Fashion for Good launches Good Fashion Fund

Global sustainability initiative Fashion for Good has launched the Good Fashion Fund, a collaboration between the C&A Foundation, Hong Kong-based The Mills Fabrica and Dutch impact investment and advisory firm Fount. Its aim is to spearhead systemic change in the apparel and footwear supply chain by investing in the implementation of innovative technologies in India, Bangladesh and Vietnam. The Good Fashion Fund will be officially announced today at the Hong Kong Fashion Summit by C&A Foundation board director Albert Brenninkmeijer and Fund director Bob Assenberg.

“We all know that ‘business as usual’ will not result in the fashion industry being a true force for good. Innovation is critically needed. And yet, without sufficient funding, many innovations are unable to scale. We are therefore proud to be an anchor investor in the Good Fashion Fund which – with its high risk appetite and focus on getting innovations into the supply chain – will address this finance gap,” said Leslie Johnston, executive director of the C&A Foundation, in a press release yesterday.

Good Fashion Fund addresses gap between innovations and financing

The Fund was created to address the gap between sustainable apparel supply chain solutions and the capital needed to scale them. “With a target size of 60 million US dollars, the Good Fashion Fund is the first investment fund focused solely on driving the implementation of innovative solutions in the fashion industry,“ stated Fashion for Good in the press release.

“Disruptive innovation is needed to shift the Fashion Industry from a model of ‘take-make-waste’ towards a more circular and regenerative system. While the technology exists today to move forward towards circularity, it is not yet being scaled. The Good Fashion Fund provides the resources, tools and incentives needed to bridge the innovation gap, bringing these innovations to the mainstream,” explained Katrin Ley, managing director of Fashion for Good, in the press release.

The new fund focuses on Asia and provides impact lending tools to finance investments in supply chain innovations specifically in India, Bangladesh and Vietnam. “The fund’s blended structure combines risk-tolerant capital with private sector investment, that allows for flexibility and tailored financing to best fit each individual’s situation,” explains Fashion for Good.

The Fund is looking for small- to medium-size manufacturers in the apparel supply chain to invest and reinvest in innovations that deliver both economic growth and good fashion practice, specifically “mobilising the use of safe and recyclable materials, clean and efficient energy, closed-loop manufacturing and the creation of fair jobs and growth”, in line with the ‘Five Goods’ that Fashion for Good promotes: Good Energy, Good Water, Good Materials, Good Economy and Good Lives. Larger manufacturer will also be supported as long as they are committed to investing in highly disruptive technologies.

“The Fund demonstrates how to invest beyond sustainability towards a restorative and regenerative apparel supply chain and addresses the need in the local markets for long term financing for manufacturers and contributes to multiple SDGs,” said Bob Assenberg, director of the Good Fashion Fund and Fount partner.

Photos: Fashion for Good; “The Future of Circular Fashion: Assessing the Viability of Circular Business Models” / Fashion for Good