 Thank you everyone for joining. We're really proud to present this panel in this subject matter in general My name is Dimple Sonny And I'm a managing director of impact investing at Anthos. Anthos is a single family office Headquarter in the Netherlands for the Brennick Meyer family And we actually have a family member in the audience who catalyzed I think the rest of his family to become more active As a cohesive unit. Hello Stephen Anthos is a hundred year old family office the Brennick Myers come from the apparel industry They've had their same company for nearly 200 years, which they still own and operate. It's privately held So no private investment no public float So this is an entrepreneurial family that knows about fashion through decades and indeed through centuries Over the last two centuries, they've of course diversified into real estate and private equity And they're a Force for a business for good with everything they do with their entire spectrum of capital, but including their corporate The fashion brand cna So I'm going to just introduce Scott Leonard who's the moderator for the panel and he'll introduce the panelists First I wanted to say that one of the reasons Scott and I were really pushing for a circular economy is Scott's been in the industry for a long time. He and I both invested in a company in the late 90s called world of good Some of you remember Priya Haji So this is an important subject matter for he and I and I think for the Brennick Myers They realized that as an apparel company sometimes there's some of the you know, these types of companies can actually hurt the environment And so they wanted to do their part and really upending their own industry, which I think takes a lot of courage Circular economy in general is very important because it covers so many different verticals We're focusing on fashion here today because it's an sector that we all like and know something about But you'll see that's a really big thread at this conference So I hope you guys get to learn the broader definition of circular economy which really cuts across everything from food waste materials, etc With that, let me tell you a little bit more about Scott since he and I sort of Encouraged the conference to have this panel Scott co-founded his own company Indigenous and organic fair trade fashion company nearly to 20 years ago. He's he's younger than he looks On the principles of sustainability and socially responsible business practices and for the past decade This company has really continued to thrive and provide a lot of best practices for ethical brands He's currently on the board of directors for the agorah partnerships Many of you are familiar with that platform and of course fashion for good Which Isabel will tell you a little bit more about but indeed, that's an effort that was started by the family that I work for And he's on the investment committee of CNA foundation, which again is another family entity of the Brennick Myers He's an active member of the confluence philanthropy a champion of B lab as one of the first 15 original b-corps So you were you were a b-corp before it was cool to be a b-corp And he's been a leader in multiple fair trade Transparency certification pilots for the industry so with that I'll leave it to Scott to delve deeper into some of these dimensions around circular fashion Hi there everybody so nice to have everyone here on an important topic So when we think about all the things that we purchase Objects if it's the clothing or the cell phones obviously those leave a footprint and all too often a pretty nasty one at that There's no doubt about it that global supply chains are in desperate need of being cleaned up on many levels such as energy emissions land use water consumption chemical use and just in general a Lot of waste and especially in the fashion industry. There's there's quite a bit of waste The apparel industry is among the worst polluting globally And I think that that's why this becomes that much more of a pertinent conversation today Sustainability starts and ends with good design and that takes the entire life cycle of Products into consideration great design involves innovation and disruptive innovation often means Incubation and funding and that's also what brings us today To talking about how we can foster the next generation of truly Sustainable design in circular economy so Today we'll be talking about a few different different areas But I can consider everybody here the vanguard of what we what we would consider circular fashion so some of the things that are encompassed in circular fashion include establishing within the industry and end-of-use collection and repair system breakthroughs in recycling technology which Comes to company brings up companies like that have been at fashion for good ever new And agro loop and amber cycle which I hope Carla will go a little bit more deeper into redefining chemical use By companies that are out there and organizations like safer made and ZDHC. I'm hoping that maybe Lewis you can tap into that a little bit Protecting natural resources as well a lot of people don't realize that rayon and viscose actually take our most endangered forests globally and So there's a lot of companies out there and organizations that are part of circular circular Movement that are leaving trees in the ground. That's one of the things that we can do that's the best thing when we talk about a circular Economy, let's not be extractive. Let's leave the trees. Let's let's leave the oil in the ground so What else can I say about the importance of this except for that a circle circular economy needs to happen now and It's not just about us here It's about our our grandchildren and our grandchildren's grandchildren and that these These panelists here are truly on the on the cutting edge of adopting transformative solutions surrounding all different aspects of Circular fashion so with that said I Would like to actually introduce introduce Milo's and Milo's I'm a I'm a fan of Adidas on a lot of different levels being a partner in and around fashion for good, which we'll get to later part of the Higg index, which we'll also get to later, but Dear to my heart is the work that you're doing right now because you're actually working with entrepreneurs and you're you're literally taking Pilots and Funding those pilots and then breathing life into them, which for me is is amazing. You're giving them an opportunity to have a viable income stream so Without telling talking too much about it. I was hoping maybe you could tell us what you do Thank you Is it on? So I you've run a venture practice for the brand here in the US and about half of our work is tied to The circularity so if we that we look at manufacturing We'd also look at various you know recycled content in materials that we want to purchase and also new materials And so what the way it has got it described? We've already teamed this very interesting task to do more and so we've we bring companies We immediately put them through testing and for us that takes a while But you know the companies are getting revenue so we want to support them along the way and Then our main task after is once we can really map out how this material can map across various cues How do we scale it and at that point? We like to bring a scaling partner for us. I come from clean tech venture I've seen a lot of companies that have had a lot of investments and I believe that again scale The funding will solve that but that didn't happen So in this case we want to you know really apply what I learned before and bring company of chemical companies Engineering companies to co-invest along with us to really invest in to buy their portion of the risk There because we don't know how the scale things they do But we want to commit to buying material and really take the risk in taking it to the market and we are very I'm really Happy to work for a brand. That's very serious about circularity. They really wants to do more. It's really never enough I think there's definitely an appetite to do take more products to market to really buy Raw resources and materials at the event higher prices so long that we can really represent ourselves out there Because we believe that it campaigns that we create consumers care about we provide them with access to Average consumer we want to provide them an access to circularity as well So that's that's how we think about it so you're you're actually Very much connected to adidas it's it's but what's then what's the name of the venture? It's Adidas Venture Yeah, yeah, and so maybe You know, I'd love to hear you talk about maybe a couple of those investments that you've made and some of the engineering Pilots that you've that you've actually participated in sure so the last investment is a company car that has 3d prints For us at footwear, it's company called carbon 3d They we wanted to do with them is really a taken you know build that scale We wanted to buy into the risk and early on we believe that we can make a soul of a shoe They can be customized to you know, how we walk how we want to run how we want to really, you know, really You know do our activities, you know in the years from now and Point that we want to have a footwear that can allow us to do that That's the mid that's what we were after and we Participate in several rounds of the company They raised quite a bit of money and we've committed Considerable amount of our internal resources engineering resources to really find applications out there And so now you can buy a shoe. It's very limited edition next year. It's gonna be more of it But what's interesting is they will also program can provide us to access to different markets such as health care because we can 3d print anything, you know implement anything in a soul of a shoe and so to us. That's also very important too and That's kind of an example of a company where we brought in our big significant syndicate of investors invested quite a bit of money and Syndicate was large and we we had actually Companies that come from like for example out of desk was one of the core investors and they know The design part of it that we we don't especially we want to you know, go into a skid to scale the manufacturing and And then we have quite a bit of other investors that are that I can name right now that Come from very strong engineering backgrounds that we learned quite a bit from and as far as pilots You know those doesn't have public so I can't talk about them yet But what I can say is that we're looking at Polios that only don't come from pull your pull your turn with biobased polios We are we want to see what we were testing significantly Because for us it matters. How does this product behave a year from now? So we put him through a lab where we really simulate. How does this material going to you know behave? You know behave, you know after two years after we actually would have a product So we kind of we put into rigorous testing till we learned that and we do the same thing with fabrics So you actually so you you're you're testing those those products So you're actually you're sort of creating a micro a micro lab, but for with a retail experience, right? So you're able to to blow on the coals of the innovation, but you're able to put it into the retail setting retail also So the killer and how consumers will respond but even more so we are we're testing physical properties of material So we stretch it we try to tear it up. We try to break it We press it if it's a foam we try to really simulate, you know 10,000 You know presses it which is you know a cool end of us walking you know over 10,000 10 miles Yes, we want to really learn really how does that how would this product behave? So we put that through a lab That's great. So we're gonna get I want to get back to some of those feedback loops, too Because I think it's so important for the innovations So what I'm gonna move on to Carla the first thing that I'll say about Carla I've always been impressed with your work But you first started in the in the base of the pyramid the BOP Actually helping social entrepreneurs, which is also very dear to my heart working with indigenous. We we help artisans scale jobs I You've always struck me as a as a doer, but that you kind of took entrepreneurial Talents to a new level you broke out right you mean you did something. This is pretty audacious You've created your own fund So cheers to you and it's been very successful so far and I'd love you to tell us a little bit about that Hi everyone, my name is Carla more and I'm the founder and managing partner of Alante capital and Alante capital is a new impact Investment venture capital fund that is investing in new chemistries and technologies to empower Circularity in the fashion industry within the textile industry So yeah, Scott mentioned I took a a different path to get to this space But before moving in the impact investing about six years ago I was working as a development economist in supply chain reform and that's something that was always very near and dear to my heart So after learning about impact investing and with my future or my past experience I really wanted to focus my efforts on a fund that kind of married both of those skill sets and interests and looking at How do we how can we pull the levers in the way that we actually produce things so that they have a positive impact and not a negative impact on people in the planet and so that was really the beginning kind of seeds going on inside my head that led to Alante capital and when I launched Alante it was originally going to be looking at the agriculture space and I was doing due diligence on a natural indigo company in the peril industry and Uncovered the incredible Environmental problems that were happening in the industry and I was just taken back I mean we all knew about the the labor conditions and new issues in the supply chain We remember the campaign in the 90s from Nike and you know that part I knew but I didn't somehow get the scope of the problem the the environmental problem but one thing struck me about the apparel industry was Looking across different industries that I've worked with in the past apparel seemed ready for change In a really exciting way that it was coming from the small and emerging ethical fashion brands that were Driving consumers to start saying we want better products, but also the large and established brands were actively looking at ways to Improve their production practices ensure that their suppliers were upholding the standards that they expected and they were putting Resources to work with organizations like fashion for good that you'll hear about there They had foundations CNA foundation that we heard from dimple earlier where they were putting money to actually spur innovation To help improve to help solve the problems that the apparel industry faced and that was really exciting And so I wanted to be a part of it So anyhow my fund I'm the managing partner alongside my other managing partner Leslie Harwell Who's based in New York and we recently brought on our third partner and anchor investor Eileen Fisher Who has her own apparel brand? It's been around for about 35 years and for the last two decades She's been completely focused on sourcing responsibly and Eileen came to us to be a part of this fund because As an individual not from her brand herself but because she knows the struggles of how hard it is to source responsibly and it's a big expectation and a big ask that We give to the industry to do that when there's not the Real capacity to do that across the board So she understood that it was challenging and she wanted to be a part of making it easier for Companies across the entire industry whether you're outdoor your luxury your athleisure your fashion whatever Let's see what is required for the industry to really take steps forward towards true circularity So she came on board and and we really began about a year and a half ago So a big part of our model the thing that she was attracted to you was that we work with the brands So we don't look to invest in any brands ourselves. We work with brands like Adidas Patagonia Nike Levi's here in San Francisco the gap To go in and ask them what can we what are you looking for to be able to meet your sustainability goals? And how can we help to bring innovation to you that will work within your supply chain? And so we have a very interactive relationship where we work with them to truly understand What are your goals? You want to decrease your carbon emissions by X percent by 2020 How are we going to do that? And there are a lot of strategies. Maybe you source this climate smart cotton Or maybe you invest in a new material that is carbon neutral. We look across the scope We can show them. Have you seen these different innovations happening in the dye space? in on-demand manufacturing have you looked at You know ways that you can better plan your inventory so that we're not over producing and having to burn unused garments that we see that in the paper all the time now and you know There's huge problems. There's huge problems with waste and so the brands are very excited to be a part of Figuring out ways for them to solve this within their supply chain So we work really closely with them to understand what the market needs what's viable and we source the innovation So kind of similar to what Milos is doing We're similar to a corporate VC, but we're not tied to a single brand So we're able to work with lots of brands and we have a because we're a single industry focus We get a lot of access of Super exciting innovation across the apparel industry, but we have in order to have the diversification We need for our to be able to have the exits within the timeframe of our fund with the Multiple that we expect all of that. We're able to diversify in a number of different business models I don't know if they have the slide that I put together, but I was hoping they did Okay It is Okay, yeah, so they asked me to show this slide just because it's a and you don't have to read the small fine print But it just kind of shows the ecosystem of the apparel industry And this is the way we break it down and where we see opportunities for investment and innovation and how we see it So one's the production. How are things made, right? So there's the raw materials like what goes into making the shirt you have there's a raw materials that go into it There's the dyes. There's the chemistries to keep it from wrinkling to keep the dye from running to keep it from smelling when you're out They're exercising all that stuff, right? All of those have opportunities for us to invest in preferred chemistries that remove the harsh toxic Elements that end up oftentimes in the rivers and water systems where the products are produced The raw materials we're seeing a lot of innovation happening there with especially right now We're also looking at the same or similar companies that are looking at biodegradable polyester to address the issues with microfiber pollution That's ending up in our oceans and our fish and our agriculture or tap water trying to figure out how can we Invest in innovation that allows us to have the performance requirement that us as consumers want We want those yoga pants or our exercise gear to still have that element that synthetic fibers provide but can it have it without the Problems that synthetic fibers currently leave in our environment being that they're plastic based So we see these innovation opportunities across the supply chain Looking at processing and finishing to cut and sew and design something that Scott mentioned earlier as design is an important part Like these are all elements that go into finally the design that these Professionals who really understand customers need to work with so we have to make sure it works within the concept of is it going to actually Wear the way us as consumers want it to wear So we look at innovation all the way to cut and sew is there a way that we cannot leave scraps on the factory floors I know Adidas has done some cool stuff with finite shoes and they're not leaving the waste on the factory floors And there's a lot of innovation that can happen across that But then once we get out of the supply chain Another area is software that we'll talk about that he mentioned the HIG index But how can we create traceability and and improve efficiency across our supply chain through better management tools? So these are all options and then when we dive into distribution This is how we look at it is how does this really reach the market? You see these retail shops closing down in the malls everywhere and it seems scary But really it's just changing people are still consuming garments in an enormous at an enormous rate too too much And so we look at how are people shopping do they need to have ownership over garments? Or is there a shift towards access with models like rent the runway or black tux or do we need to own all of these things? What's happening with a resurgent with second hand and companies like the real real and thread up? So we look at this as an opportunity of innovation of how does it reach the market? And then once it's reached the market, how is it worn? How is it used? How do we keep it in circulation longer out of out of our closets? But on our bodies and actually in use before going to landfill. Is there a way that we can extend the life of a garment? There are a lot of options here for innovation Whether you're looking at better fit I'm sure we've all had issues with going in and just nothing really fits right because of the way that the apparel industry has changed Manufacturing over time so looking at new fit technologies so that as a company you have less returns Which is good for business that you're actually being able to sell to the consumers what they're looking for So there's a lot of opportunity and innovation here and then just so I can go a little faster The last piece is once it is done being worn. What do we do with it? Is it landing in landfill? Is it being burned and incinerators? Is it ending up in our oceans? Like how do we deal with this waste especially when so much of it does not? Break down And so what's been so exciting is there's a huge if you can go to the second side that'd be great but um, there's a a lot of innovation happening in chemical recycling so being able to recycle garments all the way down to essentially the molecular level to separate them out and you have polyester and you have cotton and What that's broken down into so that it can be rebuilt and then used right back into the supply chain So now it's sold to those spinners and yarn makers to be able to make new garments out of old garments And that really is what empowers true circularity though. There's a lot of pieces that That need to happen to make that happen whether it's the sorting technology All of that so this is an example of so those are the innovations This is what we see as the entire ecosystem the back end of fashion And here's just a few examples of the companies that that are addressing those issues exactly in that way Well, we're going to leave that slide up there because it's a great example It really does show an ecosystem and although we want to talk about some of these companies We'll get back to it, but you didn't leave a lot on the table. You really covered a lot. So thank you for that Lewis we're going to skip you for a second If that's okay, and we're going to move down to to isabel and isabel I wanted to say that Something i've said to you before too is that I really do feel like you bridge a lot of worlds Being Growing up in in in france. Yeah, and and then living in amsterdam, but also working Not only in amsterdam, but also with a silicon valley plug and play. So you're holding up So many different worlds So when we first we're looking at all the different partners that we wanted to bring in for fashion for good Which has been an amazing incubation and accelerator plug and play Came came to the top as one of the best and brightest Silicon valley incubators and accelerators, but it's a little bit of a different world as we've all Found out but you've bridged that gap and you've done an amazing job And you've been a huge part of the success So thank you for that and part of that success too is is being the bridge between the investment and the investors and putting that innovation into work within the supply chain with all the partners But it's also understanding the needs of the entrepreneur. So wanted to give you props for that But can you tell us about fashion for good your your role with plug and play and A little bit about yourself, please Yes, thank you Scott. Um, so my name is Isabelle Laurence. As you said, I'm french. So sorry for the accident Um, I'm the director of the fashion for good plug and play program So we're based in amsterdam and we are part of the fashion for good initiative Um As you said, it's part of a it was born as a kind of a unique partnership between on the one hand plug and play Of some of you may know because our headquarters are not far from here in Sunnyvale Um, we are one of the largest corporate innovations platform in the world besides our headquarter where we run around about 14 verticals Um, we run about 30 industry focused accelerator programs around the world in europe Middle east and and asia um last year We partnered with fashion for good in amsterdam to launch this program to Fine identify support accelerate those new technologies and solutions that will contribute in Transforming that industry into a circular model um So you've covered kind of all the sub areas that we are looking at and it's very similar to to what alente Is doing i'd like to put some numbers behind the impact that you mentioned, but Not everyone is aware of how impactful the textile industry is but it now accounts for 10 of co2 emission, which probably ranks very close behind the transportation industry um To produce the polyester that goes into our clothing. We use about 70 million barrels of oil every year Uh, you probably know that for growing cotton. It's a huge amount of pesticides water Fertilizers only 1% of the cotton production in the world is organic um, we also look at fashion for good at the um labor conditions and the whole textile industries employ 14 million workers that in some Most of the time are still underpaid or under under the iLO conditions So all of those are topics that are pressing and most pressing because those impacts those numbers are expected to increase by 20% by 2025 just tomorrow So we need disruptive innovation It was based on this statement that observation that we need disruptive innovation and None of the big brands big retailer big Industry players can make that transformation on its own. We need collaboration to support those innovation um, so fashion for good was launched last year in march the initiative of the cna foundation so the foundation of the big Dutch retailer cna to bring together all the industry players The retails, but also the manufacturers. It's a very large fragmented supply chain that we're talking about to support this innovation and 18 months after the launch we now work with great partners such obviously adidas But also cna the caring group holding company of gucci If Saint Laurent Balenciaga, we work with target zalando e-commerce platform pvh stella mccartney And many more I have now no time to we have now 10 partners will soon welcome a few more So we're really happy we to have bring brought together industry players that Collaborate and openly share because we have built this pre competitive space where it is on Of the interest of the brands and retailers to de-risk their investment In those innovations by exchanging and sharing their experience with those innovators So in practice, how does it work? Similarly to to carla alante. We we work closely with those Brands we we do not push innovations to to them because it wouldn't work. We work with them. We ask them What are they looking at? What are their challenges and we scout globally the technologies that can address those challenges We invite them to a program that is based in amsterdam for three months and these Three months are really dedicated to engaging with our brands and they meet multiple times more than five six times They get mentoring they get feedback. They get they can can validate their market fit And engage in piloting opportunities with those brands Um Isabel, I wanted to ask you how many how many batches have we got now? It's are we up to four? We're halfway a fourth batch. So all together we've worked With about 50 companies. Yeah coming from 16 countries as sometimes as far as australia Quite a number from north america each each company with a very nice solution around circular Yeah, and it's it's extremely diverse. I mean if you have the slide that carla put put up together I mean a number of those logos are very well known from fashion for good. We are or have worked with those Companies, it's always a long run So This accelerator program is is Is how we start the engagement with the brands but fashion for good is much more than the accelerator program They've put together other programs. One is the scaling program. So once the piloting Pace is initiated with the brands the innovations can be brought to this Longer term spoke support To the piloting phase really supporting the engagement between brands and and the startups We're also raising a fund that hopefully will close very soon That will cover the what we call the implementation phase. So when the innovation is scaled And tested approved by a brand it has to be implemented in the supply chain As you know most brands do not own their supply chain So we need to bring this other player, which is the manufacturer the diehouse the spinner Into the mix in order for them to adopt that new technology and so we have built that fund to support that That process and to help those manufacturers to to to convert to those new technologies And lastly fashion for good is also now a museum Since we've launched two weeks ago The first technology museum based in amsterdam in our beautiful canal house building So if you're in amsterdam, you're more than welcome to come and visit very interactive to it's very Interactive and and forward forward looking. So we hope it's um, I mean the whole uh, the whole movement around fashion for good Is really picking up steam. I mean the fact that I mean it wasn't easy to find those first partners But now now we have 10 partners. It's amazing And we'll bounce back back with some some more questions on maybe some of those accelerations and incubations But we're going to move to to louis So louis when I think about you, I really think of you as an icon around circular As a person, but especially in circular fashion You you really have helped so many different companies move towards circular and specifically in in the fashion space If we talk about cradle-to-cradle certified fashion positive material wise initiatives, you've had your hand in all these things um, you've really you've really Given yourself to the industry and been on main stage globally But you're on to something else now So, uh, although, you know, although it would be nice for you to speak about some of those things We're first going to hear about what you're doing currently around Not only just funding innovations, but really, uh, it's it's it's the plug-in, right? So I was hoping that you might be able to to speak to everybody about the Higg index That the sustainable apparel Coalition Has put forth and a lot of our brands are using right now And how that is sort of a convergence because a lot of your work right now At least as I have understood it is about that convergence So we can really not have as much redundancy, but we can we've blown the coals of innovation. Have I said too much? No, I think you're right. I think this is good. Thank you. Um, thanks for the thanks for the generous introduction I'm gonna time myself just because I'm really notorious for going in like 15 minutes go Um, yeah, thank thanks god and thanks to this panel as I'm sitting here listening to everybody I'm thinking this is really great because we make up this very interesting ecosystem that as you know We're a relatively new organization the apparel impact institute and I'll tell you about that in a minute But as we start looking at what unique role we play within this investment funding and scaling scenario that we're all a part of Um, it's it's really great that we are here. So thanks for pulling us together too because we all know each other But I think sitting together is important. Um, when I was sitting here thinking a minute ago I've been in the circular economy work for 11 years almost exactly. I was hired by mohawk industries 11 years ago and it seems like 20 years ago to me to come in and help them Around the development of the circular systems for carpet flooring tile laminates, you know These were really products in the built environment and it really a origin story for circularity comes out of carpet interestingly Ray Anderson Shaw industries the work of bill mcdonough really kind of putting into play this idea of if we could look as an industry at Common materials nylon nylon six six polypropylene polyester And it's all the same and if we design our products in a way that I can take back yours And you can take back theirs and we can put it into a system then ultimately, you know It's keeping that molecules continuously Lee at play concept that we're really aiming for and eliminating the dependency that we have on crude oil and other materials That are replenishing, you know, that was the system and so um, I started that job in november of 2007 and on my first day the ceo Walked in and threw a book down on the desk cradle to cradle remaking the way we make things and he said read this book You know, and so I did and a year later I'm hanging out with bill mcdonough and michael brahm guard in a year and a half after that I'm at the cradle of cradle products innovation institute And so I've spent the last six years helping build the product standard that um, cna and g star and and other companies are really working on in terms of verification Of the chemistry the water energy and of course the material reutilization of the of the product the materials fibers Zippers buttons trims dies etc going into the composition um, and so um, so anyway It's been an honor to do that and one of the things you mentioned that we launched Which fits very well into these two folks actually all four of us here Is the um is the circular innovation working group that we developed over at cradle to cradle That was looking at chemical due diligence Of the innovations that we're going through fashion for good with the accelerator that companies Investors like elante H&M's global change award, you know all looking at how do we verify that the circular Solutions are also having a positive impact from a from a material health and chemistry standpoint that we're not creating some unintended Consequence that ends up in our water systems are affluent as a result of Building something for for circularity and so that group's still ongoing and works with a number of the same brands that have been thrown out here But I think what we're seeing is a trend in in this collaborative space And you mentioned the Higg index so the apparel impact institute, which i'm now running I'm in day like 45 on the job Was launched this last year with our origin story comes out of the sac The sustainable apparel coalition obviously is the group that created the Higg index and the facility Product and brand modules to verify or rate how a company a mill A product is in terms of a scale to 1 to 100 Based on environmental and social metrics and and heavily on the environmental side And so the the concept of that many of you in the room may know this very well But came out of a number of brands like walmart and patagonia and nike You know who are all working along different audit systems for measurement So the baseline was hey, can we just start coming at the industry? Meaning the supply chain with a similar set of tools and then we can actually have a common language around What is a 62 versus a 73 and you know, what do these scores mean and how we might ultimately drive the whole industry towards impact And if you know, you know, once you measure it once you have transparency and once you start to audit and verify those numbers Then you can actually start to say okay. This is where we want to go What the sac wasn't going to do although it's always been sort of in the consideration is how do we foster and accelerate movements like circularity green chemistry Optimization improvements in the mill level renewable energy in the supply chain, you know All that needs to happen In order to get a score higher in order to improve and optimize our supply chain and our products and our materials and thereby, you know Every every level of the footprint that brands are having but at the same time It wasn't the job of the sac to do that and so through some conversations with a number of brands And some other investors the apparel impact institute was launched Our funders or target hsbc from the commercial institutional investment side as well as IDH the sustainable trade initiative So we have this interesting public private kind of partnership and now brands are Also putting funding into it. So back to the similar model our goal Is to invest in scaling the top sustainability programs and initiatives that are out there as a collective industry One voice one set of you know, financial framework and then we aggregate funding and go there So we're almost like the accelerator of the NGO side Today more than we'd be the accelerator of these innovations And you're really lining up a lot of the language, you know, we talk about green chemistry and you talk about aligning it to hig index So it's the the innovations and the entrepreneurs are really ready to plug in right absolutely And I think one of the if I was to throw up a slide right now It would be a pyramid and it would show this sort of foundational work of mill improvement optimization around water and energy Real baseline low-hanging fruit, but if you're not doing this You're not ready to go into some of the more innovations of cleaner energy circular systems You know some of the systemic solutions technology that we're talking about From an investment standpoint too. What I hope aii will be doing am I doing my time almost there What aii will be doing is really helping to establish this framework in partnership with everyone at this table and the brands that we're all talking to Let's create a framework for where we want to go How we want to go there and then we can start to uniquely deploy Different funding mechanisms whether it's coming as investment whether it's coming as philanthropic or some mix of the two Meanwhile being also to create relationships with institutional investors who can stand by and be ready to deploy larger levels of money Into these innovations once the the case studies are proven that you know This is where we want to go taking some of that early stage risk riskier investors that are willing to go Or philanthropic and starting to complement that with You know more stabilized sources of funding and so that's what that's what our goal is amazing, so I was fearful of this that I might not be able to ask all the questions that I wanted to ask So i'm going to ask one for sure right now and have y'all give a somewhat Pithy response I'm going to start with isabel, but it's going to be the same question to to maybe save a little bit time And that is is that what's going to be the the number one thing that you think is going to help shift industry? In and around circular economy or it could be circular fashion And and realizing that from my standpoint, there is no silver bullet. There's it's everything and I think karla you hit it You mean you talked about I said you didn't leave anything on the table because you really hit an ecosystem Well, the slide's gone now, but You hit an ecosystem that's out there and we really need to design from the beginning and go to the end and then back around so I'd like to go down the line and I'd like to know if there's something that comes to mind from each of you Is as the number one thing we can do There is no silver bullet indeed and actually This industry might be more complex than any other industry You need an alignment of stars With an alignment of interest with so many actors The brands are ultimately the one who will Push innovations in the supply chain, but they won't do that unless the consumer are willing to take those innovations So there's a conjunctions of factors and the conjunction of effort that needs to be led At all front, which is Making sure the innovations are coming to the market making sure the consumers are Aware and are pressing pressing the brands to be more sustainable more transparent And also having access to that supply chain. So it's it's this collaboration and this is what we've actually tried to all put together and There's not one thing. It's actually multiple thing that needs to happen together Okay, and I'm going to put you all in the spot really too quickly Do you have a favorite Innovation out of all the batches we've all seen so many different innovations coming out of the circular If you could just name one of your favorite Please Very that's very difficult. We have 15 now. So I feel really bad to to pick one I'll pick the one that is probably the closer to where we stand now It's a company Called mango materials Unlike their names. They have nothing to do with mangoes. They are based in redwood in the in the valley and they Basically extract the methane from wastewater treatment plants and use that method to feed bacterias that can produce a biodegradable Plastic that can substitute to polyester So essentially it's closing the loop. They don't even take biplane methane. They waste methane and and the Polyester can be biodegradable in any environment including marine environment So they're scaling. It's super capex intensive. So it will Probably take a bit of time for them to scale, but we I do believe this is A very promising innovation Lewis Anything that comes to mind as far as what we can do and then you got to pick a favorite innovation Okay, yeah, I think you know, I think the what we can do is is exactly what was just said is You know, this is there's no silver bullet It's uh to to sort of pull from the cradle to cradle philosophy, you know to celebrate diversity There's going to be a Extremely diverse set of solutions and we're all coming at it from different angles And I also agree it is while while brands will implement You know, there needs to be the economic value And I think that's what we want to work on is really aligning that this makes sense because if we're retooling the whole industrial Movement and and looking at the way that we've established the last hundred and fifty two hundred years of production Into a whole new model then we've got to demonstrate that it makes economic sense Or it's or it's not going to fly even if the consumers are saying they find this You know to be to be an interesting Uh solution, you know, it's got to make sense And then from uh, there's so many great innovations and solutions that are out there and like all of the ever new and and uh Dutch awareness and worn again all doing great things. I'm wearing this shirt My friend christie caler launched a company called for days And uh, and it came with a little bag that when this shirt wears out I can send it back and so simple But it is a circular system And I think as we start to see some of the bigger brands get into these ideas of you know, I have a subscription model I get three t-shirts and you know as soon as they're done And then they've worn out which I wear through my t-shirts pretty fast Put them in the bag and they go back and they're being upcycled into fibers So, you know, I think this is a really interesting way to start looking at different business models And I just I want to see more creativity around maybe traditional models and how they can start to be Played out into into circular systems like this. Lewis. Thank you Carla number one thing we can do to shift and your favorite pick and you can't pick molly now from From mango, okay That Yeah, I think that's that's tough but um in terms of something we can do And we we talk about a lot of how it's a lot of cross collaboration to really affect the entire ecosystem And I think that's part of our job, but as a fund and a member of the impact investment community This is a rising conversation that I keep having in different Different panels and different events and talking about sustainable apparel and industrial innovation In a new way, and I think right now our pipeline is growing More than we can handle and there's more money coming into this space, but I think Having more of a conversation around this is a way to address issues around sustainability Opportunities to invest to combat climate change like it's a very exciting topic that goes much farther than I think Um prior conversations around sustainable apparel. Was that a call for more money in the space? Okay, I just want to make sure um, I think yeah, there's a lot of role There's a lot of opportunity and I think more and more funds that are doing stuff with us. Um similar Types of there's a lot of room for us. Um, and then the if you're thinking of a single innovation That's so hard, but I think I would go with um titan biosciences. I'm really excited about their technology at the moment and they Uh break down your clothes. So your shirt made out of a cotton and polyester fiber. They can break it down all the way Uh separate the fibers and get those fibers Rebuilt and back into the industry so that the you don't have to be making new polyester and and that cotton becomes a Basically a pulp that can go right back into the viscose industry Which we talked about earlier being a very dirty industry now It can be a clean industry using a garment waste So I think we have a huge waste problem And so those companies and there's a number of great ones That are addressing that and cultivating and finding value for that waste and getting it back in the supply chain Are the most exciting to me. Okay. Thank you and milos Uh, the shift one thing we might be able to think about or do and then your favorite innovation So as far as the shift, I think that the executive engagement between manufacturing supply chain and brands is Can can then we do more we've had situations where we were interested in companies and we've you know We were from one or both sectors We were asked to really bear the 100% of risk And that's not what you know, we we can be successful at And so I think at that point we wanted to raise a comment We will be raising conversations with on an executive level where we want to you know Really have the manufacturing and supply chain really start prioritizing some of the Circulated initiative the initiative is more than they do Because on one side we want to you know be buying more and want to create more products So I really do think that that can really create a little bit of a shift. Sure As far as innovation, I want to shift more from companies. Not that we Don't work when we work with a lot of them, but I'm really excited about Revenues this circular Economy can create for a lot of Southeast Asian local economies If you look at what shared economy then for our world here on the western side You know what can a similar impact that can create for Local economies there. So on one side, you know, I said it has made the big announcement that Will not use virgin plastic by 2024. Yeah, so that requires You know really stimulating local economies on our collection side But really creating a new a lot of new kind of financial instruments for the scaling side for creation of fiber side So I think all of that together combined with one brand and more brands really following the same suit Will definitely create a bit of a more impact where you know people have you know have a choice now to work In circular economy, which I think it's going to be great for everybody Okay All right, so we do have a little bit of time for some questions And and so if there are any questions Let me know or if we have a mic that can go around Over here if anyone has any questions and if you do have a question Maybe keep it tight as opposed to a statement and if not, I certainly can ask the panelists some other questions So anybody want to raise their hand any questions? Okay over here the fibers versus fossil fuels and I think about Implications to biodiesel of where we went down that path and what that does for your cotton grower in whatever country versus Fossil fuel seems like a no-brainer. Well, I'd like to have one of the panelists Answer that maybe more technically, but I would say natural is always going to be more circular, right? Because it's biodegradable So we're not putting petroleum into it whether we're processing it and so forth If we go natural sometimes we can use we can actually eliminate dyes completely Water use and all all of that. Yeah more more. I'm getting it reusing natural Doesn't it feels like it creates a problem may not solve a problem Versus reusing fossil fuel makes perfect sense I'll let someone else field it Well, I mean these two guys have been working on some of the Working within some of the investments in the space too But I think from a from the standpoint of collecting, you know, you're collecting the materials Whether it's for this biological or technical nutrient, you know So whether it's a petroleum based or and then a lot of what's these innovations are really taking a look at Even those natural materials like a cotton and converting it to a cellulosic based rayon like fabric And so looking at continuing that life And I guess from a Environmental footprint you have to weigh that against the water energy and social impact that happened in stage one of growing that material versus the You know the costs associated or the energy and water associated with upcycling that rayon And you guys may have done some studies or looked at some studies around sort of the weight of those two I think that's getting at the question because Uh in in some ways, you know, the the technical materials like nylons and polys seem to be a lot easier But you do have to continue to move in Put virgin content back into that and so it's kind of a yeah I mean, it's a deeper conversation, but it is kind of weighing out the costs associated with the two Yeah, no, I think it's also we have the what's in theory what's in practice One thing is sure is that there is enough polyester out there in the world For us to not have to produce polyester anymore if we manage to recycle it So thanks to some technologies like titan bioscience that you You mentioned if we managed to scale those technologies, we would be able to be completely independent from fossil fuels In theory and this will take a bit of time when it comes to the impact indeed If you just look at the impact of growing which is like basically cradle to gate Polyester is less is more sustainable in theory than than the natural fiber then you look at Cradle to to to grave Then then you you have a totally different assessment Depending on how you've grown the cotton and the natural fibers That's a good answer Go ahead, please and just to add you mentioned biofuels and this company mango materials that people keep mentioning What's interesting is a lot of pha which is the polymer that they use to make biodegradable plastic Will be sugar or corn based and so that's a great example of well the actual the Input to make this biodegradable plastic as a huge environmental footprint So is it really solving the problem? Whereas they're really we're really excited about waste to like waste as a feedstock So they're they're able to cultivate methane gas waste methane To be able to feed the bacteria to be able to create this pha So it has a much better environmental impact than a sugar or corn based So that that's always a part of the consideration And I think that you bring up another area which is the agricultural waste segment Which we're seeing a lot of that coming in now to the circular systems agra agra loop You know that are companies that are actually looking at you know How do we take the byproduct of one industry and mix it into the other and I'll say one one last thing too is Even though the cradle to cradle philosophy sort of Advocated for biological systems where it's compostable or biodegradable and technical systems I feel like so much of that biodegradable Biodegradable material Actually should be converted into upcycled material Which is why I get excited about the sort of ever new and folks that are taking that cotton based material and turning it into a rayon That can then be upcycled into a second life So agra loop has been has been uh Named a couple times here. So the idea there is taking food waste Actually smallholder farmer and being able to take that put it into if you think tiny house On on a plot of land Then actually process it one side gets biochar the other one other side comes out Phosphate and and something that you can give back to To irrigation or or farming and then you're left with cellulose, which you can actually turn into Possibly a viscose. So it's a huge way to not Not turn you know cut down trees and that I guess they got the the global awards this last year from Put on by h&m. I saw a hand some hands go up in the back. So if there's a question Yeah, hi, my name is manit. My company is called laltin. Um, I run my company in india So I have around 1200 artisans in handloom sector, which does work in Handlooms of ewing as well as block prints The biggest problem which I face when I interact with my artisans And taking their products to the global market is that they are not aware about low impact dies or as of free rise But their products are amazing The biggest problem over here is the awareness. So if awareness and then certifications as well So if we have a basic certifications for many of the artisans Then we can create a lot of sustainable livelihoods for them. And their products can be taken to global worlds Which doesn't allow right now these products to be taken My first question is this the second question is that we have been working on a lot of eco friendly products like products made out of hemp cane banana fiber bamboo fiber But again the biggest challenge is taking these products to market because we are there in india. We're working with 1200 artisans We are giving it to fab india. We've done some orders with zara. But the problem is the market It's very tough to convince them that the products are As certified as good as are certified To be taken to global markets So yeah, yeah, I I hear what you're saying and I think that one of the things we're missing and we've touched on is the commitment side of this which is Our organization is designed to get brands to start committing to actually scaling Whether it's something like a mill improvement alignment initiative or actually sourcing certain material types And I think that's going to be a big important piece of this too is to move from the rnd phase or where brands may be investing in you know, the development or the or the The prototyping of this and moving that into sales moving that into Purchasing the fibers and making commitments around that Well, I'm getting flagged right now because we're just a couple moments over time, but not by much So I guess we'll just take this opportunity to to thank all the panelists for for participating Thank you so much and good luck on all the innovations. Let's give them a hand