symolem works with the University of Exeter through the Digital Innovation and Circular Economy Network Plus (DICE Network+), the EPSRC-funded programme Exeter leads. Our Academic in Residence is based at Exeter, and co-authored the DICE Network+ report on digital technology enabling circular fashion at scale.
Real fashion product data for teaching and research
Case studies are usually hypothetical and students graduate never having interrogated a real product set. The Sustainable Product Hub holds thousands of real products, structured for open-ended querying rather than fixed reporting.
Which products a material goes into
Query from a fibre or blend outward to every product category, the way sourcing, recycling and regulatory scope are reasoned about in industry.
Where products are made
Country and region of manufacture against category and material, so students test assumed geography against the real one.
Any filter in combination
Elastane content by country, blend complexity by category, regulatory scope by material. A seminar runs as inquiry, not a worked example.
Licensing: for teaching and research use, at programme, department or institutional level.
Sustainable fashion teaching resources that come with the licence
A materials wiki
Structured reference on fibres, materials and processes: what the evidence supports, and where widely cited figures originate.
A tracker of 50 regulations
Ecodesign and passports, producer responsibility, reporting and due diligence, green claims, customs and trade, kept current for you.
Second-hand textiles field knowledge
Export flows, bale grading and receiving markets, with standing relationships in Kantamanto, Accra, and advisory work in Kakuma, Kenya.
Live Digital Product Passport research
Research on DPP adoption, alongside work with the DICE Network+, the EPSRC-funded programme led by the University of Exeter.
Circular economy course design, workshops and guest lectures
Research
Joint research and co-authorship using the Hub, the tracker and our field access, and support on funding bids.
Course design
Curriculum architecture and revalidation support for undergraduate, postgraduate and executive provision.
Workshops
Intensive sessions on live data, for students or for faculty who deliver the material for years afterwards.
Guest lectures
From single sessions to full module contribution.
Independent review
Academic review of provision for currency, regulatory coverage, evidential rigour and employability.
For universities and business schools teaching fashion, textiles, supply chain, circular economy and sustainability; fashion and design institutions; professional and awarding bodies; executive education; research networks.
What we teach on ESPR, Digital Product Passports and green claims
The technical
Ecodesign and the Digital Product Passport, Extended Producer Responsibility across jurisdictions, sustainability reporting and due diligence, green claims substantiation, and life cycle assessment and product carbon footprint as methods, including their boundaries.
The theoretical
Consumption theory beneath the technical work: conspicuous consumption and waste, the imitation-differentiation cycle, taste as class classification, and fashion as play.
Led by Lavinia Fernandes, with an Executive MBA in Supply Chain Management and an MA in Fashion Journalism from London College of Fashion, UAL.
Further reading
ESPR and Digital Product Passport reading for courses
Bring real product data into your course
30 minutes on your programme, modules and research.