As part of its sustainability strategy, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd. (ABFRL) is all set to join a unique and pioneering industry-led platform, ‘Circular Apparel Innovation Factory’ (CAIF) in collaboration with Intellecap. CAIF is India’s first industry-led platform, aiming to build a circular apparel and textile industry in India. CAIF will search, seed, support, and scale circular textile and apparel innovations in India by building an enabling ecosystem of brands, manufacturers, enterprises, and innovators across the value chain. Intellecap, supported by the DOEN Foundation launched the CAIF in 2018, as a neutral industry platform that drives the circular fashion agenda. “We are pleased to partner with Intellecap to accelerate sustainable fashion concept through CAIF to build industry level platform for circular textile eco-system. We intend to bring forth ideas and innovation to add more strength to our pioneering work around sustainability.
The association with Intellecap will help us create, collaborate and mainstream the conversation around circular economy and sustainable fashion,” Ashish Dikshit, managing director, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd. said. Through the association, ABFRL will be demonstrating its commitment to shift the industry from its current ‘take-make-dispose’ approach, to one that encourages the use of sustainable material, maximise utilisation of clothing & textile and thereby promote recycling. These initiatives will help ABFRL retain its focus on creating significant social impact. “ABFRL is a marquee name in Fashion and Lifestyle, and its partnership with CAIF would help foster an ecosystem wherein not only ABFRL, but the larger industry could potentially be recognised as the global innovators in circular fashion. Intellecap through CAIF is here to co-create innovative solutions and business models that will help brands create solutions for a more circular apparel economy through prototyping and testing,” said VikasBali, CEO, Intellecap, said. As a part of the partnership, ABFRL will support a number of CAIF initiatives such as industry convenings to discuss opportunities for circularity, as well as undertake specific pilots on identified initiatives, and launch brands specific challenges to identify and adopt innovations.
“Sustainability will be at the centre of innovation in the fashion industry in the coming decade and while tools and technologies will change, it will be the intellectual capital that will hold ABFRL in good stead. In continuation with our philosophy, we are partnering with Intellecap to build a positive impact for our businesses,“ DrNareshTyagi, chief sustainability officer, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd., said. “With ABFRL as our first corporate anchor partner, we are laying the foundation of making CAIF India’s first industry-led collaboration and innovation platform to create pathways for a more circular and sustainable textile and apparel industry. We are happy to see India’s apparel and textile ecosystem joining forces under the umbrella of CAIF to identify opportunities for innovation and collaboration, drive implementation on the ground, together work on removing scaling barriers, and drive collective action,” Stefanie Bauer-Vemuri, director, Circular Apparel Innovation Factory, said.
