Indian fashion house Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited (ABFRL) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) have announced an initiative that aims to create a platform for innovators in the Indian textiles and apparel industry in developing innovative solutions.
- The initiative, called ‘Circularity Innovation Challenge 2023’, will feature eight categories and shortlisted/chosen innovators will have an opportunity to pilot their innovations.
The Challenge: The goal of the project is to create a platform for innovators, to introduce sustainable and impactful solutions, and raise awareness about textile circularity.
- This initiative aims to bring forth innovative solutions that can help minimise textile waste and promote the use of sustainable materials in the industry.
- The finalist will get a platform to co-design pilot projects with ABFRL, which will be integrated into the company's supply chain. Moreover, the pilot project will give them a boost to test and scale their innovation in the larger textile and apparel market.
- The best innovative ideas will be presented to a broad network of industry stakeholders for possible linkages and collaborations.
- The Challenge is open for virtual applications till 25 April 2023, on the Leverist platform of GIZ.
- This initiative is part of the DeveloPPP funding programme of the of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and is being implemented by ABFRL and GIZ.
The Sectors: Innovators that bring the circularity approach to the textile value chain and whose innovations fit neatly into one or more of the highlighted value chain sectors listed below.
- Raw materials
- Dyeing, processing and finishing
- Cut-make-trim
- Retail and use
- End of use
- Packaging
- Overarching innovations within areas like transparency and traceability etc.
Thematical focus: The applications are invited under following eight categories:
- Textile recycling and repurposing: This category focuses on solutions for recycling and repurposing of pre- and post-consumer textile waste, such as developing new methods for breaking down textile fibres or creating new products from textile waste.
- Sustainable textile production: This category focuses on solutions for making textile production more sustainable, such as using renewable energy sources, resource conservation (water, energy etc), or minimising the use of harmful chemicals.
- Circular materials: This category focuses on Innovative material for products that are circular and environmentally beneficial in terms of the materials used, the production process, and the use of the product.
- Product design: This category includes products designed with longevity, adaptability, and recyclability in mind.
- Digitalisation and traceability: This category focuses on solutions that use digital technologies to promote textile circularity, such as using blockchain for traceability, virtual reality for product design, or artificial intelligence for textile waste management.
- End-of-life textile management: This category focuses on managing the end-of-life of textile products, such as collection models and sorting it for upcycling, repurposing, recycling, or composting.
- Sustainable packaging materials: Sustainable and eco-friendly textile and garment packaging technologies or materials. Innovative textile and garment packaging concepts that reduce packing material while improving utility, durability, and aesthetics. And packaging involving recycling or repurposing technologies.
- Innovative Business Model on circularity: This category includes applications from startups that offer "Product-as-a-Service" (PaaS), "Closed-Loop Supply Chains" (CLSC) solutions, "Circular Procurement" services, and other services that use the principles of the circular economy to create business value.
