CFDA and Bezos Earth Fund name inaugural Next Thread scholarship recipients

The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Foundation and the Bezos Earth Fund have selected the inaugural recipients of the Next Thread Initiative Scholarship, a new funding program aimed at supporting fashion students working on sustainability and climate-related design challenges.

The scholarship forms part of a $6.25 million, three-year partnership between the two organizations. Of the total, $1.5 million is earmarked for scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students pursuing sustainable fashion design.

The initiative takes a specific approach to sustainability, asking students to address fashion’s impact on nature and climate through their design work. Awards are intended to help reduce financial barriers while supporting academic and creative development. Scholarship funding covers tuition and mandatory fees, with additional stipends available for materials, thesis work and studio expenses.

The program reflects a broader shift in fashion education toward integrating environmental considerations with design practice rather than treating sustainability as a separate specialization. Its first scholarship cycle targeted full-time undergraduate students entering their junior or senior year, as well as first-year master’s students at U.S. colleges and universities.

For fashion schools, the initiative adds another industry-backed funding route for students developing work around material innovation, circularity and lower-impact production, while highlighting the growing role of sustainability in emerging-design education.