The Global Change Award (GCA) 2026, initiated by the H&M Foundation, is now accepting applications from visionaries across the globe! This pioneering global innovation challenge, launched in 2015, is focused on reshaping the fashion industry into a more circular, sustainable, and planet-positive sector.
This prestigious initiative stands out not just for its non-equity €200,000 grant per winner, but also for its deep commitment to driving real transformation through collaboration, mentorship, and global exposure.
The GCA seeks bold and disruptive ideas in fashion innovation ideas that re-imagine how materials are made, how fashion is consumed, and how production can become truly sustainable. Whether you’re a scientist, designer, entrepreneur, academic, or wildcard dreamer, this is your once-in-a-lifetime chance to put your idea on a global stage and help reinvent the fashion industry from the ground up.
The Global Change Award 2026 by the H&M Foundation isn’t just a competition , it’s a launchpad for world-changing fashion innovators. With €200,000 in funding, access to an elite Changemaker Programme, and a global spotlight, your big idea could make waves across the entire industry.
Whether you’re working on biodegradable materials, circular business models, zero-waste production, or wildcard solutions no one’s thought of yet, this is your chance to change the fashion narrative.
Don’t let this opportunity pass you by. Apply before the October 6 deadline and take your innovation to the global stage.
What the Global Change Award 2026 Is Looking For
The GCA is calling for bold, breakthrough ideas that fall under four innovation themes — with an open invitation to wildcards that don’t fit the mold but could change the game:
- Sustainable Materials and Processes
- Innovations in low-energy textiles, recycled fibers, sustainable treatments, construction techniques, renewable energy usage, and more.
- Responsible Production
- New technologies for zero-waste manufacturing, waste management, energy efficiency, on-demand production, and smart predictive models.
- Mindful Consumption
- Solutions that reshape consumer behavior, improve garment lifecycle, promote repairability, or pioneer circular business models.
- Wildcards
- Unexpected, disruptive ideas that transform the fashion industry in radical, unimagined ways.
Name of Organizer
H&M Foundation, in collaboration with Accenture, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, and The Mills Fabrica
Requirements/ Eligibility criteria
The Global Change Award 2026 welcomes applications from individuals and teams worldwide, regardless of geography, background, or affiliation. If you have a scalable idea that can disrupt and enhance sustainability in the fashion sector, you’re encouraged to apply.
To be eligible, you must:
- Be an individual, startup, academic, or business with an early-stage idea or innovation.
- Submit a proposal aligned with one (or more) of GCA’s four innovation areas:
- Wildcards: Unexpected, bold, and transformative ideas.
- Sustainable Materials & Processes: E.g., recycled fibers, low-energy materials, waterless dyeing.
- Responsible Production: Zero-waste, predictive modeling, energy efficiency, etc.
- Mindful Consumption: Circular business models, garment care, recycling solutions, etc.
- Have the ability to present your idea in English.
- Be ready to participate in the Change-maker Programme from May 2026 to May 2027.
- Submit your complete application by **6 October
Price
€200,000 in Equity-Free Grants
- Each of the 10 winners will receive a €200,000 grant.
Deadline
6th October, 2025.
Apply Now
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