H&M Foundation has named the winners of the annual innovation Global Change Award which determines best ideas for improving the process of clothing production. The most promising innovations were chosen by an international expert group whose members have extensive knowledge in the field of innovations, entrepreneurship, sustainable development and fashion.
Among the finalist of the competition were such original innovative products as digital thread that facilitates processing of clothing, carbon fiber nylon, plant-derived leather made from the waste of wine production, old denim fabric that can be used to color new denim products, and a unique project of production of biodegradable fabric from the bovine manure.
The amount of the award for the winners will be chosen by voting that will be held from March 27 to April 2 on the globalchangeaward.com. The participant who will take the first place in the rating will receive 300 thousand Euros, the second - 250 thousand Euros and the remaining finalists - 150 thousand Euros.
The total amount of the award is 1 million Euros. The results of the voting will be announced on April 5 at the Grand Award Ceremony in the City Hall in Stockholm, Sweden. In addition to the money award, all five winners of the Global Change Award will get support of the H&M Foundation in collaboration with Accenture and the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.
"The second time, the Global Change Award gathered 2,883 innovative ideas from 130 countries, that is even more than the last year," Karl-Johan Persson, the board member of the H&M Foundation and CEO of H&M, says. – "Global issues require an appropriate approach. I am convinced that by integration of people from different industries with different experiences and views we will be able to make the significant progress in moving to the closed production cycle in the fashion industry," Persson says.
The winners of the Global Change Award 2016:
Biodegradable fabric – Production of fabric from the bovine manure
Biodegradable fabric is produced through extracting and using the valuable cellulose that is contained in the bovine manure. An additional advantage is a significant reduction in emissions of methane and substances that pollute soil, water and air.
Denim painted with denim – Coloring of a new denim fabric with used denim
Old denim clothes are processed into small particles and transformed into a coloring powder that can be used for coloring of a new denim fabric or for producing of prints for other textile products. This method reduces the cost of water and energy needed for the production, as well as allows reuse of the old denim instead of throwing it away.
Solar textile - Use of solar energy for the manufacture of fashionable fabrics
A possibility to use only water, plant waste and solar energy instead of oil for production of decomposable nylon is good news for the planet. In addition, nylon adsorbs greenhouse gases into the fabric thereby preventing their release into the atmosphere.
Information thread - Digital thread that let us know what we wear
Woven thin RFID thread with a digitized "list of ingredients" of a product let you know what exactly your clothes made of. With this technology, the processing process can become much more efficient and significantly cost-saving.
Leather from grapes - Use of winemaking residues in production of totally vegetable leather
Wine debris gives life to a new fabric – vegetable leather. This is the perfect solution that helps to protect animals and eliminates the need for oil in production of synthetic leather.