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Stella McCartney is helping entrepreneurs build a sustainable future with a new $200 million fund for eco-friendly businesses.
Dubbed the SOS Fund, the new initiative aims to support “cleaner businesses, founders, and sustainable solutions.” These include companies in the fields of decarbonization, food and agriculture, and materials solutions.
McCartney has already used the fund to invest in vegan leather brand Bolt Threads.
Craig Shapiro, Founder and Managing Partner at Collaborative Fund, who McCartney has teamed up with for the initiative, said: “Beyond her work as an incredible designer and entrepreneur, Stella is a well-known environmental activist, a champion of animal rights, a lifelong vegan, a pioneer in sustainable materials, and an overall cool person.”
According to research from Infinium Global Research, the vegan leather market could reach 89.6 billion dollars by 2025.
The environmental impact of leather
Leather is responsible for the deaths of more than one billion animals each year (many of whom are factory farmed), but it is also disastrous for the environment.
Livestock farming uses vast amounts of land. Research last year found that many fashion brands were at risk of contributing to Amazon deforestation because of their leather supply chains.
Cows are also responsible for around a third of human–caused methane emissions. Farming them is a leading cause of global warming. Animal agriculture as a whole is responsible for 14.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
The SOS Fund’s impact
As well as vegan leather, McCartney’s SOS Fund is also exploring other sustainable materials like beech wood, regenerated nylon, recycled old-stock fabrics, and partially bio-based faux fur.
