As challenging as circularity is in any sector, textiles are particularly problematic: they have a distributed and complex value chain involving many stakeholders and making systemic change difficult to enact. Without a clear process for multi-stakeholder action, the question remains: how can the textiles industry transition to a circular and more sustainable system? This paper presents initial findings from a Horizon 2020 research project – HEREWEAR – which attempts to create Systemic Material Innovation in the textiles ecosystem through local, biobased and circular strategies. This paper focusses on the role of co-design in enabling knowledge flow between project partners and stakeholders, to create a systemic view of the key questions and concerns and reveal opportunities for multi-stakeholder transition. The Project Case HEREWEAR is a 4-year European H2020-funded research project focussing on the use of chemical processes to transform agricultural by-products into high value bio-based fibres, yarns, textiles and garments. The consortium includes partners representing the textile value chain from raw material to market and importantly involves the stakeholder community. The project will have progressed through two-thirds of the funding period at the time of the symposium. The specific study presented in this paper relates to a process of facilitating knowledge flow between project partners and external stakeholders, to help guide the development and translation of project knowledge into impactful guidelines and training materials at the project conclusion. These findings supported a ‘sense-checking’ of the project outputs so that they address the key concerns and questions of the stakeholders. This process is ongoing and therefore represents early results.