H&M has launched a €1m ($1.56m) competition to seek solutions to the growing problem of waste and pollution in the fashion industry.
The Global Change Award, funded by the H&M Conscious Foundation, aims to engage inventors, scientists and researchers to present practical ideas to close the loop on clothing waste.
An expert jury will choose five winners to share the grant and receive access to an “innovation accelerator” – a collaboration with Accenture and KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm to give the winners the support and knowledge they need to bring their ideas to fruition.
In a statement, the H&M Conscious Foundation said the Global Change Award “takes on one of the biggest challenges facing today’s fashion industry – to create fashion for a growing population while reducing its impact on the environment”.
“The Global Change Award is looking for ideas that will protect the earth’s natural resources, and I am excited to be part of it,” said Rebecca Earley, Professor in Sustainable Textile and Fashion Design at University of the Arts London, Director of its Textile Futures Research Centre and member of the Global Change Award jury.
Entries close on 31 October. The result will be revealed at a grand award ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden, in February 2016. Neither the Foundation nor H&M will take any equity or intellectual property rights in the innovations.
Information about the Global Change Award, how to apply for a grant and updates on the challenge are available at www.globalchangeaward.com.