“In its fifth year, the Global Change Award has proven a great gateway for innovators to enter the fashion industry and transform it from the inside. We’ve seen previous winners move from sketching table to market — but more importantly, inspiring a new generation of creatives, scientists and entrepreneurs to reduce the planetary impact of the fashion industry through innovation. The next big idea that will change the game can come from anyone anywhere. So, if you have an idea you believe in this is the place to go”, says Karl-Johan Persson, board member of the H&M Foundation and CEO of H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB.

For GCA 2020 there’s an extra eye looking for innovations within the below three themes, all of them addressing the urgency for fashion to operate within the planetary boundaries:

Consumer-Centric – innovations empowering consumers to be part of the solution and creating a sustainable fashion future, ranging from how to increase a garment’s lifetime to nudging greener actions.

Digital & Data – innovations using technology and data in creative ways that will make fashion smarter by significantly reducing the environmental impact of fashion.

Circular Design – innovations spanning over the whole ecosystem of fashion across all touchpoints, from the garment design process and packaging to technical solutions, looping the resources in a never-ending cycle, instead of one-time use.

“This year, we are especially looking for innovations that make it easier for us as consumers to act more sustainably, ideas that use technology and data that make the fashion industry smarter and solutions that facilitate design with a circular intention”, says Erik Bang, Innovation Lead, H&M Foundation.