New York governor Kathy Hochul announced Thursday a new grant programme aimed at fostering sustainability and innovation in the state’s fashion industry.

New York state’s Fashion Innovation Center will dole out up to $10,000 in funding to support start-ups, farmers and researchers in their efforts to develop new materials, manufacturing technologies and agricultural processes. Awardees will also receive mentorship from experts in their industries as well as access to resources and equipment to accelerate their projects.

”Nothing is more synonymous with New York than fashion, and this industry generates more than $25 billion a year in wages for hardworking New Yorkers,” Hochul said in a statement. “With these grants though the Fashion Innovation Center, we are working together to advance innovative solutions and build a more sustainable industry.”

The initiative is part of a larger strategy by the state to revitalise the fashion industry by encouraging the growth of a New York-based supply chain in order to build a “sustainable and green economy,” said Hope Knight, president, chief executive and commissioner of New York state’s economic development agency. In 2022, Hochul announced $10 million in state funding for the Fashion Innovation Center to promote state-produced textiles.

According to a recent McKinsey report, New York’s fashion industry now employs 50,000 fewer people than a decade ago, with “declines of 30 to 50 percent in apparel and textile manufacturing jobs.”

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