Fashion for Good names new Plug and Play start-ups

Fashion for Good, launched by C&A foundation have announced the new start-ups that will take part in its Plug and Play accelerator initiative in collaboration with its partners C&A, Kering, Adidas, Galeries Lafayette, Target and Zalando.

The 12 week accelerator programme, will feature 15 start-ups that range from biodegradable glitter to fabrics made from seaweed and orange fibres, who will all take part in a “robust curriculum” that will include mentorship from its partners as well as assistance and support to scaling-up their technologies, methodologies and business models.

Chosen from hundreds of applicants, the 15 start-ups come from all over the world covering 4 continents and 10 nationalities and represent varied supply chain areas from alternative raw materials to new business models.

Fashion for Good Accelerator Programme names 15 new start-ups

The start-ups are: Algiknit, a textile fibre made from kelp, a variety of seaweed that is biodegradable, can be knitted or 3D printed, and can be dyed with natural pigments in a closed loop cycle; BioGlitz, the first biodegradable glitter made from eucalyptus tree extract; Circular.Fashion, a software that interconnects circular design, circular retail models and closed loop recycling technologies enables fashion brands to design circular garments; Flocus, produces natural yarns, fillings and fabrics made from kapok fibres; and Frumat, uses apples to create a leather-like material.

Good on You, is a mobile app that provides ethical ratings for about 1,000 fashion brands rated on their impact on people, the planet and animals; Mango Materials, is a biodegradable bio-polyester that can be used as a sustainable alternative to the persistent polyester used in the fashion industry; Nano Textile, is a sustainable alternative to binder chemicals normally used to attach finishes onto a fabric; Orange Fiber, manufacturers natural fabrics from citrus by-products; and Paptic, manufactures bio-based alternative packaging materials that are made from sustainably sourced wood fibres.

PlanetCare, has developed a microfibre filter to be integrated in washing machines, that can capture microplastics before they are released in wastewater; Provenance Biofabrics, bio-engineers a true leather equivalent by programming the self-assembly of collagen molecules the building blocks of leather; Reverse Resources, is a platform that enables fashion brands and garment manufacturers to address pre-consumer waste for industrial upcycling; Scalable Garment Technologies Inc., has built a robotic knitting machine linked with 3D modelling software to make custom seamless knit garments; and Style Lend, is a fashion rental marketplace using AI and machine learning to match users based on fit, as well as style.

The Accelerator Programme, which will take place at the Fashion for Good hub in Amsterdam, is part of Fashion for Good’s Innovation Platform, which also includes a Scaling Programme and the Good Fashion Fund, and in addition to mentoring, the start-ups are all screened for potential funding to support development of their businesses. The aim of the initiative is to accelerate is to “enable the widespread adoption of sustainable and circular practices across the textile industry”.

Image: courtesy of Fashion for Good