Manchester led the first textile revolution. Could engineering biology power the next?

One answer may lie in an industry that helped define Britain’s past. 

Two centuries ago, Manchester and the surrounding region transformed the world through textile manufacturing. The mills of Lancashire became a symbol of industrial innovation, combining engineering expertise, entrepreneurial ambition and manufacturing scale to create one of history’s most influential industrial clusters. 

Today, textiles once again stand at the threshold of transformation. This time, however, the challenge isn’t producing more. It’s producing better: with lower emissions, reduced water consumption, fewer virgin resources, greater circularity and more resilient supply chains. 

To meet that challenge, the sector will need to rethink not only how textiles are produced, but what they are made from. Engineering biology could become one of the defining technologies that enables that transition. 

Reinventing textiles through biology

At a time when brands, manufacturers and consumers are all seeking more sustainable alternatives, engineering biology presents an opportunity to redesign parts of the textile value chain from the ground up. By harnessing microorganisms, enzymes and biological systems, we can begin to rethink how materials are produced, processed and ultimately used. Across the UK, companies are already showing how engineering biology can be applied to different stages of textile and materials manufacturing. 

Colorifix has pioneered the use of engineered microorganisms to produce and apply biological textile dyes, helping to reduce water use and chemical waste associated with conventional dyeing processes. 

Innovation is also taking place at the material level. Modern Synthesis is developing novel materials based on microbial nanocellulose, creating alternatives to traditional synthetic materials and opening up entirely new possibilities for textile design. 

Similarly, Solena Materials is using computational biology and protein engineering to develop biodegradable high-performance fibres inspired by natural proteins, offering a potential route to materials that combine functionality with sustainability. 

The breadth of innovation has been best illustrated by companies such as Lab-Grown Leather who unveiled the world’s first handbag made from cultivated ​“T‑Rex Leather™, developed using advanced tissue engineering and reconstructed collagen blueprints derived from fossil protein sequences. Emerging companies such as Mykkö are also exploring the use of mycelium-based materials, demonstrating how fungi-derived biomaterials could provide new alternatives to conventional leather and other resource-intensive textiles. This challenges traditional assumptions about how products such as leather can be sourced and manufactured demonstrating how engineering biology can create new classes of materials. 

Companies such as Croda are applying biotechnology to develop more sustainable specialty ingredients, surfactants and performance chemicals, demonstrating how biological approaches can reduce dependence on traditional petrochemical feedstocks while maintaining industrial performance. 

Meanwhile other companies are exploring enzyme-enabled textile processing technologies that can reduce the need for harsh chemical treatments during manufacturing. By using biological catalysts to perform specific processing steps more efficiently, these approaches have the potential to lower energy consumption, reduce waste and improve environmental performance across textile production. 

Taken together, these examples demonstrate something important. Engineering biology for textiles is beginning to move from the research environment into real-world industrial contexts. Its future depends on creating the conditions for these innovations to scale, integrate into manufacturing supply chains and achieve commercial impact.

Why the north is well positioned to lead

If engineering biology is set to reshape textile manufacturing, the north of England is particularly well placed to drive that transition. The region combines strengths in advanced manufacturing, materials innovation, engineering biology, textiles and process development that have been built over decades. 

World-leading research capability exists across universities including Manchester and Leeds, supported by nationally significant innovation assets such as the Henry Royce Institute, the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) and CPI. Alongside these organisations sits a diverse manufacturing base, specialist textile companies, innovative SMEs and a growing engineering biology community. Many of the ingredients for success already exist; what’s currently missing is better connectivity between them. 

Moving from discovery to deployment

Engineering biology has already shown what’s scientifically possible. The biggest challenge now lies in turning scientific discovery into industrial deployment. 

A promising biomaterial in a university laboratory is only the beginning of the journey. To achieve commercial impact, innovations must be manufactured consistently, economically and at scale. They must integrate into existing supply chains, meet regulatory requirements and ultimately deliver products that customers want to buy. This is where innovation infrastructure becomes critical. 

At CPI, we see first-hand the importance of helping companies bridge the gap between research and commercial reality. Scale-up, process optimisation and manufacturing readiness often determine whether a promising technology succeeds or remains an interesting scientific achievement. 

For engineering biology in textiles, that translation capability will be essential. The next phase must focus on ensuring those innovations can be manufactured competitively and adopted at industrial scale. 

A natural fit for the government's industrial ambitions

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has spoken about creating good growth, supporting advanced manufacturing and building prosperity through regional strengths. Engineering biology for textiles aligns closely with those ambitions. This promising emerging sector builds on existing scientific excellence, supports high-value manufacturing jobs, contributes to net zero objectives, strengthens domestic supply chains and creates opportunities for start-ups, scale-ups and established manufacturers alike. Perhaps most importantly, it builds on capabilities that already exist within the UK rather than attempting to create entirely new industries from scratch. This is exactly the type of adjacent innovation that successful industrial strategies should encourage. 

The foundations of a world-leading ecosystem are already present across the north. Researchers are developing new technologies. Companies are proving commercial applications. Manufacturers are looking for more sustainable materials and processes. Innovation organisations are providing routes to scale. Yet much of this activity remains fragmented, which is why a more coordinated northern bio-textiles initiative could help turn existing strengths into a more connected industrial opportunity. 

A dedicated northern bio-textiles initiative could help connect these capabilities, bringing together universities, industry, innovators, investors, funders such as Innovate UK and UKRI, regional government and the UK’s engineering biology infrastructure to accelerate the journey from promising research to scalable, sustainable textile manufacturing. 

Such an initiative wouldn’t simply support the future of textiles. It could become a powerful demonstration of how engineering biology can deliver economic growth, industrial competitiveness and environmental sustainability simultaneously.

From industrial heritage to industrial leadership

Manchester helped define the first industrial revolution by transforming how materials were manufactured. Today, engineering biology gives us an opportunity to redefine what those materials are made from in the first place. 

Recent debate around Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s preference for Manchester-made clothing has sparked an interesting conversation about British manufacturing, local supply chains and the value of making products closer to home. His choice to wear garments produced by Private White V.C., one of the last remaining clothing manufacturers in Manchester, has become a small but powerful reminder that manufacturing heritage still matters and that there remains a place for high-value British production in a global market. 

But the opportunity goes beyond where textiles are made. The bigger opportunity is to determine what those textiles are made from. 

What if the next generation of fibres, dyes and performance materials were developed and manufactured in the UK? What if Britain could combine its strengths in engineering biology, advanced materials and manufacturing innovation to create more sustainable alternatives to conventional textiles? What if the north became not only a centre for textile production once again, but a leader in developing the technologies that will define the future of the industry? 

Engineering biology is already demonstrating its potential to reshape textiles. The next step is to connect the research, industrial capability and innovation infrastructure needed to move those ideas into commercial reality. 

If we can do that, the next textile revolution may once again have its roots in the north. Only this time, it will be powered not by steam and spinning frames, but by cells, enzymes and engineered biological systems.