Tom Ford's Plastic Innovation Prize Announces 8 Finalists

Sustainability in fashion has been a widely discussed topic that seems to increase in urgency each year as climate change continues to worsen.

Marine life takes some of the hardest hits from pollution, with the fashion industry contributing to much of the waste. An initiative that not only works to take responsibility for the industry's environmental damages but also set a precedent for increased sustainability is the Plastic Innovation Prize.

Backed by American fashion designer Tom Ford and Lonely Whale CEO Dune Ives, the Prize is a competition for innovative global enterprises to create degradable alternatives to standard thin-film plastic. Winners of the Tom Ford Plastic Innovation Prize, which will be announced in Spring 2023, will receive more than $1.2 million and support from Lonely Whale and other partnering companies to help get their products on the market.

“What we accomplish together through this competition will catalyze global change across continents, countries and industries, which is urgently needed to address plastic pollution,” said Ford. “If the ocean is polluted and in danger, then so is the planet and so are we."

The eight prize finalists, which were announced during an event on March 29, span countries across the world from Canada to Kenya. Genecis, Kelpi, Lwanda Biotech, Marea, Notpla, Sway, Xampla, and Zerocircle, all of which bring non-plastic solutions in incredibly novel materials such as spider silk and seaweed, have been selected to move forward into the competition's final round.

A number of activists, designers, and celebrities are on the panel of judges, including Stella McCartney, Don Cheadle, and Susan Rockefeller. Additionally, the finalists' solutions will be tested by a number of companies, including J. Crew, and Nike.