Responsible Fashion

Alante Capital is an early-stage venture capital fund that invests in climate tech, deep tech, AI and enterprise software companies focused on modernizing the fashion, home and outdoor industries. They back innovation that reduces carbon emissions and brings circularity to these consumer industries that collectively represent a $4 trillion market. Founded by Karla and Leslie, Alante was created to enable investors, entrepreneurs and business leaders to come together and reimagine the future of industry while finding solutions to pressing global problems and addressing climate change. They work across the entire value chain with a diversified approach, investing in technologies that transform how products are designed, made, sold, used and recovered. Alante addresses critical challenges in often-overlooked yet ubiquitous industries where overconsumption has resulted in staggering waste, opaque supply chains have enabled forced labor and hazardous conditions, and record-low prices have increased environmental and social costs exponentially. They believe in achieving transformative impact without compromising returns, helping companies integrate solutions that make industry lifecycles safer, cleaner, more efficient and more sustainable.

Ashoka is one of the world’s leading organizations supporting social entrepreneurs. Founded in 1980, Ashoka pioneered the concept of social entrepreneurship and has built a global network of changemakers working to solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges. Through its flagship Ashoka Fellows program, the organization identifies and supports high-impact entrepreneurs with funding, mentorship, and a powerful global network. Ashoka’s broader mission is to create a world where everyone is a changemaker, embedding social innovation across education, business, and civil society.

BESTSELLER Foundation is a Danish commercial foundation established in 2015. It is funded by BESTSELLER, the family-owned fashion company, but operates as a separate legal entity from both BESTSELLER A/S and HEARTLAND A/S. The foundation's current strategy focuses on expanding economic opportunity for women, particularly their ability to create, work, and own. Its work is organized around three areas: Creative industries, including fashion, craft, music, and the arts Future of work, including reskilling, childcare, and workforce participation Ownership, including assets, businesses, income, and financial decision-making BESTSELLER Foundation uses both donations and impact investments and describes itself as a long-term, evergreen investor. Over its first 10 years, it reports making more than 25 impact investments and 100 donations across 25 countries. Its geographic focus includes South Asia, especially Bangladesh, as well as Sub-Saharan Africa and Europe. Current and recent partnerships have supported women artisans, small businesses, workforce participation, water resilience, and recovery efforts following major disruptions. The foundation's legal purpose is broader than its current public strategy. Its statutory mandate includes humanitarian work, poverty reduction, entrepreneurship, agriculture, and nature conservation. Earlier investment strategies also placed significant emphasis on circular economy and climate technology. Financial Snapshot At the end of 2024, the foundation reported: - DKK 109.7 million in total assets - DKK 85.9 million in equity - DKK 88.4 million in long-term investments - Approximately DKK 20 million distributed during the year - Approximately DKK 18 million invested during the year BESTSELLER's board also approved a preliminary DKK 250 million commitment for the foundation's 2024 to 2029 strategy. This represents committed future support, not capital already deployed. The foundation does not publish a standard grant size, investment check range, or formal scored application process. Potential partners can contact the team through its website.

Collaborative Fund is a leading venture capital firm established in 2010 that backs entrepreneurs pushing the world forward. The fund operates at the intersection of for-profit and for-good, supporting companies across five main sectors: Consumer, AI, Money, Health, and Energy. Their portfolio includes notable companies like Lyft, Reddit, Sweetgreen, Impossible Foods, and Commonwealth Fusion Systems. The firm focuses on identifying and supporting businesses that combine financial returns with positive social and environmental impact, investing in category-defining brands and transformative technologies that address major challenges facing society.

Fashion for Good operates as a platform for collaborative innovation that unites the fashion ecosystem to transform and build a regenerative industry. They focus on fostering collaboration and facilitating connections to bring innovative solutions to the forefront, with particular emphasis on next-generation materials, tier 2 decarbonization, footwear circularity, textile waste, and transparency and traceability. Their mission centers on creating a comprehensive platform that enables innovation scouting, collaborative validation, and commercialization and scaling of sustainable fashion solutions. They operate by continuously tracking emerging innovative solutions, facilitating joint testing between brands, innovators and suppliers to validate performance and impact, and co-creating commercial models that address key scaling barriers. Fashion for Good has established itself as a significant force in the sustainable fashion ecosystem, having scouted over 3,500 innovators and supported 187 of them through their innovation pipeline. Their platform approach has generated substantial impact with over €2.31 billion in capital committed and 421 implementation cases, demonstrating their ability to bridge the gap between innovation and market adoption in the fashion industry.

Verlinvest is an international, family-backed evergreen investment company founded in Brussels in 1995 by AB InBev family shareholders. It partners with entrepreneurs building category-defining consumer brands across food, beverage & FMCG, health, consumer technology, and lifestyle. Portfolio companies have included Oatly, Vita Coco, Tony's Chocolonely, Who Gives A Crap, and Chewy.