PVH Foundation Commits $10M to Fashion Climate Fund
The Fashion Climate Fund that already counts industry heavyweights like H&M is adding a new lead partner and setting a game plan on funding deployment.
PVH Corp., through its philanthropic arm, The PVH Foundation, is joining the $250 million climate fund spearheaded by San Francisco-based nonprofit the Apparel Impact Institute. Aii is an organization that is helping to clean up fashion supply chains with such programs as Clean by Design. PVH joins Lululemon, H&M Group and The Schmidt Family Foundation in funding solutions across the value chain that advance decarbonization. Each funder commits a minimum of $10 million to the Fashion Climate Fund.
More from WWD
“Our company purpose, to power brands that drive fashion forward for good, is at the core of our multiyear growth plan and has guided us for many years,” Stefan Larsson, chief executive officer of PVH Corp, said in a press statement. “We know that collaboration and funding are critical to driving solutions that address the fashion industry’s contributions to climate change and are proud to be supporting the Fashion Climate Fund in this work.”
The philanthropic funds will go toward pre-seed and pilot innovations the industry can use for scaled impact, keeping track of ventures and grant funding in Aii’s soon-to-launch “Climate Solutions Portfolio,” or CSP, online registry. Though still in development with partner Reset Carbon, stakeholders — among them brands, retailers, suppliers and investors — will be able to access this tool later this year.
“PVH is investing in the infrastructure needed to scale solutions and unlock increased sustainable blended capital to reach targets,” Aii president Lewis Perkins, told WWD. “As we build the CSP, we will be announcing specific funded projects, beyond the current program offerings, in 2023.”
In the year ahead, Aii and partners will get the CSP further off the ground by developing an evaluation criteria (including solution type and stage of innovation for fundable projects) and deploying 2022 funds off of that criteria. An expert advisory council spanning science, industry, academia and NGOs is to be announced as well.
Already Aii has unlocked an estimated $175 million in financial capital through past programs like its Clean by Design. Under the latest fund, Aii foresees unlocking an estimated $2 billion in blended capital over the next eight years.
But amid the large-scale goals, Perkins doesn’t want to forget the small-to-mid-sized businesses in the news.
“It’s important to note that with an increased budget, Aii and its partners can expand the reach and build deeper capacity by region for removing carbon from the supply chain. And while lead partners join us at $10 million minimums, Aii continues to work with a variety of brands, retailers and their suppliers at many levels of resource commitment to begin or continue their work toward supply chain improvements,” he said. “We continue to provide programs for SME brand/retailers and their suppliers, as well as address critical targets for water, chemical management and more, while making carbon dioxide and climate a leading key performance indicator for our work.”
