IB FASHION & LIFESTYLE CALL FOR CHALLENGES #2
Challenge Metadata
- Challenge Name: IB FASHION & LIFESTYLE CALL FOR CHALLENGES #2
- Date: 7/8/2024 11:38:08 AM
- Administrators:
Challenge Description
Call for challenges #2: Transforming industry practices –
Sustainability & Circularity Innovations for the Fashion industry
About the Fashion & Lifestyle program
The Innovation Booster Fashion & Lifestyle empowers operational, technological, and social innovations developed with and for the Swiss Fashion and Lifestyle sector.
In alliance with Switzerland Innovation Park Ticino - Lifestyle Tech Competence Center, our community leverages a unique ecosystem enabling the dissemination of radical solutions to the challenges of the sector.
Abstract
The fashion industry, with major global significance, stands as one of the least environmentally friendly sectors. Its adoption of the linear fashion system—characterised by a “take-make-dispose” approach, continues to exploit scarce natural resources and energy, resulting in substantial pollution. To address this, fashion companies’ growing advocacy for transitioning to a circular economy is willing to tackle the current obstacles, aiming for sustainable production and consumption.
Focus
Some of the major problems faced by the Fashion Industry in building a positive environmental footprint can be summarised in:
- Poor Material and Energy Efficiency: Inefficient use of materials, energy and water contributes to waste and environmental impact.
- Production Quality: Developing a real-sustainable raw materials and implement its usage in the production cycle, matching the same quality level of non-sustainable materials.
- Data & Traceability: Establishing transparent supply chains and tracking the lifecycle of garments is slowed down by the numerous third-parties involved and lack of standardisation of collected data.
- Lack of Circular Design: The industry struggles with designing products that can be easily recycled or repurposed.
- Technological Challenges: Adopting sustainable and circular practices requires impactful technological innovation.
- Regulatory Pressures: Compliance with evolving sustainability regulations poses challenges, including reporting needs.
- Internal Stakeholders’ Pressures: Aligning internal stakeholders on the same goal represents some difficulties.
- Financial Pressures: Transitioning to sustainable practices require substantial investments that need to match with a proper financial sustainability over time.
- Insufficient Human Capital: A skilled workforce is essential for sustainable initiatives. Knowledge needs to be build inside and cross-organisation with specific roles in the organisation as well as organically integrated into traditional functions.
- Lack of External Collaborations: Industry-wide collaboration is necessary for systemic change.
- Consumer-Related Challenges: Educating, communicating, motivating and incentivise consumers toward sustainable and circular choices remains a hurdle.
We are looking for radical innovative solutions to be tested as viable solutions for a more sustainable and circular Fashion Industry.
Developed solutions to be tested by the Innovation Teams can be in the form of products, services or processes.
To better define an industry challenge to be submitted as a first input for a potential radical innovative idea to be tested, a specific problem shall be defined, and a user-centric approach must be used.
The following questions shall be answered in the submission of the industry challenge to be sent via this jointcreate page on the section ‘Long description’:
o What are the details of the problem experienced?
o Who is experiencing this problem?
o How often is the problem experienced?
o How painful is the problem for the ones experiencing it?
o Would the ones experiencing this problem be willing to (and be capable of) paying money to get it resolved?
o Are there some existing solutions to this problem? If so, why aren’t they effective?
o How a new radical innovative approach might benefit the whole industry in resolving the problem?
Your benefits
- Participate in a transformation journey contributing with new radical ideas in the innovation of the Fashion & Lifestyle sector
- Be rewarded with ≈ CHF 25'000.- in case your idea will convince our Jury to prove its potential (e.g. to build a POC, realise a feasibility study or a market assessment)
- Have the support of top market experts and methodological best practices
- Participate to events, dedicated workshops and trainings on innovation topics
How it works
STEP 1:
· Submit an industry challenge posing an hypothesis on how specifically with a new radical solutions the problem might be solved, answering to the aforementioned questions by September 6th, 2024;
· Participate in the Co-creation Workshop 'Challenge your ideas' hosted by Dagorà Lifestyle Innovation Hub in Lugano on October 10th
- Register here: https://events.dagora.ch/ib-workshop-challenge-your-ideas-2
- The identified challenges from the last Industry Workshops will be explored to discover the underlying opportunities;
- Innovation Teams formation will be facilitated to find the best research or implementation partner if not already present;
- Collaboration among different stakeholders and experts will support you with Design Thinking methodology to co-create ideas for radical solutions.
STEP 2:
- Submit your idea by November 4th, 2024 by clicking on the submit button including all the information detailed in the ‘idea submission guidelines’ document you can find in the attachments.
*Guidelines will be shared during and after the 'Challenge your ideas' Workshop to ensure a proper submission before the deadline.
STEP 3:
- An optional virtual workshop, Innovation Arena, will take place on November 7th to help you to enrich and refine your idea, preparing for the Pitch Day.
STEP 4:
- Pitch Day: on November 12th submitted ideas will be pitched to the program Jury and the selected 5 winning ideas will be awarded with ≈ CHF 25'000.-.
IMPORTANT: Participation to the Workshop 'Challenge your ideas' #2 on October 10th is mandatory for ideas to be eligible to access the Pitch Day and receive funding.
*If an idea will be submitted before the Workshop 'Challenge your ideas' #2, participants must attend and engage in the open innovation process in order to be eligible to be supported it in the next phases.
**We recommend in the publication of your Challenge to keep your privacy policy flagged as 'Public' in order to let other potential partners to be aware of the submitted challenge and create or join an Innovation Team.
Who can apply
You can apply if you are a:
- Start-up
- SME
- Large organisation
- Any company offering products, services or process implementation
- Non-profit organisation
- Association
- University research institute
- Non-commercial research centre
- Departmental research institution
- Federal research institute
NOTE: Innovation teams must be formed to Pitch the idea and be funded. Innovation teams consist of at least one research partner and one implementation partner. Please use Joint Create to network and connect with potential partners, engage with the participants of the Workshop 'Challenge your ideas' or request more information on how we can support you to partner up and form your Innovation Team.
Apply now!
Tell us more about how you would like to address a mentioned industry challenge and participate to the Workshop 'Challenge your ideas' #2 on October 10th in Lugano to:
- Developing a new radical innovative idea for a product, service, process or business model
- Making a positive impact on the Swiss Fashion & Lifestyle industry and society
- Getting the chance to get funded with ≈ CHF 25'000.- for the production of a Proof of Concept, Feasibility Study or a Market Assessment
- Aligning with our core values expressed in our Manifesto: Sustainability, Diversity, Inclusion and Equality, User-centric, Trustworthy and Collaborative
- Sign-up in the Workshop here: https://events.dagora.ch/ib-workshop-challenge-your-ideas-2
To learn more about the Pitch Jury composition please take a look at the attached presentation and you can always find the updated list of Jury members at the following web page: https://ibfashionandlifestyle.ch/about/
For more information please contact us at: info@ibfashionandlifestyle.ch