H&M Foundation rewards innovations that can transform the fashion industry
Winners of H&M’s 2020 Global Change Award have been announced, which recognises five innovations that are disrupting and changing the fashion industry for a more sustainable future.
The H&M Foundation is behind the challenge, which is now in its fifth year. Its goal, the organisation said, is to “identify early stage, disruptive ideas that can make fashion more sustainable, and to scale them to transform the entire fashion industry”.
"We need to leave the old, linear ways of thinking behind, and move faster towards a planet positive and sustainable model. The winning innovations will help our industry reinvent itself and hopefully inspire others to also find new solutions," says Karl-Johan Persson, board member of H&M Foundation.
In addition to a grant, winners also partake in a one-year Innovation Accelerator Program to help further develop their products. The program is run in cooperation with Accenture and KTH Royal Institute of Technology, and is designed to connect the winners with the fashion industry to facilitate the process of bringing innovations to market.
Awardees were chosen between August and October 2019, with an expert panel selecting five winners out of 5,893 entries from 175 countries.
The winners were as follows:
- A €300,000 grant for Incredible Cotton by Galy, which uses biotechnology to create lab-grown cotton.
- €250,000 for Feature Fibers by Werewool, for creating fabrics from protein DNA with natural colours, stretch and other features.
- €150,000 to Tracing Threads by TextileGenesis, for tracking sustainable fibres through transparent and reliable blockchain technology.
- €150,000 for Zero Sludge by SeaChange Technologies, which separates and cleans wastewater to eliminate toxic sludge in landfills.
- €150,000 for Airwear by Fairbrics, which converts greenhouse gas into sustainable polyester.
