With more than 100 deal flows and 83% engagement in pilot projects, it’s encouraging to see the pace and momentum of transformation in the region, driven by the Fashion for Good South Asia Innovation Programme. We’re extremely proud to have brought together our partners, manufacturers, Arvind Limited, the Welspun Group and Birla Cellulose, and innovators to achieve so much, in such a short period, and under such adverse circumstances; we’re excited to be leading the change.” – Katrin Ley, Managing Director – Fashion for Good

SCALING ALONG THE GROWTH CURVE

Throughout the year, Fashion for Good, working closely with key supply chain players, has identified the critical challenges posed to the circular transformation in the region; the lack of knowledge around circular solutions, the lack of capacity to work with innovations, the lack of funds to invest in new technologies, and lastly, the limited engagement from major fashion brands. In a newly released report “The State of Circular Innovation in the Indian Fashion and Textile Industries”, Fashion for Good highlights these challenges as well as the opportunities for innovation and investment. Fashion for Good addresses these challenges through their programmes to accelerate and scale these technologies as well as through collaborative initiatives with key players in the industry.  

DRIVING INNOVATION AND COLLABORATION

Scouting over 300 innovators from the region, the programme launched early this year with its first selection of 9 innovators, graduating today, and welcoming an additional 9 into their second batch in July. Aiming to scale these technologies through initiating opportunities with industry players, the programme orchestrated over 16 pilots and tests over the past 12 months.

Projects of note include; a collaboration between plastic recycling innovator Lucro and Welspun Limited to close the loop on their packaging waste stream; KB cols, a technology that extracts natural colours from waste that can be applied to textiles, is testing their solution with three partners; Descatuk and Birla Cellulose co-developed eco yarns that incorporate Descatuk’s unique New Natural Fibres (NNF); and most recently, Textile Genesis, a traceability platform using blockchain, together with leading brands BESTSELLER and Kering, join a Fashion for Good led consortium project, the Viscose Traceability Project, to trace the viscose fibres used in 8 garment styles across their supply chains.

Find out more about what the Fashion for Good South Asia Innovation Programme has achieved here: https://fashionforgood.com/south-asia-programme/