European Social Innovation Competition 2020

European Social Innovation Competition 2020

A silver rail of neutral coloured clothes, hung on wooden hangers

What was the European Social Innovation Competition 2020?

The 2020 Competition ‘Reimagine Fashion’ looked for ideas that seek to improve the environmental and social impact of the European fashion market through the development of new products, services and processes, and innovative business models. The Competition sought to reward the most innovative approaches to reduce the overall environmental footprint and improve the societal impact of the fashion market, helping to make it fairer and more accessible.

This was the eighth year in which Challenge Works has led the consortium delivering the European Social Innovation Competition. The competition is run by the European Commission’s DG GROW with the support of a consortium of partners: Challenges Works, Kennisland, European Network of Living Labs, Ashoka and Scholz & Friends.

Why did we run the Competition?

25 billion gallons of water is required for a single years’ worth of global textile production. To give a tangible example, it takes up to 2,720 litres of water to produce enough cotton for just one single t-shirt. That is the equivalent to almost three years of drinking water. And it takes 200 gallons of water to make a single pair of jeans, the equivalent of approximately 285 showers.

We need to change the way clothing and textiles are designed, produced, used and handled at the end-of-life stage. Reversing the trend of higher sales, lower utilisation of clothing, and a single-use attitude towards fashion will require a concerted effort, prompted by bold and new social innovations.

What were we looking for?

This Competition rewarded the most innovative approaches to reduce the overall environmental footprint and improve the societal impact of the fashion market. It sought out innovation to change the way clothing and textiles are designed, produced, used and handled at the end-of-life stage, reversing the trend of higher sales, lower utilisation of clothing, and a single-use attitude towards fashion.

This challenge was funded by

European Commission logo

Impact of the Competition

  • Six semi-finalists reached the final stage of the Competition, which was possibly due to the severe restrictions created by the global COVID-19 pandemic
  • 13 of the cohort were still active after one year which, again, is a respectable figure considering the impact of the pandemic
  • 95% of coaches agreed that the Competition has provided effective solutions to the proposed problem
  • 15 of the semi-finalists attracted new investment or funding during the course of the Competition
  • 100% of semi-finalists felt supported by being part of a peer network of social innovation in Europe, despite the academy being held digitally this year

The winners

An extreme close up of the stitching detail on dark denim material

resortecs®

resortecs® (Belgium) is a dissolvable stitching thread and heat-dismountable rivets that help make the reuse and recycling textile products easier.

Snake logo

Snake

Snake (Croatia) is a digital commerce platform which applies augmented reality and enables development of digital fashion by changing the way fashion is consumed.

A person, photographed from above, holding out their arms while wearing a white top with wide sleeves

WhyWeCraft: Cultural Sustainability in Fashion

WhyWeCraft: Cultural Sustainability in Fashion (Romania) is an artisan-designer collaborations focused on reviving heritage European textile crafts.

Impact Prize Winner

The 2020 Impact Prize, worth €50,000, was awarded to Empower, from Norway. Empower was founded with a vision to empower people to create a cleaner and better world. It is based on the idea of using new technology to enable a circular economy. The project developed a digital plastic waste collection system through which plastic waste can be deposited and collected for a financial reward.

The finalists

  • Airwear by Fairbrics (France) created a technology that converts the CO2 emitted during fabric manufacturing into new synthetic fabrics.

  • Kleiderly | Converting Clothing (Germany) is a start-up that turns recycled clothes into durable material used to make a range of products, from furniture to suitcases.

  • MycoTEX (Netherlands) is an innovation to make custom-made clothes using a sustainable fabric made from mycelium, a substance found in mushroom roots.

  • Post Carbon Fashion: Photosynthetic Coating (United Kingdom) is a zero-waste and regenerative dyeing and coating services for textile applications through microbiological processes.

  • ROND: CO2 reduced soles from discarded fabric (Denmark) is a sweat and shock absorbent insoles made from fibers upcycled from discarded textiles.

  • SENSTILE: Digitizing textiles (Spain) is a search engine that identifies, matches, and compares textiles digitally and at scale.

  • The first Lyocell hemp fibre: Hempcell™ (Germany) is a start-up that promotes premium European Hemp Lyocell fibres as a viable and sustainable textile alternative.

Watch this to learn more about the 2020 edition of the Competition

Who were the challenge judges?

Other editions of the Competition

What is the European Social Innovation Competition?

Launched in memory of social innovation pioneer Diogo Vasconcelos, the European Social Innovation Competition is a challenge prize run by the European Commission across all EU Member States and Horizon 2020 Associated Countries. Now in its 8th year, the Competition acts as a beacon for social innovators in Europe, employing a proven methodology for supporting early-stage ideas and facilitating a network of radical innovators shaping society for the better. Each year the Competition is based around a different issue facing Europe.