Sustainability initiative Fashion for Good (FFG) has announced the seven innovators to take part in this year’s Asia Innovation Programme. Those selected – Picvisa, Gaiacel, An Herbals, Fermentech Labs, Sodhani Biotech, Vaayu and UKHI Hemp Foundation – are said to offer solutions which focus on raw materials, processing, and end-of-use.
“We are extremely excited to kick off our third year in Asia and continue to generate tangible impact in the region with the addition of these seven new innovations,” commented Priyanka Khanna, the organisation’s head of expansion in Asia. “By providing them with a platform to learn and grow, the programme offers an opportunity to drive the implementation of their solutions in the supply chain at scale.”
The initiative’s nine-month programme in Asia sets out to identify and support promising industry solutions by matching them with relevant industry partners and providing tailored guidance. Corporate partners on hand to help these burgeoning start-ups include Adidas, Kering, Levi’s, Zalando, C&A, Target and Bestseller. They also support innovators across Europe and North America which partake in similar FFG scaling programmes.
Since being established in 2020, the Asia Innovation Programme is said to have helped as many as 28 innovators reach their potential.
The latest cohort to benefit from enrolling includes:
- An Herbals – which boasts a patented herbal dye extraction and bioprocessing solution that converts forest and food waste into non-toxic dyes
- Fermentech Labs – which converts agricultural waste into industrial enzymes used for textile bio-polishing, de-sizing and bio-scouring
- Gaiacel – which has developed a novel dyeing innovation to make industrial rope and slasher dyeing processes ‘sustainable’ and cost-effective
- Picvisa – which leverages innovative optical sorting and separation equipment to help recover and grade textiles
- Sohani Biotech – which produces non-toxic chemical-free natural dyes and colours from plant waste and microorganisms
- UKHI Hemp Foundation – which produces more than 500 products from hemp and trains farmers with its methods
- Vaayu – which claims to use the world’s first automated carbon-tracking software for retailers
