Yesterday, Fashion for Good celebrated its first year of operations by hosting an industry event on “Accelerating and Scaling Daring Innovation” at its hub in central Amsterdam. Approximately 180 brands, producers, retailers, suppliers, non-profit organisations, innovators and funders convened to discover breakthrough ideas and network with others united in the shared ambition to make fashion good.
The event featured Demo Day pitches from the nine startups in the latest batch of the Fashion for Good-Plug and Play Accelerator, an intensive 12-week startup programme run with Plug and Play, a leading Silicon Valley accelerator, and corporate partners C&A, Galeries Lafayette Group and Kering. Nine start-ups from around the world – representing varied fields and backgrounds – participated in the Accelerator’s second batch: Carcel, Colorifix, Eon ID, LiteHide™ by LeatherTeq, Nature Coatings, Normn Hangers, A Transparent Company, Texloop and We aRe SpinDye®. Since September, the entrepreneurs have followed a robust curriculum including mentorship and training by corporate executives, preparation for over 50 investor meetings and coordination of nearly 100 deal flow sessions with 10 major brands. The next batch of startups to join the Accelerator will be announced in early 2018.
The afternoon also featured presentations from the five companies in Fashion for Good’s Scaling Programme: ColorZen, The Infinited Fiber Company, SoftWear Automation, TamiCare Ltd and Worn Again. These companies were hand-selected from an extensive list of innovators driving for a more sustainable and circular textiles sector. Through the Scaling Programme, these companies receive bespoke support and access to expertise, customers and capital with the help of a dedicated team. At the event, they shared their disruptive innovations and participated in an open dialogue with leading brands and retailers on how to integrate their technologies in the fashion supply chain.
Fashion for Good was launched in March 2017 with an initial grant by founding partner C&A Foundation and an open invitation to the entire apparel industry to join. It is a global platform for innovation, made possible through collaboration and community. The first brands to partner with Fashion for Good’s programmes are C&A, Galeries Lafayette Group and Kering. Fashion for Good invites players from across the fashion value chain to reimagine the way fashion is designed, made, worn and reused.
Fashion for Good-Plug and Play Accelerator Batch 2 Startups
- Carcel: https://carcel.co
- Colorifix: http://www.colorifix.com
- Eon ID: http://eonid.co
- LiteHide™ by LeatherTeq: http://litehide.com
- Nature Coatings: http://naturecoatings.net
- Normn Hangers: http://normanhangers.com
- A Transparent Company: http://www.atransparentcompany.com
- Texloop: http://circular-systems.com
- We aRe SpinDye®: https://spindye.com
Fashion for Good Scaling Programme Startups
- ColorZen: http://www.colorzen.com
- The Infinited Fiber Company: http://infinitedfiber.com
- SoftWear Automation: http://softwearautomation.com
- TamiCare Ltd: http://www.tamicare.com
- Worn Again: http://wornagain.info
Fashion for Good
Fashion for Good is the global initiative that is here to make all fashion good. Fashion for Good sparks and scales innovation by offering practical action in the form of support and funding, shares best practice and lessons learned in open-source roadmaps and fosters sector-wide collaboration for the entire apparel industry to change. Fashion for Good invites brands, producers, retailers, suppliers, non-profit organisations, innovators and funders to jointly transform the industry.
Fashion for Good was launched in 2017 with C&A Foundation as a founding partner, and is supported by partners Plug and Play, McDonough Innovation, the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, IDH – the Sustainable Trade Initiative, the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and Impact Hub Amsterdam. The first brands to partner with Fashion for Good are C&A, Galeries Lafayette Group and Kering.
At the core of Fashion for Good is an Innovation Platform, which includes:
- Fashion for Good-Plug and Play Accelerator: Fashion for Good works with Plug and Play, a leading Silicon Valley accelerator, to give promising start-up innovators the funding and expertise they need in order to grow.
- Scaling Programme: Fashion for Good finds innovations that have proof-of-concept and helps them scale by offering bespoke support and access to expertise, customers and capital.
- Good Fashion Fund: This fund will catalyze access to finance where this is required to shift at scale to more sustainable production methods.
Fashion for Good is founded on the principle of collaboration and aims to create tools that are open-source, such as its Good Fashion Guide, which provides practical tips for brands wishing to embrace circular apparel principles. It operates from its first hub in Amsterdam, which also houses a Circular Apparel Community co-working space and a visitor-facing Launchpad Exhibition. http://www.fashionforgood.com
Plug and Play
Plug and Play is a global innovation platform. We connect startups to corporations and invest in over 150 companies every year. Since inception in 2016, our programs have expanded worldwide to include a presence in 26 locations globally giving startups the necessary resources to succeed in Silicon Valley and beyond. With over 6,000 startups and 200 official corporate partners, we have created the ultimate startup ecosystem in many industries. We provide active investments with 200 leading Silicon Valley VCs, and host more than 365 networking events per year. Companies in our community have raised over $6 billion in funding, with successful portfolio exits including Danger, Dropbox, Lending Club, PayPal, SoundHound, and Zoosk. http://plugandplaytechcenter.com/
C&A
With nearly 2,000 stores in 21 countries worldwide and around 60,000 employees, C&A is a leading fashion retail business. C&A welcomes and provides millions of visitors each day with good quality fashion at affordable prices for their entire family. C&A is an enterprise of COFRA Holding AG with a presence in Europe, Brazil, Mexico and China. C&A is committed to leading an industry shift from the “take, make, waste” linear model to a circular one that allows us to keep resources in use for as long as possible. In cooperation with Fashion for Good, C&A developed the world’s first Cradle to Cradle Certified™ Gold garments. We are committed to supporting Fashion for Good in their efforts to scale technologies, processes and business models that have the potential to transform the industry. http://www.c-a.com
Galeries Lafayette Group
A leading city-centre retailer with proven fashion expertise, the Galeries Lafayette group is a family-run private group, with 120 years’ history in commerce and retail. A key player committed to creation and a major private employer in France with 14,000 employees, the Group is committed to setting the standard as a multi-channel, innovative, ethical and responsible retailer that puts the customer first and is actively engaged in promoting the French “Art of Living”. With retail sales of Euros 3.8 billion, the Group enjoys international recognition through its iconic brands: Galeries Lafayette, BHV MARAIS, RQZ – Royal Quartz Paris, Louis Pion, Guérin Joaillerie, InstantLuxe.com and BazarChic. http://groupegalerieslafayette.com
Kering
A global Luxury group, Kering develops an ensemble of luxury houses in fashion, leather goods, jewellery and watches: Gucci, Bottega Veneta, Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Brioni, Christopher Kane, McQ, Stella McCartney, Tomas Maier, Boucheron, Dodo, Girard-Perregaux, Pomellato, Qeelin and Ulysse Nardin. Kering is also developing the Sport & Lifestyle brands Puma, Volcom and Cobra. By ‘empowering imagination’, Kering encourages its brands to reach their potential, in the most sustainable manner. The Group generated revenue of €12.385 billion in 2016 and had more than 40,000 employees at year end. The Kering share is listed on Euronext Paris (FR 0000121485, KER.PA, KER.FP) http://www.Kering.com
C&A Foundation
C&A Foundation is a corporate foundation here to transform the fashion industry. We give our partners financial support, expertise and networks so they can make the fashion industry work better for every person it touches. We do this because we believe that despite the vast and complex challenges we face, we can work together to make fashion a force for good. http://www.candafoundation.org
Subscribe To Our Newsletter
Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team.
