Today, one student team will be crowned the 2023 Hult Prize winner! The award will go to the team whose social enterprise, has the best chance of making a measurable positive impact on people and the planet. This year the teams’ goal was to curb climate damage within the clothing and fashion industry as aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Hult Prize challenge engages young people worldwide to solve the planet’s most pressing issues through social entrepreneurship. The 2023 contest began with more than 100,000 students from more than 120 countries. Now, just six remain:

  • Banofi Leather, Yale University, US: Developing plant-based leather from banana stems and other crop waste. Supports SDGs #6, #8, #12, and #13.

 

  • EFFCT (Alexandria University, Egypt): Repurposing textile waste to develop board panels for furniture, construction, and packaging use. Support SDGs #5, #12, and #13.

 

  • GRAFF INC (Hult International Business School, US): Manufacturing sustainable material made from textile waste and plastics recycling for applications in the fashion industry. Supports SDGs #8, #9, #10, #13, and #15.

 

  • Innovious (Cranfield University, UK: Making sustainable and scalable inner packaging, such as hangers and tags, from the leaf sheaths of areca trees. Supports SDGs #9, #12, and #13.

 

  • Labwear Studios (ETH Zurich—Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Switzerland): Using on-demand manufacturing and circular product design to minimize overproduction and reduce fashion waste. Supports SDGs #8, #9, and #12.

 

  • RiiVERSE (National Taiwan University, Taiwan): Recycling textile waste and repurposing it into raw materials for other industries. Supports SDGs #9, #12, #14, and #17.

The 2023 contest began with more than 100,000 students from more than 120 countries. Now, just six remain

This year, in addition to the 1M USD prize, each of the five runners-up will receive 100,000 USD in funding.

 

Today’s final pitches and voting at the esteemed Élysée Montmartre in Paris will be made by a panel of distinguished judges from across industries and nations, including Adaorie Udekchukwu of the International Finance Corporation (IFC, World Bank Group), Emiliano Iturriaga, CEO and Co-Founder of Rutopia, Sweaty Betty Founder Tamara Hill-Norton, and Olivier Gabet, Director of the Department of Objects of Art at the Louvre Museum.

 

We wish each team the best of luck!