#Retail & Brands

2023-06-08

H&M Foundation doubles GCA grant and winners to speed up textile industry transformation

Recyclable and biodegradable polyurethane, food waste polyester, circular dyeing, natural bio-colours, ultra high-performing textiles, seaweed material, AI textile sorting, corn husk and sugarcane fabric, zero waste pattern system, textile-to-textile recycling for polyesters – these are the ten Global Change Award winners 2023, sharing a €2 million grant from the non-profit H&M Foundation.

The Global Change Award is an early-stage innovation challenge seeking bright minds that can transform fashion. Every year, H&M Foundation selects and supports the five most impactful innovations with the ultimate aspiration of a planet positive fashion future. This year, H&M Foundation doubles both grant and winners to speed up the transformation. This year’s winners are:

Material

• Algreen (UK) – Biobased foams, adhesives and coatings crafted from natural sources.

• ALT TEX (Canada) – From waste to wardrobe: transforming food waste into biodegradable polyester.

• KBCols Sciences (India) – Bio-fermenting textile dyes with the magic of microorganisms.

• Nanoloom (UK) – Powerful high performance-fibre fuelled by graphene.

• PhycoLabs (Brazil) – Oceans of opportunity: making seaweed fibres that spur social innovation.

• Rethread Africa (Kenya) – Regenerating agricultural waste into bio-based synthetics.

Recycling

• DyeRecycle (UK) – Renewed colours: extracting and transferring dyes from old to new fabrics.

• Refiberd (US) – Adding lightspeed and laser precision to textile sorting with AI and spectroscopy.

• Tereform (US) – Enabling circular solutions for hard-to-recycle waste textiles.

Design

• SXD (US) – AI-powered platform turning design concepts into zero-waste patterns.

"We have an urgent opportunity to support innovations that could transform the entire fashion industry – that’s why we’re doubling the grant and the number of winners. We’re giving these innovators a total of 2 million euros and access to our accelerator program – but we’re also giving the industry an opportunity to connect with these brilliant innovators. I’m excited to see the impact these innovators will make on the industry."

Karl-Johan Persson, H&M Foundation board member

H&M Foundation launched the GCA to provide the tools, connections, and resources necessary for early-stage innovations to move from idea to scale as quickly as possible. The winners receive €200,000 each and embark on the yearlong GCA Impact Accelerator. H&M Foundation together with GCA’s core partners Accenture, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and The Mills Fabrica offer tailored coaching and support to accelerate their journey from idea to scale.

"There’s a wide range of solutions among this year’s winners. If scaled, I believe they could have a real impact on the industry – which needs a holistic transformation if we are to reach a planet positive fashion future. We look forward to working with the winners during the accelerator and help enable their innovations to accelerate and scale."

Christiane Dolva, Strategy Lead H&M Foundation

Neither the H&M Foundation nor the H&M Group take any shareholder equity or intellectual property rights in the innovations and the winners can collaborate with whomever they want.

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textile.4U publishes special edition “Top 100 Textile Recycling Companies 2025”

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AI, Start-ups, Research: Techtextil and Texprocess bring together players in the textile industry

From start-ups to universities and research institutes: at Techtextil and Texprocess, the world’s leading innovation trade fairs in Frankfurt am Main, exhibitors present future-oriented concepts for the global textile industry. With the international Campus & Research area, a strong participation from start-ups and the latest AI applications for textile processing, both trade fairs showcase current developments in the textile industry. By bringing together innovation, research and application, they enable new partnerships across the textile value chain.

IVGT joint stand brings innovation and networking to Techtextil 2026

At Techtextil 2026 and the parallel Texprocess 2026, key transformation topics such as artificial intelligence, digitalisation, sustainability, recycling and the circular economy will be reflected across the show. Against this backdrop, the IVGT, together with 16 member companies, will present its joint stand in Hall 12.1 (Stand D62) as a platform for exchange and networking.

New study shows low environmental impact by Cotton made in Africa Organic Cotton from Tanzania

Today, the Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF) is announcing the results of a comprehensive life-cycle analysis (LCA) for cotton produced in Tanzania under the Cotton made in Africa Organic (CmiA Organic) standard. The study emphasises the small ecological footprint of CmiA Organic verified cotton. This can largely be traced back to the absence of synthetic pesticides, artificial fertilisers, and artificial irrigation. Consequently, CmiA Organic cotton can help the textile industry meet regulatory requirements as well as science-based targets. The results also show that the consequences of climate change threaten the livelihoods of these cotton farmers, even though the type of agriculture they practise barely contributes to climate change.