Mary Kay, Inc. announced the three winners of its World Series of Innovation (WSI) Challenge.
This challenge was implemented in partnership with the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), and Mary Kay’s sponsorship of the NFTE World Series of Innovation created an opportunity for those ages 13-24 to find solutions to some of the biggest challenges the world is facing today. Participants focused on how they could provide solutions that would help advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) while fostering an entrepreneurial mindset.
“The World Series of Innovation encourages young people to apply their entrepreneurial mindset to address global challenges,” said J.D. LaRock, President and Chief Executive Officer of NFTE. “Each year, we continue to be inspired by the innovative ideas the next generation of entrepreneurs envision. We are grateful to Mary Kay Inc. for posing this thought-provoking global challenge that encouraged students to think about the circular economy of clothing and textiles in a whole new way.”
In this challenge, participants were asked to address “Responsible Consumption and Production” and design a product, service or initiative that would encourage the reuse or repurposing of used clothing and decrease the greenhouse gas emissions from decomposing textiles.
The winners of the Mary Kay Challenge are:
- Loop Tee Loop, a sustainable clothing loop that unites lyocell textile mills with uniform recycling collection services from Metro Manila in the Philippines
- SwagSwap, a US-based social network for thrifting
- Project DBrand, a US-based service that removes brands from uniforms so they can be upcycled
“Students today grow up in a world where sustainability is part of the daily, global conversation and they are actively engaged to drive change,” said Deborah Gibbins, Chief Operating Officer at Mary Kay Inc. “Mary Kay is proud to partner with NFTE, an organization that is helping to not only ignite the entrepreneurial mindset in youth, but is encouraging them to think critically to tackle challenging global issues. Global companies like Mary Kay have a responsibility to foster entrepreneurial innovation that can help to make the world a better place.”
