Global Fashion Agenda’s Innovation Incubator Returns, Opens Call for Solutions

The Global Fashion Agenda (GFA) has sounded the call to arms, so to speak, as applications for the second iteration of its next-gen-centric program are officially open. 

The Trailblazer Programme—a talent search awarding the winner with up to $200,000 in cash, plus commercial and operational backing from Positive Materials—was created last year to support early-stage innovators accelerating sustainable change within the industry. To be presented by the Danish sustainability think tank and PDS Ventures at the GFA’s Global Fashion Summit in Copenhagen this summer, the top “trailblazer” will receive a minimum $50,000 investment to bring its innovation to market. 

The GFA’s longtime partner, PDS Ventures—the investment arm of Mumbai-headquartered manufacturing giant PDS Limited—will invest between $50,000-$200,000 in the winning company. Granted, the specific amount invested is contingent upon the winning company’s stage and status; ultimately, PDS Ventures’ internal procedures will determine the investment size, per the terms of the application.

On top of the cash, the innovation talent search also awards the winner with commercial and operational backing from Positive Materials—a Portugal-based R&D hub operating under the aegis of PDS Group—to help scale the winning solution.

Applicants are asked to define their organization’s mission and vision as well as the current stage of development (from pre-seed through expansion) and tally up any investments received thus far. As the program’s second iteration corresponds with the Global Fashion Summit’s 2025 theme—barriers and bridges—the program has three solutions in mind. 

The “working with nature” category covers nature-driven solutions throughout fashion’s supply chain. This includes biomimicry in materials, natural dyes and finishes, regenerative agriculture practices and biodiversity conservation, among other eco-friendly initiatives. 

The second category, “closed-loop pathways,” is ideal for those designing for circularity, deadstock and overproduction solutions, reselling and renewal efforts as well as the collection, disposal and recycling of textile waste. Applicants who foster a circular economy by minimizing reliance on finite resources—instead reducing the waste of those resources and ensuring that waste is appropriately reduced, reused and recycled—are ideal. 

“Tech-powered solutions” explores technological innovations that enhance visibility (see accountability) in the supply chain, reduce environmental impact and optimize resources overall. This includes supply chain traceability and transparency, platforms and digital software solutions, tech-enabled warehouse optimization, on-demand manufacturing and fit tech.

The jury members overseeing the 2025 applicants include Fashion for Good’s Katrin Ley, Zalando’s Pascal Brun, Ralph Lauren’s Jason Berns, PDS Ventures’ Yael Gairola, Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Dr. Yuly Fuentes Medel and Pepper-i2’s Robert van de Kerkhof. 

All shortlisted trailblazers will have the chance to showcase their innovations—via a dedicated Trailblazer Programme exhibit at the international sustainability summit—and network with other industry stakeholders and potential investors during the show. The top trailblazer will be revealed and recognized at the GFA’s Global Fashion Summit 2025 in Copenhagen this June. 

Bloom Labs was crowned the inaugural winner of the Trailblazer 2024 Programme for accelerating the transition toward a circular economy with its “pioneering breakthrough” in material science. It harnesses the value of natural waste by-products to create alternatives to textile and plastic materials. 

“The support from PDS Ventures and [its] Positive Materials platform, giving us access to a vast global supply chain and strategic partners will be crucial for refining our processes and taking sustainable innovation to the next level,”  Simardev Gulati, co-founder and CEO of Bloom Labs, said at the time. “Collaboration throughout the value chain is a key component to success for any material innovation; the Trailblazer program uniquely puts us in a position to create lasting, meaningful change.”