16 November 2017

AMSTERDAM– Fashion for Good, a global initiative to make all fashion good, and Worn Again, the London-based textile chemical recycling company, jointly announce today that they will be collaborating through Fashion for Good’s Scaling Programme to facilitate change that is accessible, affordable and attractive for all. This collaboration demonstrates a shared commitment between Worn Again and Fashion for Good to fast-track sustainable innovation within the apparel supply chain.

Fashion for Good, an initiative launched with an initial grant by founding partner C&A Foundation, convenes brands, producers, retailers, suppliers, non-profit organisations, innovators and funders united in their shared ambition to reimagine the way fashion is designed, made, worn and reused. Its Scaling Programme helps companies scale by offering bespoke support and access to expertise, customers and capital. Fashion for Good hand-selected Worn Again from an extensive list of innovators driving for a more sustainable and circular textiles sector. Worn Again joins a list of companies that includes TamiCare Ltd, SoftWear Automation and ColorZen.

Worn Again has developed a trail-blazing textile to textile recycling technology that can separate and recapture polyester (PET) and cellulose from cotton from discarded non-rewearable textiles to produce virgin-equivalent, cost-competitive polyester and cellulosic raw materials. These materials can then go back into the supply chain as part of a continual, circular manufacturing process.

“Transitioning the industry from a linear model to ‘circular’, where textile raw materials are recycled indefinitely, will take more than just technology,” said Cyndi Rhoades, Worn Again Founder and CEO. “Industry conveners with a visionary and bird’s eye view of the entire system of production and consumption are a must.  Fashion for Good certainly has the vision, the team and the passion to play a major role in this movement. We are delighted to have been selected as an innovator in Fashion for Good’s Scaling Programme.”

As a Scaling Programme participant, Worn Again gains access to a network of business advisors and industry experts, enabling it to accelerate the development and future adoption of its revolutionary textile recycling technology.

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About Fashion for Good

Fashion for Good is the global initiative that is here to make all fashion good. Fashion for Good sparks and scales innovation by offering practical action in the form of support and funding, shares best practice and lessons learned in open-source roadmaps and fosters sector-wide collaboration for the entire apparel industry to change. Fashion for Good invites brands, producers, retailers, suppliers, non-profit organisations, innovators and funders to jointly transform the industry.

Fashion for Good was launched in 2017 with C&A Foundation as a founding partner, and is supported by partners Plug and Play, McDonough Innovation, the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, IDH – the Sustainable Trade Initiative, the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and Impact Hub Amsterdam. The first brands to partner with Fashion for Good’s programmes are C&A, Galeries Lafayette Group and Kering.

At the core of Fashion for Good is an Innovation Platform, which includes:

• Fashion for Good-Plug and Play Accelerator: Fashion for Good works with Plug and Play, a leading Silicon Valley accelerator, to give promising start-up innovators the funding and expertise they need in order to grow.
• Scaling Programme: Fashion for Good finds innovations that have proof-of-concept and helps them scale by offering bespoke support and access to expertise, customers and capital.
• Good Fashion Fund: This fund will catalyze access to finance where this is required to shift at scale to more sustainable production methods.

Fashion for Good is founded on the principle of collaboration and aims to create tools that are open-source, such as its Good Fashion Guide, which provides practical tips for brands wishing to embrace circular apparel principles. It operates from its first hub in Amsterdam, which also houses a Circular Apparel Community co-working space and a visitor-facing exhibition. www.fashionforgood.com

About Worn Again 

Worn Again has developed a chemical recycling technology that can separate and recapture polyester (PET) and cellulose from cotton from non-rewearable textiles to produce virgin equivalent, cost competitive polyester and cellulosic raw materials to be reintroduced into the supply chain as part of a continual process. Old clothes and textiles are collected, processed via Worn Again’s process and then made back into new yarn, textiles and clothes. The cycle can repeat again and again, eliminating the need to exploit virgin resources. Worn Again’s process is unique in that it can deal with both pure and blended textiles. www.worngain.co.uk