The BioDesign Newsletter

Issue #007

The Mills Fabrica, the innovation partner of London Craft Week, launched the Planet Saving Innovations exhibition, showcasing ten innovations with the potential to reduce environmental pressures in the fashion industry.

On May 16, to celebrate the exhibition, innovators were joined by fellow innovators and pioneers. The event featured insightful panel talks discussing scalable impact, brand collaborations, and the critical influence of the regulatory landscape. To kick off the event, Hannah Jones (CEO, The Earthshot Prize), led with an empowering keynote on addressing the climate emergency. Jones emphasised the power of radical collaboration to rapidly scale solutions, a theme which was repeated throughout the event.

Building Brand-Innovator Synergies

Discussing the challenges of scaling it became clear that dynamics of brand-innovator relationships are paramount to the success of innovations. The panels underscored the need for earlier brand involvement in material development. Jess Zhu(Commercial Lead, unspun) highlighted the benefits of brands guiding material progression. With strong brand-innovator relations and long-term commitments from brands, innovators can be provided the necessary runway and stability to scale. The panels also opened debate on exclusivity agreements and raised questions about their impact on fostering a sustainable market versus stifling innovation.

Evolving Industry and Regulatory Frameworks

With certifications curated for more traditional textiles and leathers, innovators are finding their new materials must fit within existing frameworks. Yudi Ding (CEO, PACT) pointed out that current certification systems are not aligned with new, versatile materials. The need for new systems was clear. Certifications were not the only framework to raise concerns. The differing definitions and policies to which materials and claims must conform across borders have posed significant hurdles for scaling, opening up the conversation for harmonised regulations. Panellists emphasised the need for stronger advocacy to ensure regulations support sustainable advancements, including degrowth to tackle overconsumption.

The Hunt for Capital

The conversation repeatedly returned to the necessity of fundraising. Scaling sustainable and circular solutions is expensive. When asked to consider one request to the fashion brands to support sustainable innovations, panellists stated “investment”. With shallow pockets in the UK, it has become clear that UK start-ups are seriously considering a move to the other side of the Atlantic for more substantial venture capital opportunities.

The launch event highlighted the crucial role of collaborative efforts, adaptive regulatory frameworks, and investment in driving the sustainable innovation agenda forward.

Visit the exhibition

You can explore the Planet-Saving Innovations Exhibition, at Fabrica X—The Mills Fabrica’s innovation gallery in London— running from May 13 to the end of September 2024. For more details and tickets head over to the Eventbrite page. Incredible innovations being showcased include: unspun, PACT Nanoloom, Epoch Biodesign, Solena Materials Limited, Spintex, Colorifix, Octarine Bio, NFW and Ecovative – the mycelium technology company

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