The Global Change Award is highlighting talent that can save the planet
H&M Foundation’s Global Change Award is spotlighting visionary young talent who have the power to reverse the damage caused by the fashion industry. Aside from financial aid, here is how the foundation aims to nurture the winners
Being a ’90s kid (quite literally born in the year 1990), I am no stranger to doomsday theories. At the cusp of the second and third millennium, the world was to end. We survived it and then every few years, some bored soul on the internet would start spewing theories of how and why we were not to see the morning of January 1, whatever year it was; 2014 was a particularly solid one. When I sat at the press conference for the H&M Global Change Award—where a panel of experts in a variety of fields were stressing on the importance of sustainability—that feeling of the world coming to an end was back. The singular, most-repeated fact through the conference preceding the awards ceremony, was that climate change is coming our way in the next 12 years.
After the oil industry, fashion is the next big line of business to have severe environment damage on its hands. The pace of rapid decay we are at right now, quite frankly we don’t stand a chance against the inevitable. But the more we work towards reversing the effects of climate change, the higher our chances are at survival. Swedish retail giant H&M, embracing the mindset of accountability and using their resources to undo the damage caused by the clothing industry, set up H&M Foundation to lead dedicated endeavours towards sustainability. Funded privately by the Stefan Persson family, the foundation is working towards reaching the sustainability goals set by the United Nations in 2015, which cover areas of education, clean water, women’s economic empowerment and safeguarding the planet.
Meet the winners of the Global Change Award 2019
The Global Change Award, an innovation challenge set up by the foundation, invites designers across the world to come up with disruptive solutions that will mitigate the after-effects of garment production. This year’s winner was Germany-based design collective circular.fashion, whose entry ‘The LoopScoop’ took home the 3,00,000 Euro (~Rs 2.35 crore) prize. The collective has crafted a software that offers retailers information to craft sustainable products, right from sourcing the right materials to information on how they can be recycled. The second winner was ‘Sane Membrane’ by dimpora. Production of gear for camping and outdoor sports is often the kind that harms the environment the most. dimpora’s invention is an adaptive micro-membrane that is non-toxic, biodegradable, mineral-based and fluorine-free, allowing the wearer to be protected from the weather by simply adding it to their regular outerwear.
The effects of climate change are already visible in Kenya, which is why Green Nettle Textile’s entry ‘Sustainability Sting’ won the vote of the jury. Nettles can be grown in arid lands, leaving fertile agricultural land free for food farming. The textile production also offers employability to 2,00,00 farmers in Kenya. One of the most popular winners this year was ‘Clothes That Grow’ by Petit Pli, which incorporates origami techniques and hi-tech fabrics to create longer-lasting outerwear for kids. Meanwhile, Le Qara’s ‘Lab Leather’ is crafting a leather-like fabric using microorganisms, which is also biodegradable.
Meet the experts
After filtering through a large volume of the applicants for the awards, an edited select of talent is then handed over to the expert panel that helps make the tough decision of picking the winners. This year’s panel included names like Tariq Fancy, Edwin Keh, William McDonough, Wanjira Mathai, Bandana Tewari and Steven Kolb, among others. H&M was also keen to touch upon the ethical use of artificial intelligence and applied analytics, bringing into conversation Arti Zeighami, global head of advanced analytics and AI at H&M, and Bethlehem Dessie, founder and CEO of iCog-Anyone Can Code (ACC), to talk about the preemptive measures that can be taken to reduce wastage in production.
The collaborators
Aside from winning monetary grants from H&M Foundation (totalling up to one million euro) in order scale up their businesses, they will also be a part of an accelerated mentorship program. “Their growth during this year is obvious,” says Erik Bang, innovation lead, H&M Foundation. “Mentally, they gain confidence and faith in their vision, product and technology. They also gain experience, and the activities during the year make them feel that they own all the contexts that they need to operate in.” KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Accenture play pivotal roles in this program as well.
The H&M Laboratory works with previous winners of the Global Change Award and other promising talent to utilise their innovations in mainstream production with the aim of practicing what they preach. And considering it’s impossible for any changemakers to make actual progress without the aid of technology and funding, San Francisco-based crowdfunding website Indiegogo has partnered with H&M to further raise funds for the winners through their platform.
Also read:
Moschino x H&M 2018: Everything you need to know
H&M launches a special collection for Breast Cancer Awareness Month
What you need to know about the H&M and Moschino event in New York
