H&M Foundation: Global Change Award
Overview
The Mills Fabrica, a solutions platform accelerating techstyle and agrifood tech innovations for sustainability and social impact, is a long term partner of the Global Change Award. They are also one of the official nominators for the Global Change Award this year, and they are accepting proposals from changemakers. This means, that by sending in your idea, you have a chance to become nominated by The Mills Fabrica!
BECOMING NOMINATED
After you submit your proposal, The Mills Fabrica will review it. They will screen and assess your idea based on specific criteria.
If you pass the screening and your idea becomes nominated, you will be notified around mid-November. You will then be asked to submit the full application on the official nomination platform, where you also will find information about the next steps of the process.
The window for applying will be between October 23 and November 15.
What are they looking for?
Changemakers can come from all walks of life, not just established organisations. Are you a systems thinker, policy advocate, researcher, or a storyteller? Maybe you identify as an innovator or entrepreneur? Or maybe you are part of a non-profit or NGO, a community group, or a startup? Or you’re just an individual with a great idea.
No matter who you are or what you do for a living, you should be tirelessly eager to challenge the current system and passionate about advancing your idea to help decarbonise fashion.
Focus areas
- SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS & PROCESSES
- What if the use of sustainable materials and processes were a given? Here, we are looking for solutions such as low energy materials and new and recycled fibres, sustainable energy practices, alternative wet processes, treatments and finishes and new construction techniques.
- RESPONSIBLE PRODUCTION
- What if we could increase efficiency and cut the industry’s largest chunk of greenhouse gas emissions? In this area, we’re searching for ideas within renewable energy, energy efficiency, prediction modelling, traceability, on-demand, waste management and zero-waste.
- MINDFUL CONSUMPTION
- What if we could challenge our current consumption habits and narrative for something radically different? Solutions on how to reshape demand, garment care, extending garment life cycles, recycling solutions, and circular business models are some examples of what we are looking for in this area.
- WILDCARDS
- What are the solutions and drivers we haven’t we even thought of yet? Or what solutions can amplify transformation within multiple areas? This is an area where we want to open up for truly progressive and out of the box ideas.
These areas of transformation have been derived from their research on CO2 emissions within the textile value chain combined with insights from systems thinking, which highlights the unpredictability and interconnectedness of tackling complex problems.
WHAT YOU WIN
Every year, they crown 10 winners of the Global Change Award. Winning this prestigious award grants access to three key components: 1. THE GRANTEach winner receives a grant of 200,000 EUR. 2. THE AWARDThe winners are crowned and celebrated at the Award Ceremony in City Hall, Stockholm, Sweden. During the ceremony, they receive the Global Change Award trophy and are further introduced to industry professionals and the ever-growing Global Change Award network. 3. THE CHANGEMAKER PROGRAMMEMore importantly, the winners get access to their yearlong support programme – the Changemaker Programme. The H&M Foundation and its core partners are working closely with the winners throughout the year to give them the tools and network they need to accelerate their development, to scale and ultimately transform the industry.