CASE STUDY H&M Foundation
H&M Foundation: Decarbonizes fashion through innovation
H&M foundation accelerates decarbonization of fashion through its innovation challenge, Global Change Award.
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The need for an industry shift
Making the fashion industry more sustainable requires a major paradigm shift—one best achieved through changemakers, innovation and an ecosystem of partners.
The non-profit H&M Foundation has teamed up with KTH Innovation and Accenture to create the Global Change Award (GCA), supporting changemakers who are driving the decarbonization of fashion. Together, they are boosting the textile industry’s journey toward net-zero emissions by accelerating innovations that benefit both people and the planet.
Since its launch in 2015, the Global Change Award has provided 8 million euros in grants to 46 groundbreaking innovations. The H&M Foundation also collaborated with Accenture on The Billion Dollar Collection, a virtual fashion collection highlighting 10 previous GCA winners working to transform the fashion industry.
Decarbonizing the fashion industry
Every year, the world uses more resources than our planet can sustain. With fashion being one of the most resource-intensive industries, the non-profit H&M Foundation wants to help tackle one of its biggest challenges—decarbonization. The aim is to support the textile industry in halving its greenhouse gas emissions every decade, in line with the carbon law.
How could the global foundation help the industry create fashion for a growing population while protecting people and the planet? H&M Foundation initially partnered with Accenture and KTH Innovation to increase circularity. The partnership has then moved on to focusing on finding planet positive solutions. We are now gearing up to help the industry with one of its biggest challenges—decarbonization. More specifically, supporting the textile industry in halving its greenhouse gas emissions every decade, in line with the carbon law.
The Global Change Award is one of the world’s largest challenges for early-stage innovation and the first initiative of its kind in the fashion industry. It seeks to support passionate individuals committed to decarbonizing the textile industry and whose ideas can be turned into prototypes and proven innovations—reinventing the way garments are designed, produced, bought, used and recycled.
Backing changemakers to accelerate innovation
The H&M Foundation, KTH Innovation and Accenture co-developed the GCA Changemaker Program concept structure using an open innovation approach. Since 2015, all three organizations have continued to develop the program together, contributing in various ways, such as:
Accelerating innovation
The program is designed to elevate the winners’ ideas and turn them into reality. Accenture provides knowledge and insights into the future of fashion and retail, along with expertise in design thinking and business development.
The program also emphasizes changemakers’ personal growth and systems thinking. Accenture provides valuable insights and expertise in leadership development.
Accenture helps the ten winners each year build connections within the broader ecosystem, bringing in other start-ups and established businesses to foster partnerships for innovation.
Enabling the green transition of the fashion industry
The H&M Foundation, along with its partners KTH Innovation and Accenture, is making the fashion industry more sustainable. The Global Change Award accelerates innovation to support the textile industry in reducing its greenhouse gas emissions every decade, aiming to reach net-zero by 2050.
Creating more sustainable fashion attracts future customers and employees who increasingly demand greater transparency and clothes with a conscience. The shift toward sustainable fashion is bringing new benefits to the industry, such as reduced material costs, improved customer relationships and a reduced risk of resource exhaustion. Together, the H&M Foundation, KTH Innovation and Accenture are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible by nurturing changemakers with disruptive ideas and technology that will shape the future of fashion.
Selected success stories
Unspun, winner in 2017, developed Vega, the world’s first 3D weaving technology for apparel, designed to eliminate overproduction. This technology weaves yarn directly into clothing quickly and efficiently. By using microfactories, Unspun removes the need for large order quantities while also reducing transport and lead emissions. The company also offers a custom-fit denim brand that operates without holding any finished goods inventory. In 2019, Unspun partnered with the fashion brand Weekday to integrate its fit technology, allowing Weekday customers to get on-demand perfectly fitting jeans. The company has received significant recognition, including being named one of TIME magazine’s Best Inventions of 2021 and being listed as one of America’s Top Greentech Companies in 2024.
Textile Genesis, winner in 2020, uses blockchain technology to track and verify sustainable fibers from their source to the final garment. Their digital Fibercoin system ensures transparency and reliability throughout the entire production process. By 2022, Textile Genesis was working with around 30 of the world’s leading brands, had onboarded 1,500 distinct supply chain roles worldwide, and was tracking more than 50 different sustainable materials on its platform. Today, the company partners with major organizations across the textile and apparel value chain, such as H&M Group, Arvind, Bestseller, Lenzing, Textile Exchange, and the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol.