Be the Change Summit 2025
Back for its 4th edition, the Singapore Fashion Council (SFC) proudly hosted the Be The Change Summit on 25 September 2025, unveiling new measures to advance fashion sustainability in Singapore. These include spearheading an industry-led Textile Circularity Consortium to shape a new textile circularity system and collaborating with partners to develop a sectoral plan that will drive this transformation.
This year’s summit, themed Fashion Futures, was graced by Guest-of-Honour Ms Denise Phua, Mayor of Central Singapore District and Member of Parliament for Jalan Besar GRC. Expanding beyond its primary focus on fashion sustainability, the summit brought together industry leaders from around the world to explore broader topics shaping the future of fashion as a responsible and forward-looking industry. Discussions spanned areas such as industry regulation, the adoption and implications of emerging technologies like AI, talent development, and inclusive design.
Plotting a Roadmap for Sustainable Change
Singapore imports over S$1 billion worth of textiles annually, yet up to 41,000 tonnes of textile waste are generated each year—underscoring a major opportunity to reduce waste and resource extraction through a circular textile infrastructure. To address this, SFC introduced the Textile Circularity Consortium (TCC) at the summit, uniting key players across the textile value chain to develop closed- and open-loop systems that extend textile lifecycles, transform waste into value, and foster innovation in sustainable design and materials.
By piloting solutions locally, TCC aims to establish scalable circular models for Southeast Asia’s S$70 billion textile industry, driving innovation, sustainability, and policy leadership. Complementing this effort, SFC has also partnered with the Centre for Impact Investing and Practices (CIIP)—a Temasek Trust initiative—to co-develop a three- to five-year sectoral sustainability roadmap, slated for release in 2026. The roadmap will identify key opportunities and provide practical tools such as a sustainability resource guidebook and a digital ESG platform for SMEs.
“The fashion landscape is evolving rapidly, and collaboration and innovation are key to building a sustainable future,” said SFC CEO Zhang Ting-Ting, underscoring the industry’s shared commitment to making Singapore a hub for responsible fashion in Asia.
Empowering Industry Trailblazers
To shape a sustainable future for fashion, nurturing new talent and supporting innovators is essential. At the summit, SFC announced the winners of The Bridge Fashion Innovator (TBFI) Launch Pad—Asia’s first fashion-focused ideathon empowering changemakers to reimagine the future of fashion through technology, creativity, and sustainability.
Finalists presented inventive solutions across three key themes (below are the winners for each category):
- Nature & Wildlife Conservation: EcoLens, an AI-powered platform that helps designers reduce environmental impact through smart, eco-friendly recommendations.
- Sport & Wellness: StraightUP™, a student-led startup developing posture-correcting T-shirts.
- Social Impact – Access to Water: POMO, which transforms pomegranate waste into affordable natural dyes—earning both the category win and the Grand Winner title.
POMO also received the Voters’ Choice Award for its innovation and social impact. The winning teams shared a S$10,000 prize pool sponsored by Royal Golden Eagle (RGE) Group and Asia Pacific Rayon (APR), and were offered internship opportunities with programme partners, alongside access to venture-building programmes by Wavemaker Impact and Louken Group to further develop, validate, and scale their solutions.
Shaping Fashion’s Future, Together
Be The Change Summit 2025 underscored one central message: collaboration is the cornerstone of progress. From driving textile circularity and building a sustainability roadmap to empowering the next generation of innovators, the event marked another important step in SFC’s journey toward a more responsible and resilient fashion ecosystem.
As Singapore continues to chart its path toward a sustainable fashion future, SFC remains committed to connecting people, ideas, and innovation—turning inspiration into impact.