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Apparel Impact Institute (Aii) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit collective founded in 2017. Aii identifies, funds, and scales proven quality solutions to accelerate positive impact in the apparel and footwear industry.
Aii is funded in part by grants from brands and philanthropic organizations and in part by service fees for our technical work. We are not a membership organization.
Our headquarters are in California, USA; however, we are a global organization with staff distributed throughout North America, Europe, and Asia.
Aii is an independent entity that partners with various membership associations and NGOs. We are dedicated to avoiding duplications and redundancies in our work.
The Fashion Climate Fund is a $250M donor-pooled fund with contributions from apparel brands and philanthropy. The Climate Solutions Portfolio (CSP) is Aii’s collection of proven carbon-reducing programs and solutions from pre-seed to pilot to model to scale phase. The CSP Platform is an online registry of those programs; it’s a database of all the solutions across stages of development. Grants will be distributed from the Fashion Climate Fund to select programs in the Climate Solutions Portfolio, and programs in the portfolio will also benefit from connections to other forms of funding and capital (e.g. debt and equity).
Aii takes an initial baseline of a facility's energy consumption and GHG emissions before implementing a project. After the project is complete, another measurement is taken and the difference between the before and after measurements is calculated with adjustments for changes in production volume and other factors. Finally, each project has an estimated useful life, which is used to forecast the total GHG reduction over the life of the project.
If you have questions about CSP grants - timelines, amounts, requirements, etc. - please visit our comprehensive FAQ at https://csp.apparelimpact.org/faqs.
We’d love to hear from you! If you have any questions or are interested in working with us, please reach out by clicking “Contact Us” at the bottom of this page. An Aii team member will get in touch as soon as possible.
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We currently have seven lead funders (HSBC, Target Corporation, PVH Corporation, Lululemon, H&M Group, H&M Foundation, and The Schmidt Family Foundation) that are each expected to fund $10M by 2030.
This is a conservative estimate coming from our experience with programs like Clean by Design, as well as the findings in our joint report with Fashion for Good, "Unlocking the Trillion-Dollar Fashion Decarbonisation Opportunity". Based on the ratios of form of asset class applied to the solutions in the report, we expect $100 million in philanthropy combined with $150 million in industry contributions (together, the $250 million Fashion Climate Fund) will drive $150 million in supplier contributions; $400 million in venture capital and private equity; and $1.2 billion in bank debt, bonds, and loan funds for supplier capital investments, resulting in a total of $2 billion.
Our funding framework is built on the "Roadmap to Net Zero" report Aii co-authored with WRI. Programs and Projects include all tiers of the supply chain from raw materials to yarn preparation to fabric preparation to cut & sew assembly. The report identifies the six intervention areas (or levers) to reduce carbon emissions, such as:
- Material efficiency
- Better, Preferred Materials
- Next Generation Materials
- Energy Efficiency
- Thermal Heat Innovations (dry processing and renewable thermal)
- Clean Energy (renewable electricity)
To identify, fund, and scale proven solutions that lower carbon emissions across the supply chain of the textile, apparel, and footwear sector, with a focus on the primary goal of enabling the reduction of 100M tonnes of GHG emissions by 2030.
Apparel Impact Institute (Aii) is managing the fund. Aii has aggregated philanthropic and industry contributions to fund programmatic work in the apparel and footwear supply chain since 2018. With a $250 million fund, we will accelerate climate interventions by deploying up to $30 million a year into this work. The goal is to apply the full budget each year in alignment with our partners, although we recognize that supply chain volatility still exists which may require us to carry forward funds into the following year.
The Fund is applied to the entire program portfolio from incubation to commercialization. Once an intervention has proven successful, Aii recruits financial institutions to supply attractive sources of financing for suppliers to make climate-improvement investments. Aii is also advancing new and creative financial solutions for the market and tracking the amount of external capital leveraged as a result of our Fund, as well as the financial ROI and payback period for the supplier that is making the investment.
Yes, Aii tracks the climate impact of every intervention that we are funding in the supply chain. We have a target cost of carbon per intervention (from solar electricity to use of recycled poly). We report the return on impact (as measured in CO2 emissions saving per dollar invested) for every program.
Aii’s climate-reduction programs are aligned with the existing carbon reporting methodologies and frameworks established by the industry. Aii also participates in industry groups that are actively working to advance these frameworks.
Today, we are seeking Lead Partners to the Fund, which means $10 million by 2030. We will accept a pledge for the first three years with the terms and conditions for renewal after the third year.
Lead Partners join the Apparel Impact Roundtable, an industry committee that serves to provide critical and strategic input on the fund and use of funds. Lead Partners help to create, build, and drive the programs to scale, as opposed to only joining the ones that already exist. Lead Partners are at the table from day one to build this system and suite of funding tools to the greatest advantage and need of the fashion sector. This group works closely with our Board of Directors and our Expert Advisory Council, technical experts who provide insights for our work. Lead Partners will also be listed prominently in all communications as founders of the Fashion Climate Fund.
We want you involved. Aii already supports programmatic work for more than 45 brands/ retailers and their suppliers. You can continue to bring your sustainability needs (and budget) for impact programs to Aii, and we can match programs for supplier recruitment. We may even be able to apply some of the Fund’s grantmaking to support your work, if aligned with our current programs, strategies, and growth.
No, we can apply these funds to work in any region where a meaningful consensus of industry work is happening. Members of the Apparel Impact Roundtable will help to drive the unlock into new geographic regions.
The Fund addresses all areas of apparel and footwear. We are already working with several brands/retailers in other product categories (e.g. home products, soft goods, outdoor products). We also apply solutions at an industrial park level, which benefits other manufacturing sectors.
Yes, the Fund is intended to support companies in reaching their Science Based Targets or other commitments toward climate action. Therefore, companies are able to apply a significant portion of their annual contributions to the Fund directly into CO2 emissions reduction in their own suppliers. As we move more solutions through the pilot phase to scale-ready, that percentage allocation should increase. Aii accepts funding from treasury, philanthropic, and foundation sources from brands. Internal conversations may be required to allow for the appropriate use of funds within the brand’s own supply chain.
A minimum of 60% of the funds will be allocated to programming and innovation towards scope 3 (supply chain) CO2 emissions reductions. Another 25% will be applied to “ecosystem leadership,” which we define as continued tool development; contributing to the establishment of industry reporting framework; building relationships with venture capital funds, private equity funds, banks, and loan funds; publishing impact reports; and other activities needed to support the supply chain work. The balance is applied to the Aii management fee.
In order to support the growth and development of the Fund and all of Aii’s operations, we apply a management fee of 20% to all philanthropic contributions into the fund and 10% to all treasury contributions into the fund, resulting in a 15% blended management fee.
No. The Fund will not be used for funding events or industry marketing needs beyond that of promoting the Fund as part of the management fee.
- Effectiveness - reduction relative to a typical industrial baseline
- Reach - breadth of the supply chain the solution can affect at scale
- Scale – is the solution already at a mature state of commercialization and what is the potential for accelerated deployment by 2030?
- Pre-seed: Solutions that are at a concept level and in the process of evaluating and establishing their impact potential.
- Pilot: Solutions that are in the process of testing their solution in order to demonstrate a proof of concept.
- Model: Solutions that are working towards de-risking and reducing known barriers to scale.
- Scale: Solutions that are commercially viable with a proven go-to-market strategy.
Applications are reviewed by the Climate Solutions Portfolio Advisory Council (CSPAC), a diverse multi-stakeholder body composed of industry experts. Occasionally, the CSPAC may engage external experts and the Apparel Impact Roundtable in the review process.
Please follow the link the Submittable website for guidance if you are having difficulty with your application.
Yes, the application automatically saves and you can come back to it as needed until you are ready to submit.
The Ready Reckoner: Solution Impact Evaluator is only available to applicants and Aii program partners. There is written guidance in the Application Guidance document on how to use the tool. A demonstration of how to use the tool can be found in our resources.
The Climate Solutions Portfolio Advisory Council evaluates applications according to the requirements set out in the Grant Funding Thesis with a focus on effectiveness, reach, and scale. Please review the Thesis for additional information.
