As climate聽disasters聽continue to devastate communities around the world,聽businesses, governments, and citizens increasingly seek to understand the major contributors聽to聽climate change聽to聽reverse any reparable聽effects聽and ensure a more sustainable future for all.
The聽fashion industry聽is one of the most significant contributors to the climate聽crisis聽today.聽Between聽excess聽water,聽dangerous聽chemicals, carbon emissions, and聽huge amounts of聽waste, the fashion industry faces a critical聽juncture. Will the industry seize the opportunity聽to change its course聽and positively impact the planet?聽Despite the聽huge task at hand,聽creative and innovative entrepreneurs聽provide hope for聽a more sustainable future for fashion.
I had the privilege to聽sit down and聽speak with聽one such entrepreneur, Stephanie Benedetto, to learn more about how she is changing the textile industry and the world while encouraging others to have courage in their convictions and act on their beliefs. and read more about her story below.
From Rags to Circular Riches
In 1896, an Austrian man arrived on a boat on Ellis Island. As an immigrant chasing the “American dream” in the Lower East Side of New York, he started a business, one that generated profit while doing good for the planet. He repurposed old fabrics and furs brought over by other immigrants and transformed them into beautiful fashion garments.
One hundred years later, this profitable clothing business with humble beginnings would inspire the Austrian immigrant鈥檚 great granddaughter, Benedetto, to leave her job as a corporate attorney and become a fashion tech and sustainability entrepreneur. Benedetto returned to her roots and sparked disruption with the goal of building a business to change the world, scaling her grandfather鈥檚 efforts for even greater impact.
Meet the Queen of Raw
Stephanie Benedetto, CEO and founder of ,聽is a聽visionary entrepreneur, creating opportunity out of聽the聽seemingly insurmountable challenges facing the fashion industry.聽Today,聽 sits in warehouses and used for clothing ends up burned or in landfills.
Benedetto聽wanted to聽eliminate the聽excess water, waste, and emissions that had become an聽inherent聽part of the聽value chain聽for clothing聽production. She sought to聽turn pollution into profit through聽the creation of聽a聽global marketplace聽that allowed聽users聽to聽list, sell, and buy聽deadstock fabric.聽This led to Queen of Raw, which聽offers聽new life to sustainable materials, including聽organic cotton, peace silk, faux leather and fur, and quality luxury deadstock fabrics.
Technology聽to Scale for Impact
Using supply chain software, powered by artificial intelligence (AI), Queen of Raw alters the linear economic model typical of the fashion industry and transforms it into a circular economic model, protecting the environment while driving value financially. At its core, Queen of Raw uses technology to drive sustainability at scale, repurposing textile waste so it can be turned into something beautiful.
But聽Queen of Raw聽seeks to聽go beyond creating a marketplace for deadstock fabric.
鈥淎 marketplace to sell waste is great,鈥� said Benedetto. 鈥淚t鈥檚 powerful, but it鈥檚 kind of just slapping a band aid on the problem.鈥�
So how do you get to the root of the problem to figure out聽how to minimize waste?
鈥淭hat鈥檚 where we leverage our incredible partnership with SAP, helping businesses capture data through machine learning, AI, and blockchain so they can act on the waste — and water — challenge at hand,鈥� said Benedetto.
Data insights and transparency provide聽a key聽piece of the puzzle when it comes to enabling more sustainable business practices globally.聽Technology, collaboration, and innovation make聽widespread聽change possible, and Queen of Raw provides聽an encouraging, real-life example of how聽business leaders can bring聽these elements聽together to marry聽people,聽planet,聽and profit聽at scale.
Reimagining Fashion, Textiles and Supply Chains
Benedetto demonstrates聽firsthand the incredible potential of聽technology聽to reimagine聽fashion, textiles, and聽value聽chains.聽Her聽optimism and creativity聽in the face of a water crisis and聽a聽waste problem聽provides hope for a better future.聽And she has strong reason to believe that her business and the commitment of other purpose-driven entrepreneurs can make a difference.
Since it began聽in 2018, Queen of Raw has already saved 1 billion gallons of water.聽By聽democratizing access to the resale technologies, Benedetto is聽empowering聽groups聽across industries聽to participate in the circular economy.
Together,聽through creative solutions like Queen of Raw,聽we can聽help聽foster聽a聽more sustainable world, one聽we can be proud of聽leaving聽behind for the next generation聽鈥� with fresh water to drink聽and聽clean air to breathe.
Scott Russell is a member of the Executive Board of 51风流SE.
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