PARIS — The nonprofit H&M Conscious Foundation has named the five winners of its inaugural Global Change Award, which rewards technology concepts that make the fashion industry more sustainable.
It is asking the public to vote online between today and Feb. 7 to determine how its grant of one million euros, or $1.09 million at current exchange, should be allocated between the winning projects. The voting result and the people behind the innovations will be revealed at a ceremony in Stockholm on Feb. 10.
The winning ideas include a microbe that can be used to recycle waste polyester; a method for using algae to make renewable textile; a technology for converting cotton in textile waste into new textile; an online marketplace for upcycling textile leftovers, and a yarn made from the byproducts of extracting citrus juice.
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The idea that gets the most votes will receive 300,000 euros, or $327,000; the one with the second-greatest number of votes will receive 250,000 euros, or $272,750, and the third-, fourth- and fifth-placed projects will receive 150,000 euros, or $163,650, each.
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The H&M Conscious Foundation was founded by the family of Swedish billionaire Stefan Persson, the chairman and main shareholder in fast-fashion chain Hennes & Mauritz AB, which was founded by his father Erling Persson and is run by his son, Karl-Johan Persson.
“The response of the first Global Change Award is overwhelming. Over 2,700 innovators from 112 countries shared their ideas to help close the loop for fashion. The winning innovations are important contributions in the journey toward a circular fashion industry,” said Karl-Johan Persson, chief executive officer of H&M.
The jury of the award includes model and environmental activist Amber Valletta; Franca Sozzani, editor in chief of Vogue Italia; Eva Kruse, ceo of Copenhagen Fashion Week, and several academics.
“I am impressed by the overall innovation level, and the dedicated efforts from both young independent applicants and the more established world of academia and business,” Kruse said.
The H&M Conscious Foundation has teamed with Accenture and KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm to develop a one-year innovation accelerator to support the winners in developing their ideas.