The global fashion industry is responsible for 2.1 billion metric tonnes of greenhouse gases (GHG) annually.
It is claimed that the industry also produces 20% of the world’s wastewater. Similarly, it is claimed that the global fashion industry produces one fifth of the world’s plastic, much of which ends up in landfill due to ‘fast fashion’ business models that discourage repair, reuse and recycling of clothes. The UK alone generates c.300,000 tonnes of textile landfill and incineration waste per annum, which equates to £140 million worth of garments dumped every single year.
The Challenge
The Interactive Futures Sustainable Fashion Challenge from Future Fashion Factory – in association with the Applied Games Lab (an InGame spinout application)– is an ambitious competition to harness the potential of game design and game technologies to innovate novel solutions to a global societal challenge: empowering fashion consumers to encourage the fashion and textile industries to develop more robust sustainability practices and credentials.
The IFSF Challenge will give participants the funding opportunities and unique insights required to enter a new, exciting and still digitally under-explored sector and market. Combining these insights with their game design and technologist superpowers will empower them to unlock significant new commercial opportunities.
The competition is open to gamemakers and media enterprises across the UK.
Up to 10 applicants will be selected to participate in the Interactive Futures Sustainable Fashion Lab. These participants will receive £5K to develop concepts over two weeks. After pitching, four teams will be selected and will receive £25K investment to prove their concept in an eight week prototyping phase.
The Offer
The Interactive Futures for Sustainable Fashion Challenge has two core elements:
Phase 1. Interactive Futures Sustainable Fashion Lab
a. Sustainable Fashion Workshop
Up to 10 shortlisted participants will be funded to attend this one-day upskilling workshop led by Future Fashion Factory. Participants will gain unique and actionable insights into the workings of the global fashion supply chain – a complex ecosystem with a significant impact on both planet and people – and be empowered to understand why sustainable development that creates viable circular economies is now the top priority for industry.
b. Interactive Futures Catalyser
During this one-day event participants will work with innovation experts to frame and develop initial concepts. These concepts will be articulated in a Lightning Pitch to the Challenge Investment Panel (CIP) – featuring experts from Future Fashion Factory, the fashion and textile industries and the Applied Games Lab. The panel will provide rapid and actionable feedback. Participants will then have 10 working days to respond, developing a full pitch to win a place in the Interactive Futures for Sustainable Fashion Incubator.
- Scheduling – IFSF Lab takes place in February 2024
- Duration – complete IFSF Lab process runs for 12 working days: 1 day for the workshop, 1 day for the catalyser, 10 days for pitch development.
- Funding – Shortlisted participants receive £5,000 per team for their participation.
Phase 2. Interactive Futures Sustainable Fashion Incubator
Up to four winners receive a £25,000 investment each to participate in the IFSF Incubator. This is an eight-week programme where participants develop their concepts into compelling prototypes. The focus will be on getting from the ‘big idea’ to something that proves the concept which can be meaningfully interacted with. These will be pitched to the CIP before being showcased to industry leaders in June 2024. Incubator participants will be supported throughout the process by the Applied Games Lab and Future Fashion Factory.
IFSF Challenge participants will benefit from:
- Insights into how fashion and textile supply chains operate, understanding the complex and interdependent global systems
- Access to scientifically validated data that enables ‘real life’ interactive scenario simulations
- Connectivity with academic expertise in sustainable fashion, circular economies, carbon accounting and other the causes of environmental impacts
- Connectivity with the Future Fashion Factory industrial ecosystem that includes companies throughout the fashion and textile supply chain (from manufacturer to retail to end-of-life) and micro-SMEs through to global multi-nationals
- IP development/co-development and commercial opportunities.
How to Apply
- Please check you meet the below eligibility criteria.
- Please read the Heads of Terms and Application Guidance
- Complete the Expression of Interest here: https://forms.gle/t44wQq1SkSbkgoRA8
- Or request the Expression of Interest from contact@futurefashionfactory.org/ then submit the form and your pitch deck directly to contact@futurefashionfactory.org
- Deadline for applications: 17:00 Wednesday 31st January 2024.
Shortlisted applicants will be notified by 15:00 Wednesday 7th February 2024. Up to 10 winning teams will be invited to participate in Phase 2.
Eligibility
The Interactive Futures for Sustainable Fashion Challenge is open to:
- Sole traders and companies of all sizes from across the United Kingdom. Organisations must be registered with a main place of business and/or operational activity in the UK.
- Future Fashion Factory welcomes applicants from across the videogames and immersive content sectors plus adjacent media industries.
- All applicants need to prove eligibility, capacity and demonstrate their track record as requested. Applicants will be judged against evidence of the desirable superpowers (see Section 5) throughout the application process.
- Applicants must be available to participate in all required workshops, labs, briefings and meetings, plus other challenge related events detailed in the Timeline below or scheduled as the Challenge progresses.
Before you Apply
Please familiarise yourself with the below Challenge Brief, Application Guidance and Heads of Terms:
