The GCA accelerates innovation to support the textile industry in halving its greenhouse gas emissions every decade until 2050, while promoting a socially inclusive and planet-positive future.
By focusing on early-stage changemakers, the programme aims to catalyse ideas that can unlock systemic transformation across the value chain.
This year’s finalists reflect the breadth and complexity of the textile industry’s climate challenge — from raw material innovation to manufacturing efficiency and shifting consumption models.
Among the selected ideas are carbon-negative dye systems that turn atmospheric CO₂ into bio-based colourants, seaweed-derived stretch fibres designed to replace fossil-based elastane, and AI-powered digital twins that help manufacturers identify inefficiencies and reduce energy loss in real time.
Other finalists are rethinking quality control in garment factories through machine-learning-enabled smart systems, while community-led initiatives are rebuilding local repair ecosystems to extend garment lifespans and make circularity visible and accessible.
The 20 finalists demonstrate that decarbonising fashion requires both technological breakthroughs and cultural shifts, addressing emissions at source while reimagining how garments are produced, used and valued.
“This year’s top 20 list shows that innovation in fashion is becoming more applied and more connected to industrial reality,” says Beatrice Oldenburg, project manager at H&M Foundation.
“We’re seeing solutions that address digitisation, recycling of blended textiles, bio-based alternatives and energy reduction, all areas that require both technical depth and system-level thinking.
“Early-stage ideas like these need backing and the right support to move from concept into real-world implementation.
“That’s exactly what the Global Change Award is designed to provide.”
The finalists will now be reviewed by the GCA Expert Panel, who, together with the H&M Foundation team, will recommend 10 winners to the H&M Foundation Board.
The Global Change Award 2026 winners will be announced in June and will join the GCA Changemaker Programme, receiving a €200,000 grant, mentorship and access to a global network designed to accelerate their ideas from concept to impact.
