SEED and Go4SDGs, together with the West Asia Sustainable Fashion Academy, organise the West Asia Future Lab for Innovation and Policy. As part of the Global Future Lab series, the event will bring together regional policy makers, intermediaries and SMEs to co-create and develop future-proof solutions. Designed to connect and leverage the expertise of key green SME stakeholders, the Global Future Labs will inform a New Green SME Action Agenda.

About the West Asia Sustainable Fashion Academy (WASFA)

UNEP West Asia launched the WASFA in 2021 with the primary objective to drive sustainability across the textile/fashion value chain in the region. Through partnerships with fashion schools, the academy develops courses on sustainable textiles, eco-design and sustainable fashion.

In parallel, WASFA also hosts webinars and workshops, free of charge, with key stakeholders within the industry in an effort to shift consumer behaviour and promote more sustainable practices such as upcycling and slow fashion.

The West Asia Future Lab (registration open)

The West Asia Future Lab offers a platform for green SME stakeholders across the region to develop future-proof solutions for challenges in the textile-fashion sector.

You can find the agenda for the West Asia Future Lab here.

The textile-fashion sector is one of the world’s key industries, offering employment to more than 300 million people, many of whom are women. Therefore, the textile-fashion sector remains crucial to realise the ambitions set out in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Yet, the textile-fashion sector is a major contributor to global environmental problems, responsible for water pollution, endangering the ecosystem and people’s health.

Throughout West Asian history and culture, textiles have played an important role. However, West Asian countries have emerged only recently as exporters of fashion trends. The growth of the industry has increased the environmental challenges caused by the textile industry but also led to sustainable innovation in the industry.

The West Asia Future Lab will discuss practical solutions and exemplary cases for the industry’s challenges. Green SMEs are pioneers in this process. They participate in a wide range of services, such as design and production, but also recycling and upcycling of textile products. With consumption patterns shifting toward more sustainability, green enterprises have a chance to step up by offering future-proof solutions already today.

Find out more about how Green SMEs drive change across the five action areas of Innovation, Non-Financial Support, Finance, Policy and the Market here.

Register here to join the West Asia Future Lab for Innovation and Policy. The event link will be shared with you in a confirmation e-mail.

The Future Lab Series

The Future Labs target five action areas: Innovation, Non-Financial Support, Finance, Policy and Market. The insights from the discussions will provide concrete action items on how to better support green SMEs that apply circular technologies.

There will be four Global Future Labs engaging green SME stakeholders in the Agri-Food or Textile-Fashion sectors across Africa, Asia, Latin America and West Asia:

• West Asia Future Lab on Textile and Fashion | September 20th, 2022 (registration open)
• Asia Future Lab on Textile and Fashion | October 4th, 2022 (read more)
• Latin America Future Lab on Agriculture and Food | October 13th, 2022 (read more)
• Africa Future Lab on Agriculture and Food | completed (read more)

Green SMEs are at the forefront in the fight against the adverse environmental effects of the agri-food and textile-fashion sectors, pioneering innovative solutions along the value chain. The Global Future Labs will guide key SME stakeholders through discussing and developing future-proof solutions to these challenges.