Global Fashion Agenda launches Trailblazer Programme

Eco-focused NGO Global Fashion Agenda (GFA) has partnered with PDS Ventures to track down “promising early-stage innovators who are working to accelerate the transformation of the fashion and textile industry with planet positive solutions”.

The new drive, dubbed the Trailblazer Programme, seeks to come up with one winning company that will receive an equity investment of up to $200,000 in addition to commercial and operational support to help bring its innovation to scale.

GFA’s wider aim is to accelerate the transition to a net positive fashion industry along with PDS Ventures, which is the innovation and investment arm of PDS Limited.

Their new initiative says it will identify fashion’s “most promising early-stage innovators and support them on their journey to scale”. 

The two partners are calling for solution providers addressing different challenges across the fashion value chain to apply for the programme. Applications close at the end of this month.

Applicants will be reviewed and shortlisted by a jury including representatives from GFA, PDS, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Ralph Lauren, Fashion For Good and H&M Group. 

Eight shortlisted innovations will be enrolled in a group of Trailblazers, receiving feedback and investment pitch training from industry experts and PDS representatives.  

They’ll be revealed at GFA’s Global Fashion Summit: Copenhagen 2024 in late May and will be able to showcase their businesses within an exhibit at the Summit to connect with other key industry stakeholders and potential investors.

The Programme corresponds with the theme of the upcoming Summit – ‘Unlocking The Next Level’. 

Federica Marchionni, GFA’s CEO, said: “Innovation is a fundamental component to transforming the current fashion system to one that benefits people and the planet. Yet, to truly achieve impact at scale, innovation and investment go hand-in-hand. In a time of significant economic challenges, it is more important than ever that the fashion ecosystem prioritises investment in early-stage solutions so that we can bring them to fruition and make them last.”