NEWS
Inside the Industry
Sustainable-textile-materials company Spinnova has partnered with Swedish textile-recycling innovator Renewcell in the first-of-its-kind collaboration to commercialize waste-based textile fiber. The new concept combines patented technology from both companies. The first consumer products from this new textile fiber are estimated to be available by the end of 2024. “Our goal is to accelerate the fashion industry’s transition to a circular economy and explore options to scale textile-to-textile fiber production,” said Ben Selby, Spinnova’s deputy CEO. “The textile industry is in the middle of a massive change that requires new partnerships and brave, innovative players,” said Patrik Lundström, Renewcell’s CEO. “We can’t wait to launch the first collection made from CIRCULOSE using Spinnova’s unique technology.”
Centric Software has announced the acquisition of aifora, the AI-powered price and inventory-optimization solution. Founded in Düsseldorf, Germany, in 2017, aifora is a best-in-class predictive-pricing retail-automation platform that enables brands and retailers to achieve continuous growth and profitability improvement through data-driven pricing, inventory management and allocation practices. “Retailers are unable to respond effectively to today’s data-driven world by using spreadsheets and manual methods to optimize initial price, promotions and markdowns,” explained David Krings, CTO and co-founder of aifora. “Aifora gives them guidance to predict future demand and replenishment needs so they can price more profitably.” Although predictive pricing is an emerging concept, it has already demonstrated its value by increasing revenues, improving margins and reducing discounting.
TradeBeyond has acquired Pivot88, the trusted SaaS provider of quality, compliance and traceability solutions to brands and retailers around the world. Powered by Applied AI, Pivot88’s platform enables a 360-degree view of products from cradle to grave, equipping retail businesses with actionable supply-chain data to mitigate risk. The company orchestrates quality and compliance processes across more than 50,000 supply-chain partners in 112 countries, including many of the world’s largest brands and retailers. “The combination of TradeBeyond’s solutions in product development, sourcing and supply-chain management with Pivot88’s rich, AI-powered functionality in quality, compliance and traceability will create a powerful platform that is unparalleled in the market,” the companies said in a release
The Clean Recycling Initiative is holding its second-annual International Sustainability Marketing Competition, which challenges students from around the globe to create a campaign idea that educates the public on environmental issues around textile waste and the technology platforms of the initiative. “With the success of last year’s competition, we were excited to organize it again,” said Anna Belford, CRI’s sustainable development specialist. Over 250 schools from 55 countries are already involved. “The competition has grown to become the largest one of its kind,” said Sae Chang, CEO of CRI, “thanks to the great effort made by the team of organizers, judges and ambassadors who have graciously accepted to play important roles.”
