POC partner, The Mills Fabrica, has just released its 2024-2025 impact report, showing the steps it is taking to foster innovation in techstyle and agrifood technology.
Since our 2024 Conference, POC has been building on its partnership with global materials and agrifood innovation hub, The Mills Fabrica. This year that involved a POC Member fashion meeting at its Kings Cross offices with presentations from a selection of its innovators, as well as spotlights of its innovators in both editorial content and at the POC Conference 2025.
We are looking forward to continuing to work alongside the Mills Fabrica for 2026. In the meantime, it has just released its latest impact report detailing its journey and impact over the past year.
Check out the full report here or read our summary below:
Nurturing ideas, powering progress
As humanity faces ever-increasing environmental challenges, the urgency to find transformative solutions has never been greater. The techstyle and agrifood sectors remain among the largest contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions and resource pressure, signalling a critical need for innovation in these industries.
Mills Fabrica believes that innovation across the entire creation chain – from idea to market deployment, supported by partnerships and consumer engagement – is essential to driving ecological and social resilience. The Mill’s 2024-2025 Impact Report details investment strategies and the broad ecosystem-building efforts that are catalysing change across industries.
Aligning with the planetary boundaries framework from the Stockholm Resilience Centre, The Mills Fabrica’s impact strategy guides its selection and support of innovations that meaningfully contribute to these thresholds while fostering circular economy business models.
Investing in visionaries
The Fabrica Investment Fund, a venture fund set up by the Mills Fabrica to support start-ups and scale sustainable innovations, has continued to channel capital into innovators within agrifood and techstyle sectors.
Existing portfolio companies such as Circ, Mango Materials, unspun, and Bits x Bites continue to demonstrate tangible environmental and social impacts, from textile circularity innovations to methane-based biomaterials and regenerative farming technology.
Driving high-impact partnerships
Its strategic collaborations with industry partners accelerates the path from innovation to impact. The Mills Fabrica’s innovation scouting programme, in partnership with PANGAIA, connects corporate brands with start-ups, fostering mutual growth and tailored innovation solutions.
One example is HMS, an innovation challenge winner offering eco-friendly washing stones that replace traditional pumice in denim processing. HMS’s technology reduces material usage by 97.5%, water consumption by 32%, and eliminates sludge production altogether. Post win, HMS has benefitted from residency support in London and Hong Kong, mentorship, and industry exposure, accelerating scaling readiness and commercial adoption.
Key Data:
The Innovation Scouting Programme drew in:
- 147 Applicants
- 8 Finalists
- 4 Winners: MadeSweetly and Palgae (Agrifood); HMS and AIPER (Techstyle)
HMS Washing Stones Impact:
- 97.5% reduction in raw pumice material use
- 32% water savings in denim washing
Nurturing next-gen innovators
The Mills Fabrica places a strong emphasis on identifying and supporting emerging talents who can drive revolutionary changes in the techstyle and agrifood sectors. By collaborating with renowned educational institutions and global award platforms, it helps aspiring designers and material innovators navigate the challenging path from idea to market-ready product.
The Mills Fabrica Innovation Award, a partnership with Central Saint Martins (CSM), annually recognises outstanding graduating students in sustainable design. The programme celebrated projects such as Christopher Bellamy’s Lucid Life, a living material fabric incorporating bioluminescent microalgae, blending scientific innovation with traditional knowledge to create sustainable, adaptive textiles.
The Future Maker Award focuses on nurturing promising graduates from Hong Kong’s leading fashion institutions (PolyU, HKDI, THEi). In 2024, The Mills collaborated with Stella Blu to support five graduates in creating eco-conscious products from deadstock fabrics, gaining hands-on mentorship and market access. The products were launched at Fabrica X in Hong Kong.
Additionally, The Mills Fabrica acted as a nominator for the Earthshot Prize, connecting innovators with funding and international scaling opportunities to tackle the planet’s urgent challenges. The Mills supported 114 nomination applications, and completed 66 submission endorsements.
Sparking the intention for change
The Mills Fabrica’s sustainability education, in the form of workshops, dialogues, showcases, and collaborative long-term programmes, aim to transform sustainability knowledge into actionable insights, inspiring behavioural change among students, employees, corporate partners, and the general public.
In 2024-2025, Fabrica delivered over 159 knowledge sessions engaging 1,710 individuals across Hong Kong and London. These sessions ranged from impact conversations about innovation trends in techstyle and agrifood, to workshops repurposing waste materials. Engagement activities like mini sessions and game booths cater to families, nurturing a culture of responsible consumption and long-term mindset shifts.
The Fabrica X Impact Retail Concept reimagines retail as a powerful platform to amplify sustainable lifestyles. Featuring 55 techstyle innovators and 42 sustainable brands showcased across three physical locations in Hong Kong, Fabrica X attracted over 41,600 visitors in 2024. Campaigns like Denim Futures combine retail, education, and experiential discovery, featuring workshops on waste upcycling and sustainable denim manufacturing.
Key Data:
- 159 knowledge sessions delivered to 1,710 people
- Three physical Fabrica X Hong Kong locations showcasing:
– 55 techstyle innovators
– 42 sustainable brands
– 41,600+ visitors annually - Denim Futures campaign highlights:
– 23 denim innovators showcased
– 11 sustainable brands featured
– 8 new denim upcycling workshops introduced - Post-campaign survey insights:
– 88% learned about denim’s negative environmental impact
– 84% more label-conscious when buying denim
– 92% support for innovation importance in sustainability
– 19% average price premium willing to pay
Uniting stakeholders across the innovation funnel
Across 2024-2025, The Mills Fabrica curated and participated in a dynamic array of events, uniting startups, investors, corporate leads, designers, and consumers around the shared goal of accelerating sustainable innovation.
Key events include:
- The Planet-Saving Innovations Exhibition, which attracted over 1,600 visitors, hosted 8 industry events with 195 attendees, and facilitated 44 strategic introductions among innovators, investors, and brands. The event showcased breakthroughs in fungi-based materials, enzyme recycling, bio-based dyes, and regenerative production, engaging industry leaders like Karl Lagerfeld and Ralph Lauren.
- The Inaugural Agrifood Exhibition at Fabrica X London drew 1,250+ visitors and catalysed 42 strategic introductions during an exhibition focused on innovations in agricultural resilience and next generation foods. The event featured AI-driven crop breeding by Avalo, climate-resilient chocolate from Nukoko, sustainable protein from MicroHarvest, and other pioneering solutions, supported by a Concept Market offering upcycled snacks and eco-friendly products. This campaign was a finalist for the UK Green Business Awards 2025 in the Marketing/Advertising category.
- The newly launched series Fabrica X Coffee Talks brings together stakeholders in a relaxed space to discuss sustainable business practices, circularity, and innovation. The inaugural event spotlighted partners like Ozone Coffee and KAVA Surfaces, blending insightful dialogue with ethical business models.
Fabrica’s presence at major forums such as the Future Fabrics Expo 2024 and Earthfest 2024 further reinforces its role as a nexus for sustainable innovation. These participations provide platforms to showcase startups, foster collaborations, and educate the public, with over 7,900 Earthfest attendees experiencing its booth featuring portfolio startups.
