#Retail & Brands

2023-06-08

H&M Foundation doubles GCA grant and winners to speed up textile industry transformation

Recyclable and biodegradable polyurethane, food waste polyester, circular dyeing, natural bio-colours, ultra high-performing textiles, seaweed material, AI textile sorting, corn husk and sugarcane fabric, zero waste pattern system, textile-to-textile recycling for polyesters – these are the ten Global Change Award winners 2023, sharing a €2 million grant from the non-profit H&M Foundation.

The Global Change Award is an early-stage innovation challenge seeking bright minds that can transform fashion. Every year, H&M Foundation selects and supports the five most impactful innovations with the ultimate aspiration of a planet positive fashion future. This year, H&M Foundation doubles both grant and winners to speed up the transformation. This year’s winners are:

Material

• Algreen (UK) – Biobased foams, adhesives and coatings crafted from natural sources.

• ALT TEX (Canada) – From waste to wardrobe: transforming food waste into biodegradable polyester.

• KBCols Sciences (India) – Bio-fermenting textile dyes with the magic of microorganisms.

• Nanoloom (UK) – Powerful high performance-fibre fuelled by graphene.

• PhycoLabs (Brazil) – Oceans of opportunity: making seaweed fibres that spur social innovation.

• Rethread Africa (Kenya) – Regenerating agricultural waste into bio-based synthetics.

Recycling

• DyeRecycle (UK) – Renewed colours: extracting and transferring dyes from old to new fabrics.

• Refiberd (US) – Adding lightspeed and laser precision to textile sorting with AI and spectroscopy.

• Tereform (US) – Enabling circular solutions for hard-to-recycle waste textiles.

Design

• SXD (US) – AI-powered platform turning design concepts into zero-waste patterns.

"We have an urgent opportunity to support innovations that could transform the entire fashion industry – that’s why we’re doubling the grant and the number of winners. We’re giving these innovators a total of 2 million euros and access to our accelerator program – but we’re also giving the industry an opportunity to connect with these brilliant innovators. I’m excited to see the impact these innovators will make on the industry."

Karl-Johan Persson, H&M Foundation board member

H&M Foundation launched the GCA to provide the tools, connections, and resources necessary for early-stage innovations to move from idea to scale as quickly as possible. The winners receive €200,000 each and embark on the yearlong GCA Impact Accelerator. H&M Foundation together with GCA’s core partners Accenture, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and The Mills Fabrica offer tailored coaching and support to accelerate their journey from idea to scale.

"There’s a wide range of solutions among this year’s winners. If scaled, I believe they could have a real impact on the industry – which needs a holistic transformation if we are to reach a planet positive fashion future. We look forward to working with the winners during the accelerator and help enable their innovations to accelerate and scale."

Christiane Dolva, Strategy Lead H&M Foundation

Neither the H&M Foundation nor the H&M Group take any shareholder equity or intellectual property rights in the innovations and the winners can collaborate with whomever they want.

Texprocess 2026: Automation, digitalisation and AI redefine textile processing

Making investment decisions in textile processing has become significantly more demanding. Increasing energy costs, a shortage of skilled labour and ongoing geopolitical uncertainties are compelling companies to focus on technologies that deliver clear gains in efficiency and process reliability. This applies equally to apparel manufacturing and to the processing of technical textiles and high-performance materials. As a result, modernisation initiatives are assessed more carefully – even as the need to upgrade production systems continues to intensify.

Techtextil 2026: Between innovation pressure & market reality

From 21 to 24 April 2026, Techtextil in Frankfurt am Main will once again become the central meeting point for the international technical textiles and nonwovens industry. Running in parallel, Texprocess will focus on the industrial implementation of textile processing technologies as the leading platform in this field. Together, the two trade fairs form a closely integrated presentation and working platform along the entire textile value chain – from material development to finished applications.

Between geopolitical pressure and industrial resilience

In this interview, Dr. Janpeter Horn (VDMA) discusses the current challenges facing textile machinery manufacturers, shaped by geopolitical tensions, regulatory developments and subdued investment. He also outlines why innovation strength, integrated solutions and strategic positioning remain key to global competitiveness.

Recover™ secures multi-year recycled cotton agreement with H&M

Recover™ has signed a multi-year agreement with H&M to support the integration of its recycled cotton fiber, RCotton, for use in H&M’s products. Since early 2024, H&M and Recover™ have collaborated on product development, which now enables scaled commercial introduction of Recover™ mechanically recycled cotton into H&M’s collections.

GORE-TEX® KIDSWEAR launches innovative membership scheme for kids’ jackets

With its revolutionary new membership model, GORE-TEX® Kidswear now offers families a simple, flexible and sustainable way of kitting out their children in top-quality jackets. It is aimed at the parents of children aged between five and ten and kicks off with a choice of functional winter jackets.

FET’s revolutionary gel spinning system wins Techtextil Innovation Award

FET has received the prestigious Techtextil Innovation Award 2026 in the New Production Technology category. The Techtextil Innovation Award honours outstanding ideas in textile technology, sustainability, AI and the creation of technical textiles, selected by an international jury of experts. Ranging from new materials to new production technologies, this award recognises progressive ideas that are driving forces for numerous industries, such as automotive, medical and construction.

Savio Macchine Tessili will exhibit at ITM Istanbul 2026 presenting its flagship technologies

Savio Macchine Tessili will participate in ITM Istanbul 2026 in a corporate booth of Vandewiele Group, showcasing a selection of its most advanced winding and spinning solutions designed to support textile mills in achieving higher efficiency, flexibility and yarn quality. The company will bring to the show three flagship solutions: Proxima Smartconer®, Lybra Smartspinner® and the Phoenix Assembly Winder.

Rieter at ITM 2026: Spinning Redefined with Automation and Intelligence

Spinning mills need solutions that deliver stability, efficiency and future-proof performance. Rieter has put together a powerful portfolio for ITM 2026 in Istanbul, Türkiye. These innovations give customers the tools to enhance cost efficiency, improve responsiveness and actively develop their competitive edge. Step-by-step, Rieter is moving closer to its Vision 2027 – the fully automated spinning mill. With each new technology, Rieter enables spinning mills worldwide to operate with greater precision and reliability, ensuring they remain at the forefront of an increasingly demanding global market.

Experience Trützschler’s leading fiber processing technologies at ITM 2026

From June 9 to 13, the Trützschler Group will present its latest machinery, service expertise and digital solutions at ITM 2026 in Istanbul, Türkiye. Visitors are invited to explore innovations across Spinning, Card Clothing, and Nonwovens at Hall 7, Booth 714A at the Tüyap Fair Convention and Congress Center. They can experience modern fiber processing with Trützschler!