Kering supports ‘Plug and Play – Fashion for Good’ initiative

Kering and Plug and Play have joined hands. The former has become the first founding anchor partner of the ‘Plug and Play - Fashion for Good’ accelerator, a collaboration with Fashion for Good and the C&A Foundation to fast-track sustainable innovation within the luxury and apparel industries. A statement from Kering said that via this accelerator, the partners will identify innovative start-ups and support them in scaling-up their technologies, methodologies and business models.

“Collaborations like the Plug and Play - Fashion for Good accelerator will allow the textile industry to move more rapidly toward finding essential solutions to the challenges we all face,” said Marie-Claire Daveu, Chief Sustainability Officer and head of international institutional affairs of Kering in a statement.

Kering becomes anchor partner of ‘Plug and Play - Fashion for Good’ accelerator

Kering and the partners aim to stimulate disruptive innovation, transform conventional processes in luxury, and enable the widespread adoption of sustainable practices. As a first step, a short list of early-stage innovators were invited to pitch their technologies and projects to the partners, during the launch of the Fashion for Good centre in Amsterdam today. A final selection of ten start-ups, to be announced in early April, will become part of the accelerator and a unique three-month mentoring programme.

Commenting on the initiative, Leslie Johnston, Executive Director of C&A Foundation (founder of Fashion for Good) said that Fashion for Good inspires the daring invention and widespread adoption of good fashion practice. “Through collaboration with Kering, and other partners, we are working to give promising start-up innovators the funding and expertise they need to grow so we can shift fashion from being less bad to more good”, Johnston added.

Kering and Plug and Play will work with the selected start-ups to accelerate their innovations by providing training, mentorship, networking opportunities, and other valuable resources. The accelerator will take a 360° approach to supply chain innovation, by concentrating on three priority areas: raw material sourcing; fabric and garment production (dyeing, finishing, sewing); and end of use (recycling, circular economies). A particular focus will be placed on innovations that can improve the textile industry’s approach to water use, energy use, waste, chemical use, and labour practices.

"In Plug and Play's ten years of investing in start-ups, we have helped more than 7,000 innovators build their dreams. Now, we want to build our dream: a world of innovators committed to improving our global community and environment," added Saeed Amidi, Founder and CEO of Plug and Play.