Future Forward Factories
The “Future Forward Factories” project, initiated by Fashion for Good, focuses on transforming tier 2 processing in the textile industry through innovative low-impact, decarbonisation solutions. It aims to generate actionable blueprints for factories of the future that combine renewable energy and technology upgradation including mostly dry processing innovations. These blueprints take into account the macro geographical factors that are customised for every product to achieve next-zero facilities with a strong return on investment.
Problem Statement
While many textile factories focus on climate goals using proven technologies like renewable energy and water treatment, there remain gaps in integrating disruptive innovations in processing. Current decarbonisation efforts fail to fully utilise dry processing technologies and lack a scalable blueprint for sustainable factory setups that can operate commercially.
Executive Summary
The project aims to scale decarbonisation efforts in textile manufacturing by creating an open-source portfolio of factory blueprints. These blueprints will showcase best-in-class, low-impact solutions across different geographies and product categories, demonstrating how both new and existing solutions can come together to drive the industry towards net-zero emissions. By engaging strategic supply chain partners, we aim to operationalise these blueprints in various geographies, these demonstrator projects will help the existing supplier ecosystem to understand the operability of climate positive factories and will be able to pick and choose solutions out of these for their transition journey practices.
More to come in March 2025
Relevant Resources
What is textile processing? Understanding the fashion supply chain and its environmental impact
Good Fashion Fund Launches to Invest in Supply Chain Innovation
Fashion Players Team Up to Slash Textiles' Water and Carbon Footprint
How a Kering and adidas-Led Consortium Aims to Dry Out Fashion’s Water Problem
Global accelerator Fashion for Good has announced a new consortium, the D(R)YE Factory of the Future project, backed by Kering and adidas, among others, aimed at reducing water use in textile production. The initiative is directed at accelerating the fashion industry’s shift to dry textile processing—methods that use little to no water, produce no wastewater and reduce overall energy use.
Other Projects
Feedstock Assessment for Biosynthetic Innovation
Feedstock Assessment for Biosynthetic Innovation, an initiative in collaboration with Bestseller and On aimed at accelerating the industry’s shift towards alternatives to fossil-fuel polymers. The assessment will be conducted in partnership with industry experts, the Nova Institute.
Piloting a Circularity Solution in E-commerce
This project was led by Fashion for Good, together with Zalando and circular.fashion, a Fashion for Good alumni innovator. The objective was to test the circularity.ID, a traceability solution designed by circular.fashion to increase resale and recycling opportunities for clothing at scale.
Sorting for Circularity Rewear
Fashion for Good expanded its Sorting for Circularity framework to address the challenge of sorting for rewearable textiles to understand better their resale potential and the demand across the second-hand market. We launched an 18-month initiative in January 2024 in collaboration with Circle Economy, brand partners adidas, Inditex, Levi Strauss & Co. and Zalando to enhance the sorting of rewearable textiles using innovative AI technologies. The project seeks to improve garment recovery for resale, promoting circularity in the fashion industry.
