The textile industry remains a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, with the most intense impacts occurring in materials production and wet processing. Addressing these challenges requires not only new technologies, but also systemic changes throughout the value chain, from how materials are produced to how garments are used and reused.
The H&M Foundation’s 2026 Global Change Award recognizes 10 innovators tackling the highest-emitting areas of fashion through bio-based fibres, textile recycling, AI-driven efficiency and low-impact dyeing. Winners from India, the United States, the United Kingdom, Sweden, France, Tanzania and Bangladesh will each receive €200,000 and join a year-long program supporting scalable climate solutions for a net-zero textile industry by 2050.
The GCA 2026 winners reflect a growing shift toward early-stage innovation and systems change. Rather than focusing solely on individual technologies, the program prioritizes ideas that can influence entire value chains and unlock broader transformation.
Meet the winners of the 2026 Global Change Prize:
- Agro-Lyocell from Canvaloop (India) – Converts agricultural waste into forest-free textile fibers, replacing inputs derived from wood.
- Aluminum (United States) – Use psychology and artificial intelligence to make digital product passports drive circular behavior
- ArtSilk (Sweden) – Creates fibers inspired by spider silk using microorganisms.
- EntroMetrix (UK) – Develops its own AI models to optimize the use of energy and materials in manufacturing.
- Fiberly (France) – Converts textile waste into precisely engineered cotton-like fibers
- KelTex (Tanzania) – Turns algae into biodegradable leather alternatives
- MicroBlue by Microbeworks (India) – Biodegradable dyes that work in existing dyeing systems.
- RheaCycle by Rhea’s Factory (USA) – Uses AI-designed enzymes to break down polyester waste into new fiber building blocks.
- Tera Mira (United Kingdom) – Converts algae into elastic fibers, replacing elastane with a bio-based alternative.
- threadBridge (Bangladesh) – Bring real-time defect detection to factories using smart glasses
“What stands out this year is not just the strength of the ideas, but also the people behind them. These changemakers combine a deep understanding of real-world challenges with the drive to address them. A common thread in many of the solutions is resource efficiency, from reducing waste to better use of existing materials and resources. Ultimately, transforming the textile industry will depend on both innovative technologies and the people determined to bring them to life,” he said Beatrice Oldenburg, project director of the H&M Foundation.
Each winner receives a €200,000 grant and joins the year-long GCA Changemaker programme, delivered by the H&M Foundation in collaboration with strategic partners Accenture and KTH Royal Institute of Technology. Combining systems thinking, expert support and industry connections, the program is designed to help turn early-stage ideas into solutions that can be tested, refined and brought to the real world. The H&M Foundation does not acquire capital or intellectual property; Its goal is to enable solutions that can be adopted industry-wide.
The Global Change Prize is part of the H&M Foundation’s broader mission to support the textile industry to halve its greenhouse gas emissions every decade, while promoting a just transition for both people and the planet.
“The solutions we need already exist, what is missing is speed and scale. By supporting change agents at an early stage, we can help unlock the kind of innovations that not only improve the textile industry, but transform it,” he said Karl-Johan Persson, member of the board of directors of the H&M Foundation.
As the industry faces increasing pressure to decarbonise, initiatives like the Global Change Prize aim to accelerate ideas that can turn ambition into action. Since 2015, the H&M Foundation has supported 66 teams from 24 countries with a total of €12 million in grants through the Global Change Prize, helping to bring the next generation of climate solutions to scale.
About GCA
The Global Change Prize accelerates innovation to help the textile industry halve its greenhouse gas emissions every decade, reaching net zero emissions by 2050. By supporting changemakers on their unique journeys, we empower them to turn their brilliant ideas into impactful innovations.
Each year, ten winners share a €2 million grant and gain access to the year-long Changemaker Programme, provided by the H&M Foundation in collaboration with our strategic partners Accenture and KTH Royal Institute of Technology. Our goal is to equip our winners with a holistic mindset, promoting solutions that benefit both people and the planet.
The Global Change Award is organized by the H&M Foundation.
Note: The headline, ideas and image of this press release may have been refined by Fibre2Fashion staff; the rest of the content remains unchanged.
Fiber2Fashion News Desk (MS)
