Delivered by WRAP in collaboration with leading academic and industry experts, the Durability Accelerator Initiative (DAI) helps fashion brands turn durability insight into practical commercial value.
The oppportunity
Durability is becoming a defining issue for fashion brands. Policy makers are setting minimum durability requirements, but meeting the minimum won’t match customer expectations or create real competitive advantage.
The Durability Accelerator Initiative supports both global brands and SMEs to benchmark products, diagnose performance and turn durability into a clear market advantage.
It directly impacts:
- customer trust and loyalty
- regulatory readiness
- environmental performance
- access to circular business models.
Yet most brands still lack a consistent, credible way to measure and improve durability.
The evidence
WRAP’s durability research, developed with leading academic experts, is one of the most comprehensive studies of clothing durability undertaken to date.
- 3-year research programme
- 200+ garments tested
- thousands of test specimens
- a standardised approach to measuring durability.
The Durability Accelerator Initiative now builds on this proven approach and makes it accessible to more brands.
What is the DAI?
The Durability Accelerator Initiative is a global, pre-competitive collaboration designed to help brands move from insight to practical implementation.
It helps brands to:
- measure durability consistently
- confidentially benchmark products against others in the same category
- identify product improvements
- build the business case for investment
- prepare for new rules being built into key EU and US regulations (including ESPR, EPR and PEFCR)
- contribute to the development of an independent durability standard that could support customer-facing labelling in the future.
This is not a theory exercise. It is designed for practical application within your business.
How it works
Participants in the DAI will:
- Get up to speed: Learn from WRAP’s durability expertise and understand how durability intersects with policy and customer expectations
- Benchmark: Assess current performance using a consistent methodology and compare products confidentially
- Improve: Identify practical product and design improvements
- Collaborate: Work with industry peers to shape a common testing approach
- Prepare: Generate data that supports regulatory readiness and future product standards.
Who it's for
The initiative is designed for both global fashion brands and smaller businesses that want to understand how durable their products really are and how to improve them.
It is particularly relevant for leaders across:
- Sustainability / ESG
- Product development
- Sourcing / materials
- Innovation
- Marketing
At apparel brands and retailers operating in North America and the EU.
Why WRAP?
WRAP is a global environmental action NGO working with fashion brands, governments and industry partners to deliver practical, system-level change.
Our textiles programme combines technical research, industry expertise and collaborative delivery to help businesses move from ambition to implementation quickly and credibly.
Why join now?
Durability is moving quickly from an emerging sustainability topic to a commercial and regulatory priority.
Early participants in the Durability Accelerator Initiative will help shape how durability is measured and implemented across the industry, while gaining early insight into the standards and expectations likely to influence the market in the coming years.
Participation is intentionally limited to ensure meaningful collaboration and practical value for each organisation.
Enrollment closes 15 May, speak to our team today to secure your space.