When textile company Byborre launched a digital platform, the aim was to be a disruptor like Airbnb or Uber. In an interview three years on, founder Borre Akkersdijk says it was "too big a jump" for an industry resistant to change.
Akkersdijk hoped that Byborre Create, billed as "a Photoshop for textiles", would kickstart a digital revolution by enabling fashion and furniture manufacturers to source their fabrics more responsibly.
With the textile industry producing 92 million tonnes of waste every year, he thought that brands would welcome a free-to-use tool that made the process more transparent.
Instead, the Dutch designer and entrepreneur found brands unwilling to deviate from what they were used to.
Byborre launched its Create platform to democratise responsible textile production "We wanted to change the textile industry but it wasn't ready for it," Akkersdijk told Dezeen.
"We made the process easier, faster and more responsible, all at the same price. What we didn't anticipate was for the conversation to stop, just because it's not the normal routine."
"The industry is broken"
Byborre made its name as a fashion label, but after the launch of Create ? named product of the year at the Dutch Design Awards in 2021 ? it stopped releasing clothing collections and rebranded as a mission-driven innovation company.
Now, the company's sole focus is to make the textile industry fairer and more sustainable with the use of digitis...