"The accelerator's launch follows our recent announcement of a three-pillar sustainability strategy, including a focus on innovation via the 'Create' pillar," said Marie-Claire Daveu, chief sustainability officer and head of international institutional affairs of Kering. "The future of luxury is dependent on innovation to help weave sustainability into every niche of our industry, from raw material sourcing and manufacturing processes to end of use. 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."

The final selection of ten start-ups, announced in early April, will undergo three-month mentoring programme. 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. It will be an honour and a pleasure to work with major luxury groups like Kering to help build and grow that vision." said Saeed Amidi, founder and CEO of Plug and Play.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India