Early Summer Updates from the Fibers Fund
2024 has brought new grants, loan development, travels, and other updates! We’ve approved two new business TA grants, increased support for the Black Fiber Cohort, and are nearing our first loan. With these awards, the Fibers Fund has distributed over $300K in support. See more at fibersfund.com.
New business TA grants:
PA Flax Project, a woman-led cooperative, was awarded a business TA grant to support their work to re-establish an organic fiber flax supply chain in the Eastern U.S. The Fibers Fund grant supported the purchase of seed in advance of the 2024 growing season, as well as administrative setup to unlock additional funds.
Cindy Castro New York, a Latina-owned apparel brand with a deep commitment to sustainability, transparent supply chains, and fair labor practices, received business TA grant support to source more U.S.-grown fabrics and provide training for garment workers on their team.
Learn more about all the businesses we are proud to support on our portfolio page.
Black Fiber Cohort:
The Black Fiber Cohort has been steadily working to create more accessible regenerative fiber and textile ecosystems. The Fibers Fund recently approved additional support for BFC members to continue their development.
dièdiè textile farm & mill received an industrial rope machine to process their fiber and are currently learning the mechanics. They are developing an open source suite of fiber processing machines with a local 3D printer expert-engineer to make processing fibers more accessible to communities.
MAHDIYYAH has been working with Fibershed to source climate beneficial fabric, and with Kesiena Onosigho of KEPT Studio--another BFC member--to naturally dye the fabric. These partnerships will allow her to produce her first Fabric Alchemy garment.
Gordon Holliday of ROOLÉ recently partnered with Innovation Barn and Springclean Global to upcycle unsold blue linen curtains from IKEA USA. He reworked them into a jacket and pants set for the 15th anniversary of IKEA's Charlotte, NC location. See more on ROOLÉ’s Instagram.
Upcoming loan news:
We are in the process of finalizing our first loan from the Fibers Fund and look forward to sharing news soon. Several other loan applications are in development. Stay tuned for more news!
Team travels and updates:
Teju Adisa-Farrar, Director of Outreach and Programs, presented a keynote at the Circularity 24 conference in Chicago last month on “Regenerative Ecosystems As Circular Economies.”
Managing Director Sarah Kelley plans to visit Botanical Colors’ new dyehouse facility on an upcoming trip to Seattle.
Investment Committee Member Charity May was featured in this inspiring interview with Fibershed on redefining capital’s role in a regenerative fiber system and our work at the Fibers Fund: Investing in a Regenerative Fiber Future: A Conversation with Sacred Futures’ Charity May.
With these recent developments, the Fibers Fund continues to move forward with our integrated capital strategy in 2024. Please be in touch to learn more!