Manufacturing Sportswear
Innovating is central for sportswear manufacturers; they need to think outside the box to remain competitive. In an age of digitalisation and HealthTech, the current clothes aren't serving the needs of the market. Sportswear manufacturing needs to integrate new smart fabrics and wearable sensors, perhaps using 3D printing for creation. They need to provide optimal performance by not putting too much pressure on parts of the body. The fashion industry as a whole is susceptible to supply chain complexities and fast fashion pressure for the fast delivery of new trending clothes.
What did our client do?
Our client completed extensive research into the industry, working with professionals from the industry as use cases, with a scientific approach to meet the needs of athletes for optimal performance and muscle rehabilitation. They created a product that focused on muscle mirroring and got the correct abdomen pressure levels for where the garment sat on the waistband. These have not previously been considered in sportswear undergarments. Their creation needed to offer stability and wasn’t too heavy. They created something brand new by experimenting with pressure resulting in a product that is both lighter and more stable than what you could already find on the market.
How did we help?
The Alexander Clifford team helped find and document all qualifying activity, to ensure all R&D qualifying costs were covered. It was clear this project was eligible for R&D in nature because our client’s aim was to enhance something already existing through extensive industry research, testing different fabrics and textile approaches, and integrating new technology. It also used a bespoke approach to meet exact rehabilitation and recovery needs. Our team captured all of this in the technical narrative of the R&D claim, meeting HMRC’s standards and resulting in a generous payout.
