Sweden-based philanthropic organization H&M Foundation has announced the ten winners of its Global Change Award (GCA) 2026. The foundation is privately financed by the Stefan Persson family, the founders and majority owners of the H&M Group. The annual initiative recognizes early-stage innovations aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and accelerating the textile industry’s progress towards net zero by 2050.
The winning teams focus on raw material production and wet processing. These areas represent the most emissions-intensive stages of the textile value chain. This year’s cohort presents solutions in the areas of bio-based material alternatives, textile-to-textile recycling processes, low-emission manufacturing and artificial intelligence (AI) applications.
Beatrice Oldenburg, Project Manager at the H&M Foundation, explained: “What stands out this year is not just the strength of the ideas, but the people behind them. These changemakers combine a deep understanding of real-world challenges with the drive to address them. A common thread through many of the solutions is resource efficiency – from reducing waste to making better use of existing materials and resources.”
Capital injection and scaling support
Each of the ten selected winning teams will receive a grant of 200,000 euros, which is equivalent to approximately $231,000. The funds come from a total funding volume of two million euros. In addition to financial support, the winners take part in the year-long GCA Changemaker Program. This is organized in collaboration with strategic partners Accenture, the US consulting firm, and the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, the Swedish technical university.
The structural funding program focuses on systems thinking, industrial networking and technical validation. The goal is to scale early-stage concepts into commercial realities. The H&M Foundation operates on a non-profit model. It retains no shares or intellectual property rights in participating companies to promote open adoption in the global textile trade.
Karl-Johan Persson, board member of the H&M Foundation, commented: “The solutions we need already exist – what is missing is speed and scale. By supporting changemakers at an early stage, we can help unleash innovations that not only improve, but transform the textile industry.”
Since its founding in 2015, the initiative has supported 66 teams in 24 countries and awarded a total of twelve million euros in non-dilutive grants.
Focus on raw materials and digital innovation
The 2026 winners show a clear shift towards scalable biosynthetic materials and systemic automation tools. These are designed to replace fossil polymers and resource-intensive raw materials.
The materials sector presents several next-generation developments:
The Indian material start-up Canvaloop presents Agro-Lyocell. This process processes agricultural waste into forest-free cellulose fibers to replace wood-based raw materials.
Swedish biotechnology company ArtSilk grows spider silk-inspired fibers using specific microorganisms.
The Tanzanian company KelTex produces biodegradable leather alternatives from harvested algae.
British innovation company Tera Mira is transforming the stretch wear sector by converting algae into elastic performance fibers. The aim is to replace synthetic elastane with a bio-based counterpart.
The Indian company Microbeworks presents MicroBlue, a line of biodegradable textile dyes. These are designed to integrate directly into existing commercial dyeing infrastructure.
In the areas of circular economy and software development, the remaining winners use computational models to optimize inefficiencies in the supply chain:
US technology platform Alu uses behavioral psychology and AI models to transform digital product passports into consumer-focused tools for repair, resale and circular economy.
British development company EntroMetrix is creating proprietary AI models to deploy a digital twin of factory floors. This allows manufacturers to reduce energy and raw material waste.
French textile recycling company Fiberly extracts cellulose from post-consumer waste using green chemistry. This is reconstructed into technical fibers that replicate the performance properties of cotton.
The US biochemical company Rhea’s Factory is developing RheaCycle. AI-designed enzymes are used to break down polyester textile waste into monomer building blocks in virgin quality.
Bangladeshi factory automation company threadBridge introduces smart glasses with integrated computer vision. These automate the real-time detection of material defects during production.
The ongoing initiative is in line with the foundation’s mission to help the global apparel industry halve its total greenhouse gas emissions every ten years.
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