As two innovative entities renowned for pushing the boundaries of creativity and experimentation, Vogue Singapore has partnered with the luxury manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles BMW, a pioneer in next-generation innovations, to present this year’s iteration of the Vogue Singapore Innovation Prize. BMW has established itself as a formidable force, with 30 production facilities throughout the world and a network spanning more than 140 nations. The company prides itself in being a leader in next-generation innovations and setting the standard for an uncompromisingly digital, electric and circular future.
As part of the Vogue Singapore Foundation, this initiative seeks to empower trailblazing fashion businesses across Southeast Asia, giving them a global platform to showcase their proposed solutions to real-world problems. Applicants are drawn from a wide range of interests and specialisations, including digital fashion, accessible design and eco-sustainability.
Following an intensive two-day boot camp and a four-week mentorship phase, three businesses were shortlisted to present their proposals to a VIP jury consisting of the vice president of brand experience and communication at BMW Group, Stefan Ponikva; vice president of global industry partnerships and APAC commercial at Farfetch, Alexis Bonhomme; publisher of Vogue Singapore, Bettina von Schlippe; creative editorial director of Vogue, Mark Guiducci; and Condé Nast’s vice president of new business innovation, Ciara Byrne.
Emerging on top was the research and development company, COzTERRA. Its victory was unveiled at the Next In Vogue gala event in November and presenting the prize was managing director of BMW Group Asia, Lars Nielsen. COzTERRA received a $15,000 cash prize, along with media coverage across Vogue Singapore as well as important insights from world-class industry experts.
Addressing one of the most pressing environmental issues, COzTERRA offers state-of-the-art solutions to combat climate change, enabling individuals to become carbon capture agents. Driven by artificial intelligence (AI), COzTERRA creates materials that can absorb carbon dioxide from the air, providing a revolutionary means of reducing CO2 pollution. “With COzTERRA, we transform ‘dormant’ surfaces into ‘active’ surfaces that contribute to fighting climate change,” shares CEO and co-founder of COzTERRA, Patrick Teyssonneyre. Here, Teyssonneyre delves into the inspiration behind the company, its mission, as well as what’s next post-win.
How would you describe COzTERRA?
COzTERRA is a groundbreaking functional finish applied to textiles. After application, it enables textiles to remove CO2 from the air, in turn combating climate change.
What was the inspiration behind its creation?
We began with the vision of enabling every human being to become a CO2 capture agent. We believe that by empowering individuals to act, we can create a massive impact collectively.
Why is it the solution to the problem of CO2 pollution?
Since CO2 is a critical greenhouse gas responsible for the pressing climate issues we face today, COzTERRA can assist by adding a beneficial function to various types of merchandise that would be used regardless (they don’t need to be produced specifically to remove CO2 from air). Moreover, by embedding such a function in consumer products, we allow consumers to activate their purpose of driving an impact on climate change. The amount of CO2 removed daily by 20 T-shirts embedded with COzTERRA is equivalent to the amount of CO2 a mature tree removes a day. To understand the potential impact of such a proposition, if the entire population of Manhattan, New York City, wore COzTERRA T-shirts, it would be the equivalent to having four more Central Parks.
How integral is the role of AI in COzTERRA?
We developed COzTERRA utilising XDF, our innovative AIdriven materials R&D platform. AI played an integral role in the creation and optimisation of COzTERRA because it powered the platform that allowed us to go from ground zero to filing a patent application in just 11 months. This time frame is much faster than the typical three to five years that chemicals and materials companies would normally take. We conducted more than 1,500 experiments in our laboratory to generate the data to train our AI, as well as to validate the CO2 absorption performance of COzTERRA.
“We hope to inspire other companies to launch sustainable solutions and products that empower individuals to become agents of change.”
What are some obstacles you faced along the way?
COzTERRA relies on the CO2 measurement tools we’ve developed in-house specifically for textiles. These tools are unique worldwide, and no official standards are available to validate the carbon removal functionality. Therefore, there aren’t any independent laboratories ready to run these tests to offer third-party validation which is crucial in this industry. Acknowledging the importance of this validation, we’ve submitted our case to various governing organisations to create the requisite standards focused on measuring CO2 absorption in textiles.
What are some broader positive impacts in the future of COzTERRA beyond the combat of CO2 pollution?
The tagline for COzTERRA is Individual Action, Collective Impact. We hope to inspire other companies to launch sustainable solutions and products that empower individuals to become agents of change. We hope that our solutions can unite and leave an even greater, collective impact.
As a leader in the sustainable technology space, what advice would you give to aspiring innovators on how they can navigate challenges within this industry and contribute to a more sustainable future?
Sustainable solutions should demonstrably solve specific sustainability-related problems without creating or increasing other sustainability-related problems. At the same time, they should also be convenient, practical and economically competitive. If there is friction, complexity and significant costs incurred, they will most likely be rejected by companies and consumers alike. A significant emphasis should be placed on ‘drop-in’ adoption, both on the manufacturing as well as the use of the materials. It creates the highest likelihood of quick widespread adoption. Lastly, environmental sustainability should work hand in hand with financial sustainability.
What can we look forward to from COzTERRA soon?
We expect iconic and sustainability-focused fashion brands to offer COzTERRA incorporated in their products to their consumers. In the long term, we wish for COzTERRA to be the norm and for people to look back and wonder ‘How was it possible that we didn’t have textiles that captured CO2?
Portrait photographer David Bay
Hair and make up Lydia Thong/Make Up Entourage
The Jan/Feb ‘Intentions’ issue of Vogue Singapore is available for sale online and in-store from 11 January 2023.
