Seven Indian startups in first cohort of Fashion For Good accelerator programme

Amsterdam headquartered startup accelerator platform Fashion For Good has selected nine startups from the textile sector under its South Asia innovation programme.

Startups in dyeing, textile waste solutions, raw material suppliers, blockchain, artificial intelligence and machine learning, and wastewater management among others have been selected in the programme, a statement said.

The startups were selected from a pool of 16 companies. The first batch of the programme, which will run for four months, will begin in June this year.  

The selection panel consisted of executives from Indian textile companies Arvind and Welspun and top officials of global firms such as Adidas, C&A Bart de Meirsman and PVH Corp.

“With the launch of our regional programme in South Asia we strengthen our network and position us to better serve local manufacturers, key supply chain actors, brands and innovators. By connecting them to our global network and leading players in the fashion ecosystem, we help the innovators’ solutions and technologies reach scale,” Katrin Ley, managing director of Fashion for Good said.

Fashion For Good works in the apparel sector and creates open-source resources, co-working space and mentors innovative solution enterprises.

It connects supply chain players in the textile sector with startups through its initiatives such as the global accelerator programme and scaling programme. Global players including Laudes Foundation, Chanel, Otto Group, Galeries Lafayette Group are among its corporate partners.

Fashion For Good has earlier launched Good Fashion Fund with a focus on India, Bangladesh and Vietnam. The platform supports manufacturers providing innovative solutions such as fabric recycling and promoting the use of clean energy. 

The fund, which has a final target corpus of $60 million, is looking to raise $30 million in its first close by September 2020. It has raised $13 million at its initial close and has already developed a pipeline of potential startups, with an investment range of $1 million and $5 million.

Meet the seven Indian startups from the cohort:

AltMat: Earlier known as Canva Fibre Labs, the initiative uses a mixture of a mechanical, chemical and enzymatic process to produce industrial fit fibre and yarn made of agri-waste such as hemp and banana waste sourced directly from farmers and hemp producers.

Descatuk: The company offers fibre extraction and yarn creation from grass in Uttarakhand to produce a fabric that has a similar look to linen but a lighter touch. Devoid of chemicals and pesticides, the eco-friendly initiative also claims to provide livelihoods to the locals in the hinterland.

Indra: The Mumbai-based startup offers fully automated wastewater management treatment and packaged re-cycling solutions for fabric producing units. The process is capable of a variety of water treatment through novel innovations in electro-coagulation, electro-chemical oxidation, two-phase solids separation, disinfection, distillation and pollutant monitoring hardware.

InfiniChains: The startup provides end-to-end track and trace solution using blockchain, AI and cloud computing to help brands and manufacturers to digitise sustainability practices. Through real-time data, efficiency and storytelling, they bridge the fragmented gaps between the different sustainability systems of farmers, manufacturers and brands.

JSP Enviro: The Chennai-based startup treats common effluents released from textile manufacturing with microbial fuel cells technology. The technology treats effluent water that can be reused, simultaneously producing energy thereby reducing the need for external energy, making it a self-sustaining waste-water treatment.

Sasmira: The Mumbai-based co-operative venture offers cost-effective and waterless dyeing technology which does not use any chemicals. The remains of the dye is collected for reuse and carbon dioxide used in the process is recirculated back into the system.

Textile Genesis: The blockchain focused startup installs traceability system specifically created for the apparel sector that focuses on sustainable fibres such as wood-based fibres, organic cotton and organic wool. Consumers can scan the barcode with their mobile device to see the various steps that were taken to create the product.