H&M Foundation says nominations for its Global Change Award innovation challenge are open from 1 September to 6 October and it is encouraging anyone with an early-stage idea to to help the textile industry halve its greenhouse gas emissions every decade until 2050.
The Global Change Award is looking for ideas across four key areas, including:
- Responsible production – rethinking how fashion is made
- Mindful consumption – changing how we use and value fashion
- Sustainable materials and processes – reimagining fibres and methods
- Wildcards – unexpected, system-shifting ideas that defy categories but could spark real transformation.
H&M Foundation's programme director for innovation Annie Lindmark explains she is especially eager to see more submissions in the Wildcards category and wants to see ideas that spark transformation in surprising ways.
She says: “In 10 years, I hope the changemakers we select today will have helped build a textile industry that thrives within planetary boundaries and supports human wellbeing. An industry where decarbonisation is a given, equity is embedded, and innovation is inclusive. Above all, I hope they will have shifted the industry’s mindset, redefining progress and transforming how we think, collaborate and lead.”
The award has been running since 2015 and has found 56 innovations worldwide with traceability platform TextileGenesis and novel molecular regeneration technology by Ambercycle receiving support and a combined grant of €10m ($11.72m).
Plus, several past winners have gone on to scale with global brands and secure large investments, showing how philanthropic seed funding can unlock wider industry transformation.
This year's award is running a nomination-based process. A network of global nominators from universities and NGOs to foundations, accelerators and alumni, will help to uncover talent that might otherwise go unseen.
H&M Foundation's partners such as Ashoka, Textile Exchange and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation will also help to find new innovators.
Lindmark adds: “This industry doesn’t have the luxury of waiting for perfect solutions. The biggest climate breakthroughs often start as fragile, early-stage ideas in unexpected places, and that’s exactly where we can make a difference as a philanthropic actor.”
