MUMBAI – Fashion for Good’s South Asia Innovation Programme has officially launched with the selection of nine new innovators covering areas including raw materials, wastewater management, dyeing solutions, textile waste solutions, blockchain, AI and machine learning innovations. Fashion for Good’s managing director Katrin Ley opened the Fashion for Good South Asia Innovation Programme and welcomed the nine businesses, which are Alt Mat, Block Texx, Descatuk, Indra, Infinichains, JSP, PurFi, Sasmira and Textile Genesis.
The partners, Aamir Akhtar, CEO of Arvind Mills, Lakshmi Poti, programme manager sustainabler materials at Laudes Foundation (formerly C&A Foundation) and Dipali Goenka, joint managing director of Welspun were among the jury members who selected the innovators to join the programme.
At the launch, Katrin Ley said: “We are staunch ambassadors of industry-wide collaboration. With the launch of our regional Programme in South Asia we strengthen our network and position us to better serve local manufacturers, key supply chain actors, brands and innovators. By connecting them to our global network and leading players in the fashion ecosystem, we help the innovators’ solutions and technologies reach scale.”
Over the next four months, the nine companies will receive mentoring, bespoke coaching and support from Fashion for Good and its corporate partners, as well as access to a global network of partners and like-minded organisations.
The nine companies are:
AltMat (previously Canva Fibre Labs) uses a mixture of mechanical, chemical and enzymatic process to produce industrial fit fibre and yarn made of agri-waste such as hemp and banana waste sourced directly from farmers and hemp producers.
BlockTexx turns textile waste into a resource, stimulates the production of new products and meets consumers demands to reduce the environmental impact of our everyday clothing.
Descatuk has developed a process of fibre extraction and yarn creation from grass to produce a fabric that has a similar look to linen but a lighter touch. Grown in the highlands of India, the wild grass needs neither water nor pesticides. Descatuk also has a positive impact on livelihoods by providing fair job opportunities for locals.
Indra has developed affordable, fully automated wastewater management treatment and packaged re-cycling solutions. The process is capable of a variety of water treatment through novel innovations in electro-coagulation, electro-chemical oxidation, two-phase solids separation, disinfection, distillation and pollutant monitoring hardware.
InfiniChains is a leading end-to-end track and trace solution using blockchain, AI and Cloud Computing to help brands and manufacturers to digitise sustainability practices. Through real-time data, efficiency and storytelling, they bridge the fragmented gaps between the different sustainability systems of farmers, manufacturers and brands.
JSP Enviro treats common effluents with Microbial fuel cells technology. The technology treats effluent water that can be reused, simultaneously producing energy thereby reducing the need for external energy, making it a self-sustainable waste-water treatment.
PurFi rejuvenates pre-consumer textile waste back to virgin quality fibres virgin quality products from corporate waste streams to create a closed loop solution. The technology can process cotton, PET, cotton/poly blends as well as separate out elastane.
Sasmira has a wide range of innovations and one of them is a supercritical CO2 dyeing technology. This cost-effective technique is waterless and does not use any chemicals. The remains of the dye is collected for reuse and carbon dioxide used in the process is recirculated back into the system.
TextileGenesis is a blockchain traceability system specifically created for the apparel sector that focuses on sustainable fibres such as wood-based fibres, organic cotton and organic wool. Consumers can scan the barcode with their mobile device to see the various steps that were taken to create the product.