Speaker spotlight: accelerating the pace of sustainability for apparel

Nicolaj Reffstrup offers a unique perspective on the pace and prospect of sustainability innovation. As the co-founder of Danish fashion powerhouse GANNI and now at the helm of climate tech venture capital firm Look Up Ventures, he operates at the intersection of fashion, technology and climate action. His firm invests across materials, energy, food, transport and carbon management — from alternative proteins to carbon-negative textiles. 

This vantage point gives Reffstrup insight into both the operational challenges facing brands and the hurdles confronting climate tech startups. Having applied tech-inspired management approaches to fashion and witnessed GANNI's growth into Denmark's biggest fashion brand, he now focuses on accelerating the innovations necessary for genuine industry transformation. 

Guiding philosophy 

Reffstrup's commitment to climate advocacy began during his undergraduate studies at Copenhagen Business School, where he descended into what he calls a "rabbit hole" of game theory. This academic exploration revealed a fundamental tension: "What is best for the individual is not best for the group." It's a principle that continues to guide his pragmatic approach to the climate crisis today. "Climate change is nature's way of taxing materialistic convenience," Reffstrup says, articulating how short-term desires often conflict with long-term necessities. 

After growing weary of the tech industry in 2008, Reffstrup ventured into fashion alongside his wife, Ditte Reffstrup, GANNI's creative director. He brought with him a tech-inspired management style as CEO: flat hierarchy, agility and data-driven decision-making rather than rigid long-term planning. 

Though he "never felt comfortable there" in the fashion world, the experience taught him "about the power of engaging a large audience and building a narrative" — skills that transcended the "often rational focus in tech on human behaviour." By 2018, Reffstrup stepped back from day-to-day operations after L Catterton acquired a 51% stake in the business. In doing so, he was able to focus on supporting the GANNI Lab and pursuing alternative ventures. 

Commitments roll-back 

Although the past five years has witnessed a surge of interest in sustainability from fashion brands — many launching initiatives in anticipation of regulatory changes and shifting consumer preferences — the pace has noticeably slowed. As the real work of implementation began, momentum appears to have stalled. 

One facet is the shift in the expectations for the regulatory landscape. While responsibilities have increased, we've witnessed a significant reduction in regulation globally, most notably with the EU Omnibus simplification package in early 2025, which delayed requirements for much of the industry.  

These slowdowns have contributed to a shift in atmosphere where it’s become "legitimate to backpedal on commitments", according to Reffstrup. Brands face little backlash for abandoned pledges, effectively removing crucial incentives for change. 

The innovator challenge 

More practically, "for a lot of brands, what happens beyond tier one [suppliers] is just 'magic,'" Reffstrup observes, highlighting how transparency issues persist throughout complex supply chains. On the other side, engineering and capacity problems continue to plague innovators attempting to supply new materials and technology, particularly in fast fashion where scale remains a fundamental challenge. 

As mass scales evade innovators, price premiums for sustainable alternatives consequently remain stubbornly high, contributing to what Reffstrup terms "pilot fatigue" — a weariness affecting both innovative startups and the brands they partner with. "Oversell and underperform, that's the nature of being an entrepreneur," he acknowledges. "You've got to be a little naïve, otherwise you would never embark on a startup." 

That said, Swedish textile recycling company and GANNI partner Renewcell exemplifies the sector's challenges and resilience. After facing bankruptcy, the company reemerged as Circulose and continues its partnership with GANNI. This recovery represents the kind of resilience Reffstrup believes the industry must embrace. 

Faster learning  

Returning to game theory, Reffstrup contemplates how to force change against human short-term thinking and scale innovations to meet sustainability goals. "We need to outcompete 100-year-old value chains that have been perfected over many years," he explains, describing the linear, costly process of building sustainable alternatives. 

The recent struggles of climate tech startups might actually be constructive. "Hitting rock bottom" could shift the industry towards survival mode and faster learning, building resilience along the way. 

Despite his entrepreneurial background, Reffstrup acknowledges the limits of market forces alone. "The problem with the green transition is it's a moral obligation and it's not a real market," he argues. Reffstrup admits, "normally I'm not a huge fan of regulations, laws, taxes and subsidies, but I can see no other way." 

Level playing field 

Reffstrup draws on inter-industry insights to chart a path forward. He advocates for regulations that level the playing field and pull mechanisms inspired by the healthcare sector's advanced market commitment schemes for vaccines, which guarantee future demand and specific prices to incentivise private investment into research and development. 

A fascinating tension emerges in Reffstrup's approach: he simultaneously champions collaboration and competition. On one hand, he advocates for open-source efforts and the sharing of failures seen in the tech industry as "the combined effort of an ecosystem brings you forward". Yet he also emphasises the need for "a real market" that drives innovation through competition. He points to the AI sector as an example, where challengers including DeepSeek to ChatGPT are pushing the entire field toward greater environmental efficiency and capability. 

Returning to his fashion experience, Reffstrup highlights the importance of storytelling in scaling tech startups. "I learnt to appreciate how powerful that can be," he says of engaging consumers through brand narratives. Bringing consumers along on the journey is crucial for scaling these innovations — a skill often overlooked in tech's rational focus on human behaviour. 

Necessary optimism 

The urgency of the climate crisis demands a dramatic shift in our approach. We're "going straight from mitigation to adaptation, or rather resilience or even survival," Reffstrup notes, acknowledging the rapidly closing window for effective action. It's this urgency that drives his concept of "mental clench" — breaking down sustainability into smaller, manageable tasks to avoid overwhelm. Progress over perfection, he argues, is the only way to avoid paralysis in the face of such monumental challenges. 

When asked about fears that techno-optimism — an overemphasis on technology as the solution to our environmental crisis — will not lead to the necessary systemic changes, Reffstrup responds pragmatically: "What other way do we have?" His most passionate investments through Look Up Ventures are true "moonshots" — such as Rubi Labs, which aims to sequester carbon while creating sustainable textiles. These ventures may be high risk, but they represent the ambitious innovation he believes necessary. 

"I could have made a lot more money investing in meme coins or whatever," he admits, underscoring his commitment despite the high risk of failure and his self-professed naivety in climate tech startups. "I'm a techno-optimist because I have to be," Reffstrup concludes, encapsulating his belief that competition will drive change — but only if we create a real market for sustainable alternatives and keep pushing forward, one mental clench at a time. 

To continue the conversation, GANNI will be joining the Sustainable Apparel and Textiles Conference in Amsterdam, taking place on 29-30 April. Click here for information on how to get involved.