Fast-fashion company H&M’s charitable arm the H&M Foundation has awarded €1 million across five sustainability innovations in its Global Change Award 2022.
The winners are:
- BioPuff by Saltyco (UK) – A planet positive alternative to goose down, crafted from plants that heal damaged land.
- Biorestore (Sweden) – A laundry solution that restores old and worn garments to mint condition.
- CottonAce by Wadhwani AI (India) – An AI solution that reduces pesticide use, increases yield and raises incomes for smallholder cotton farmers.
- Re:lastane (China) – The first mild process making elastane and polyester blend fabrics recyclable.
- Rubi (US) – Planet positive viscose and lyocell made from carbon emissions.
According to H&M, the winners were selected by an international council with experience and knowledge across fields including fashion, business, investment, entrepreneurship and innovation.
The winners have the chance to access a one-year GCA Impact Accelerator programme provided by H&M Foundation in partnership with Accenture, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and The Mills, to get support and enlarge their networks.
Launched in 2015, the Global Change Award was launched by the H&M Foundation to transform fashion and make it planet positive as well as fulfilling the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
“The winners of the Global Change Award hold the key to the complex challenges we are facing and prove that it’s possible to reinvent fashion,” said Karl-Johan Persson, board member of H&M Foundation and chairman of H&M Group.
“Their game-changing innovations are really inspiring and can help transform the fashion industry into a planet positive one.”
