Climate Wins Are Happening, And Young Creatives Are Leading Them

Forbes

03-05-2025

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 24: Aurélie Fontan, and Moemen Sobh (2nd and 3rd from right) join ... More colleagues Mangesh Kurund, Barimah Asare, Blossom Eromosele, and Azra Firmansyah at the Swarovski Foundation Creatives For Our Future 2025. The event was held at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. (Photo byfor Swarovski)
In a time of shifting political winds, rising sea levels and climate anxiety at all-time highs, it's easy to miss the green sparks of innovation and hope growing from the margins. But if you look closely—especially at the work of young creatives—you'll find solutions quietly reshaping how we think about sustainability. They are coming from places as far flung as Egypt and the United Kingdom.
Moemen Sobh, an Egyptian architect and designer, is one of them. His social enterprise, Visenleer, transforms ocean waste—specifically fish skin and discarded fishing gear—into durable textiles without the use of synthetic chemicals, machines, or water. This project did not begin in a lab. It was born from experiencing climate change related loss in his community.
'Twenty-five thousand fishermen lost their jobs in my hometown, including my parents,' Sobh said as he explained the unique music, art and fishing culture in this part of Egypt. 'It was devastating. But instead of letting that legacy die, I went to the docks with a notebook, a camera, and a question: what could we do with this waste?'
Working and thinking for more than four months, Moemen observed not only the ecological damage of discarded fish waste—much of which was being returned to the sea in plastic bags—but also its potential to become something new. Despite plenty of skepticism, olfactory discomfort and advice against the plan, he began collecting fish skins to test tanning methods that avoided pollution. 'We only use air drying, jasmine extracts, and natural pigments like curry and hibiscus. The result is a zero-carbon, zero-waste material that tells the story of the sea and the people who depend on it.'
Visenleer Bag, constructed from fishing waste
Visenleer's innovation is not just technical; it's social. The enterprise trains local fishermen and their families—including fisherwomen, whose roles have been largely erased by modern norms—in leather tanning, sewing, and sustainable fishing practices. The fish waste is now a source of income, education, and dignity. 'Every product we make comes with the story of who worked on it, the fish it came from, and the community it supports,' he says. 'It's fashion with memory.'
Sobh's approach is a compelling example of circular economy thinking rooted in justice and heritage. Visenleer also invests in ecosystem restoration through seaweed cultivation and school-based entrepreneurship programs that challenge students to design community-driven solutions.
Across the Mediterranean, another creative is taking on fashion's toxicity from the soil up. Aurélie Fontan, a Paris-born, London-based fashion designer and biodesigner, is the founder of Regen Ink, an innovative initiative that uses phytoremediation—plants that clean polluted soil—to extract natural pigments for textile dyes. The result: no synthetic dyes, no heavy metals, and no need for virgin land.
Fontan's work addresses one of the most overlooked issues in fashion: industrial water pollution. According to the European Parliament, the fashion industry is responsible for 20% of global industrial water contamination, largely due to toxic dyes and runoff from textile production.
'As a young designer, I want to be part of the generation that reduces this,' Fontan said. 'We're not just eliminating harmful chemicals—we're using plants to heal land and produce safe, regenerative color.'
Regen Ink's process uses plants like nettle and lavender to draw heavy metals from soil in former mining regions. Those metals are then used in dye processes, essentially closing the loop on pollution. 'We're targeting places that can't grow food or house people and transforming them into productive, biodiverse ecosystems. It's about making damaged places viable again—environmentally and economically.'
The model offers a dual win: environmental regeneration and job creation. In mining communities across Cornwall and Yorkshire, Regen Ink is engaging farmers and landowners to grow dye plants and participate in soil restoration. 'We're restoring land and livelihoods,' Fontan explains. 'People often see these areas as lost. But they hold so much potential.'
Fontan's scientific and design training converge in her identity as a biodesigner—someone who blends biology, sustainability, and creativity to shape the future of materials. 'We've been using synthetic dyes and fast fashion for just three generations,' she said. 'That means we can re-learn a better way. Fashion can be a driver of healing.'
Container of Regen Ink for fabric printing
The two are part of the latest cohort of Swarovski Foundation's Creatives for Our Future program, which supports emerging leaders committed to creative and transformative solutions to help both people and the planet. Fontan and Sobh are both scaling their efforts to reach broader markets and engage industry partners. Fontan is piloting print paste production to meet industry colorfastness standards, and Sobh plans to expand Visenleer into Southern Italy's fishing communities. If it so that young creatives drive innovation, these two and their colleagues are doing more than just developing new materials. They have a blueprint for how fashion can serve both planet and people.
As Fontan put it: 'We don't need to exploit nature to innovate. Nature already knows how to clean up after us—we just need to work with it.'
Sobh adds, 'Every bag we create carries the legacy of a community fighting for its future. That's the beauty of design—it gives us a way to remember who we are, and who we want to be.'