The Fashion District, in collaboration with the Fashion Innovation Agency, from London College of Fashion, UAL, has announced the shortlist for Manufacturing Futures: Fashion District Innovation Challenge Prize 2021. The award calls upon fashion and tech companies to bring forward new tech solutions for the industry’s challenges and drive future growth in the fashion industry. It is focused on start-ups that are developing propositions for new materials, manufacturing processes, waste management, supply chain and logistics, transparency, traceability, end-of-use and the circular economy.

The 10 finalists are:

Treekind by Biophilica
A plant-based leather alternative for the fashion industry. It is estimated to be carbon negative, recyclable as green waste, home compostable, non-toxic and completely free of plastic and petrochemicals.

Clean Ocean Technology by Airjet Global 
A textile business that creates new yarn by binding any recycled raw material with natural and bioartificial spun yarn.

ClearChain 
A software platform for easy, low-cost, high-value supply chain mapping, compliance auditing and reporting. It enables companies to get answers to the big questions facing them about sustainability, Net-Zero and ethical compliance.

2DTronics by G Square 
A textile technology start-up dedicated to producing smart sustainable clothing for the home, for work and for exercise. 2DTronics fabrics are made from composites of nanomaterials with recycled or natural fibres giving enhanced strength, durability and comfort.

Modern Synthesis 
A London-based biomaterial start-up connecting the dots between biology, material science and design to craft progressive biomaterials for the fashion industry.

Nanofique Limited 
Working with bio-composites of nanostructured material to degrade the dyes in wastewater, removing the colour and associated harmful effects. It also separates, removes and upgrades the heavy metal ions and salt without producing sludge and recycle the water.

Nanoloom 
Creates biodegradable fibre from a novel, unique nanomaterial called BioHastalex, which is based on graphene. BioHastalex is extremely strong, light, flexible and durable. It can be made to attract or repel water without additives, doesn’t shed and is scalable.

Pattern Project 
A clothing micro-factory, developing machinery and software to enable independent fashion brands, high street retailers or tailoring companies to produce custom-fit clothing in-store and on-demand.

Petit Pli 
A wearable technology company engineering clothes that grow. Trained aeronautical engineer, Ryan Mario Yasin founded Petit Pli in 2017, shortly after gifting clothes to his newborn nephew in Denmark. Ryan drew inspiration from his background in deployable nano-satellite structures to pioneer a new approach to slow fashion.

Terra Neutra
Provides innovative services that measure the carbon footprint of a product and allow customers to offset the impact in the shopping cart. Its mission is to create a carbon positive world, empowering people to live more sustainably, raising awareness of climate impact, enabling reduction and offsetting any residual emissions.

For more information please visit fashion-district.co.uk.