Innovation Analyst - Textile Waste (India)

About the job

Fashion for Good is seeking an Analyst to support its India initiatives focused on textile recycling, processing innovations, and circular material systems, while also contributing to the project management of associated work-streams under the guidance of the Associate. The Analyst will be part of the Fashion for Good Material (Scaling) team.

Key responsibilities of the Analyst include the following:

Intelligence and Scouting

• Develop and maintain a strong understanding of the waste value chain and textile recycling landscape in India including upcoming technologies, mechanical recycling, sorting and preprocessing systems, yarn manufacturing, traceability systems, and circular supply chain infrastructure.

• Support the validation and implementation of innovative technologies and process improvements related to textile recycling, recycled fibre quality, automation, waste valorisation, material traceability, water and chemical optimisation, and low-impact processing systems.

• Assist in evaluating operational practices and technical capabilities of recycling and processing units, including feedstock handling, fibre quality parameters, production efficiencies, contamination management, and scalability potential.

• Work closely with project partners, recyclers, manufacturers, brands, and innovators to collect field-level insights, production data, and implementation challenges to support innovation assessments and pilot development.

• Coordinate and support in field visits, stakeholder consultations, pilot assessments, and data collection activities across textile clusters to support project implementation and ecosystem development.

• Support ecosystem engagement and relationship management with recyclers, industry associations, innovators, brands, technical experts, and implementation partners to strengthen collaboration across the projects.

• Where relevant conduct due diligence assessments (technical, commercial, partnerships, funding, performance, pricing etc.)

Project Management and Innovator Support

• Support the project management and execution of two projects in India.

• Assist in the creation of the deliverables outlined in the project roadmap (i.e. technical feasibility, life cycle assessment, financial analysis: return on investments, impact analysis, project management, etc.) 

• Coordinate collaborative pilots and industry projects by helping identify opportunities, define project scope, align stakeholders, establish performance criteria, manage timelines, and track deliverables.

• Write reports, technical summaries, and recommendations outlining findings, learnings, risks, and next steps for follow-up action.

• The Innovation Analyst plays a bridging function between innovators, FFG’s partners (brands, retailers and manufacturers), investors/financiers, and NGOs.

• Assist in broader Material (Scaling) team activities, including operations, ecosystem coordination, event support, and day-to-day business activities.

About you

The ideal candidate combines strong interpersonal skills with a self-starting, proactive attitude. The candidate should be comfortable travelling and working across on-ground implementation, industry engagement, and innovation evaluation within key textile clusters in India.

The following qualifications are essential:

• Technical knowledge regarding of textile recycling, material processing systems, recycled fibre production, circular manufacturing, or textile processing innovations

• Knowledge within the fashion / textile / footwear industry 

• Ability to evaluate processing and operational systems from both technical and implementation perspectives

• Ability to manage multiple workstreams, pilots, and stakeholder coordination activities simultaneously

• Experience or comfort with on-ground industry engagement including factory visits, recycler assessments, data collection, and ecosystem coordination

• Strong analytical, research and problem-solving skills with attention to detail

• Ability to synthesise technical and field-level insights into clear gaps/learnings/recommendations

• Strong g suite (powerpoint) skills

• Capacity to adapt to different settings and to work in a demanding and multicultural environment

• Self-starter with strong organisational and time management skills

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

• Creative thinker with the ability for sound judgement and accountability

• A pro-active, enthusiastic, can-do attitude and comfortable dealing with uncertainty

• 1-4 years experience, with experience in the following areas considered a plus: research and development, textile processing or recycling, sustainability, the textile industry or a relevant entrepreneurial / start-up setting

EDUCATION

Academic degree required within textile engineering, textile technology, biotechnology, sustainability, circular economy, environmental engineering, industrial engineering, or other relevant disciplines.