Fashion District is championing the acceleration of sustainable fashion in an increasingly fast-paced and disposable world. Earlier this year they launched Manufacturing Futures, 2024: Fashion District Innovation Challenge, a challenge supports sustainable innovations varying from developing alternative materials, to waste management and digital innovations. The brands have the chance to win a £15,000 cash prize to develop their sustainable manufacturing business, chosen by a judging panel of experts.
Through our work with Fashion District, we have met with some incredible startup brands developing groundbreaking solutions that tackle the environmental damage this 1.7 trillion-dollar industry is having. Here are some of the trailblazers from the Manufacturing Futures programme who are shaping the future.
Sequinova
Sequinova is a pioneering biomaterials company, revolutionising the textiles industry with cutting-edge biodegradable sequin materials., a first of its kind. Founded by Claire Lichfield in February 2024, Sequinova is the first biodegradable sequin textiles company to manufacture at scale and enter the mass market, a huge breakthrough in the 15-billion-dollar sequin industry. These sequins are made from cellulose, contain no petrochemicals, metals, minerals, or toxic dyes and biodegrade in under eight weeks of contact with fresh water.
Zori Tex
Alexandra Harrod had been working in the fashion industry for 20 years, before discovering the need for new-gen technology to protect the environment from textile waste. In 2022 Alex founded Zori Tex which created a product to enable the sorting and availability of materials, thanks to its innovative AI and vast database so that garments can be recycled accordingly. It completely revolutionises the garments’ end-of-life process, making recycling and reusing materials both possible and profitable. Material information in clothing labels is only 60% accurate, so Zori Tex’s ground-breaking product looks to be a game-changer for achieving a truly circular economy.
Additional innovative start-ups on the Manufacturing Futures shortlist include; Arda Biomaterials, who look to turn spent grain from the beer brewing and whisky distilling industries into a novel, leather-like material; Fibe, creating new cellulosic materials from potato harvest waste; Oxford Biopigments – plant-based dyes that are naturally lightfast and perform like synthetic dyes.
The Manufacturing Futures judging panel who chose the shortlist includes industry experts Ella Gould, Head of Sustainability and Innovation at Selfridges; Chelsea Franklin, Head of Advanced Concept Design at PANGAIA; Adam Mansell, CEO of UKFT, Gillian Lipton, Sustainability Director at Alexander McQueen; and Matthew Drinkwater, Head of Fashion Innovation Agency at London College of Fashion, UAL.
Winners from the previous Innovation Challenges include Lone Design Club, a platform where independent brands and conscious shoppers meet; Sparkbox, a retail planning and optimisation platform powered by machine learning; and Biophilica for their entirely plant-based, compostable leather alternative, Treekind.
We cannot wait to see where these trailblazing brands take this challenge and how they will integrate into the industry. The winner of the Manufacturing Futures will be announced on Wednesday 3rd July 2024.
