The TOM FORD Plastic Innovation Prize is structured into two rounds occurring over approximately two years, followed by approximately three years of support and accelerator services for competition winners and other high-performing teams.In the first round of the competition, entrants completed a detailed Submission Template outlining their innovation and describing how it aligns with the competition criteria.
The eight selected Finalists now move into the final round of the competition, providing samples of their materials for third-party lab and field testing. Prize winners will be selected based on a review of these results plus supporting materials. Three prize winners will share in a prize pool of $1 Million in investment capital and then move into the Accelerator phase of the competition. The eight selected Finalists will also receive an equal share in a milestone prize award of $200,000 to encourage the development of their technologies and support their participation in the competition.
The judging criteria for the prize are designed to be holistic and comprehensive such that the competition rewards the solutions best positioned to succeed in the marketplace while also mitigating the crisis of thin-film plastic.
The core judging criteria for the prize are:
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Biological Degradation at End-Of-Life
Materials must be capable of demonstrating soil and marine biological degradation under conditions that closely approximate natural environments.
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Environmental & Social Impacts of Production
Materials must minimize negative social & environmental impacts arising from their production.
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Product Performance
Products must meet industry standard performance specifications to ensure they are capable of functioning within packaging systems and for use by consumers.
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Scalability
Solutions must be scalable to meet the massive scope of the thin-film plastic pollution challenge.
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Cost
Solutions must have a clear pathway to becoming reasonably cost competitive with traditional thin-film plastics.
A detailed overview of the judging criteria, as well as the process for reviewing submissions, are provided in the Competition Guidelines.
