New York state has announced $10 million in State funding for the Fashion Innovation Center (FIC), which will promote a collaborative approach to utilizing New York State-produced smart and sustainable textiles.
The Announcement: New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced the new FIC on 12 September during the ongoing New York Fashion Week.
The Details:
- The Empire State Development (ESD)—New York's chief economic development agency—will spearhead the creation of a consortium-led FIC, which will utilise expertise from New York state universities, farms, fashion industry leaders and non-profit organisations.
- The FIC will focus on addressing fashion industry needs, utilising New York state-produced crops for fibre materials, and cultivating technology that advances sustainability and innovation through wearable technologies in the fashion and textile industries.
- The FIC will also include a Sustainable Fashion Innovation Center Accelerator, focused on the creation of smart and sustainable alternatives that solve large scale industry problems, create green jobs, promote state-sourced textiles, and support sustainable fashion.
The Backdrop:
- Globally, the fashion and textile industry contributes 1.2 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually—more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined. This is due to the heavy reliance on fossil fuels, decentralised supply chains, and improper end of life product disposal.
- New technologies and material processing approaches offer the potential for more "smart" and "sustainable" fashion, and New York's farms currently produce the needed raw materials, such as linen, flax, cotton and hemp that can transformed into textiles that can be used in these applications on a larger scale.
- Sustainable textiles are the future of fashion, and New York State is poised to lead the way in the ecologically responsible production of these materials.
- Smart textiles are a cutting-edge industry that have applications for countless professions, from athletes to first responders and medical professionals.
The Process:
- The ESD's Division of Science, Technology and Innovation will issue a request for proposals to select the consortium, which will include universities, businesses, farmers, fashion industry leaders, and non-profits.
- The Accelerator, housed within the FIC, will provide space to early-stage companies working on promising developments in the field, which are strong candidates for commercialisation and can be challenged with solving the real issues of industry partners.
- The FIC will solicit, evaluate, and oversee projects focused on addressing industry challenges and opportunities, with priority given to those involving the use of New York State crops and material inputs, and cultivating technology that accelerates sustainability in the fashion and textiles industry.
- Through a competitive process, the FIC will provide grant funding to New York State small businesses in the fashion industry, offering a critical connection between industry leaders and innovation and supporting projects that aim to improve industry sustainability.
