Selected
2024 Global Climate Challenge

SXD

SXD uses patent-published AI to eliminate material waste, generating zero waste products that enable ~80% reduction in CO2 and significant cost savings.

Team Leader
Shelly Xu
SXD uses patented AI to eliminate material waste, generating zero waste products that enable ~80% reduction in CO2 and significant cost savings.

Solution Pitch


The Problem

One truck full of fabric is landfilled/burned every second, leading the fashion industry to generate more carbon emissions than all flights and maritime shipping combined. Fabric also contributes to 20% of our wastewater. The fabric problem starts with wasteful, inefficient design. SXD AI eliminates that waste by design.

The Solution

SXD turns the 92 million tons of fabric material wasted each year into an opportunity: we transform waste from the past into valuable new products and eliminate future waste through automated zero waste product design scaled through AI. 
Our patent-published AI platform transforms products into zero material waste versions that can utilize leftover or wasted materials. This approach results in ~80% reduction in CO2 emissions and up to 46% in fabric/material savings, surpassing the savings achieved by any other technology today by 10x.
We actively collaborate with marginalized groups, like climate refugees, and use savings enabled by zero waste design to support their recovery. We currently work with 60 talented seamstresses who have had to uproot their lives due to the effects of rising sea levels. We pay these workers, who are often women, 2-4x the local wage, providing them with the additional funds needed to rebuild their lives.

Stats

SXD has 16 brand partners they work with to generate zero waste products and employs 60 climate refugees

What is the name of your organization?
SXD, Inc.
What is the name of your solution?
SXD
Provide a one-line summary or tagline for your solution.
SXD uses patented AI to eliminate material waste, generating zero waste products that enable ~80% reduction in CO2 and significant cost savings.
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
New York, NY
In what country is your solution team headquartered?
United States
What type of organization is your solution team?
For-Profit
Film your elevator pitch.
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What specific problem are you solving?
Every year, 92+ million tonnes of textile go to waste globally. By 2030, that number could reach 134 million. The apparel industry alone generates up to 10% of global CO2e emissions and ~20% of the planet's wastewater. ~80% of apparel’s carbon footprint can be traced back to fabric and production.
What is your solution?
SXD turns the 92 million tons of fabric material wasted each year into an opportunity: we transform waste from the past into valuable new products and eliminate future waste through automated zero waste product design scaled through AI. Our patent-published AI platform eliminates waste created in the design process. This approach results in up to 80% reduction in CO2 emissions and up to 10x the savings achieved by any other technology today.
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
In the past year, SXD has sharpened our focus on global brands and manufacturers in apparel and automotive. By reducing the material used in the production of millions of products, we can make enormous impact quickly at scale. Unlike many innovations in sustainable fashion, brands and manufacturers using our technology do not have to wait years for new materials or new processes to commercialize: 20+ partners are implementing our solution today. Together we avoid emissions, water use, electricity consumption, and increasing the waste that ends up in landfills. Our intervention is simple but systemic. By eliminating waste at the source, we prevent a host of pernicious, interlocking social problems that stymie governments and institutions worldwide, from groundwater pollution to global warming to microplastics that affect human and animal health.

Organization Type: 

For-profit, including B-Corp or similar models

Headquarters:

New York, United States

Stage: 

Pilot

Working In: 

Bangladesh, United States, Iceland, Sweden, Spain, United Kingdom

Current Full-Time Employees:

1

Website:

 https://www.sxd-ai.com/

Solution Team:
Shelly Xu
Shelly Xu
Founder, CEO