Are you a startup looking to reduce waste during manufacturing and along the supply chain? If so, Nan Fung Group’s innovation hub could be a perfect place for you to seek nurturing. Through The Mills Fabrica in Tsuen Wan, the tech incubator has been helping innovative startups that use technology to create sustainability practices within the fashion industry. 

According to a recent Mckinsey and the Global Fashion Agenda climate report, the manufacturing processes in the apparel sector contributed 2.1 billion metric tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions in 2018 alone. It is about 4% of the total global pollution. The report suggests that the fashion industry can significantly reduce this pollution by up to 61% through sustainability practices within the supply chain.

To contribute to that sustainability percentage, the Mills Fabrica Tech Incubator specifically focuses on startups who are working on innovative solutions that can reduce waste during manufacturing. 

The Mills Fabrica incubation  

The tech incubator does more than offering a 12-month incubation. It also contributes to startups’ growth through direct investments that include seed and series B funding through the Fabrica Fund that was set up by Nan Fung. 

The funding investments range from $100,000 to $2 million.

One of the very first investees of the Mills Fabrica Tech Incubator was Unspun, a Hong Kong and San Francisco-based fashion tech company. The company produces on-demand Denim jeans using a 3D-scanning technology. It became the first institutional investee in 2018 through seed funding. The company has plans to sell jeans designed with 3D-weaving technology in the coming months.  

Renewcell is another startup in the Mill Fabrica’s portfolio. The Swedish-based startup is geared towards chemical recycling to generate cellulose pulp from cotton materials. The tech incubator invested in the startup’s series A funding round back in 2019. Renewcell is listed on Nasdaq’s First North Premier Growth Market and is the first startup from Mill’s Fabrica to go public.

The initial public offering for the startup raised around 800 million Swedish Krona that is about $93.5 million. The funding will be used to construct a commercial recycling plant in Sweden. The plant will commence its operations in 2022 and is expected to produce 60,00 metric tonnes of pulp per year, which equals recycling 300 million t-shirts annually.

The startup recently collaborated with Levi’s to produce Jeans for its Wellthread Line using sustainable materials including old worn-out jeans and organic cotton. Learn more about the tech incubator and its future goals at the Mills Fabrica.  

Next, learn how brands like Lululemon and Kering are addressing sustainability issues and get inspired by their ideas.