KTH Partnering Global Change Award to reinvent the fashion industry

Last year the challenge attracted over 2700 entries from 112 countries, and Karl-Johan Persson, board member of the H&M Foundation and CEO of H&M, is pleased that the competition has been so positively received by the community.
–  After seeing so many fantastic innovations from around the world with the potential to transform the fashion industry, we have been very eager to open up the next round of the Global Change Award , he says.

News for this year is that the entries are divided into three main categories in order to encourage ideas from a broader scope. The categories are:
Circular business models covering ideas on how to reuse, repair, share, digitalize or extend the life of products.
Circular materials looking for ideas on new fibers, recycling techniques, leather substitutes etc.
Circular processes aiming to find new methods around chemicals, water and dyeing, as well as 3D printing, demand-driven manufacturing etc.

KTH partnering GCA
KTH, a partner of the challenge alongside Accenture, is encouraged by the result of the previous year and excited to continue being a partner.
–  There is a rapidly growing concern for environmental challenges. It is of important that all parts of society become more sustainable. As a university, fostering future generations, it is vital to be at the forefront and support the societal developments in the right direction. KTH is proud also to support the second round of the Global Change Award, says Eva Malmström Jonsson, Deputy President, KTH.

The five winners of the competition will again share a grant of €1 million and be accepted to a tailored accelerator program running for a year from April 2017. This year’s expert panel, who will select the winning entries, is introduced below and contain some important newcomers who contribute their expertise on the subject says the H&M CEO.
–  I am honoured to welcome some new members to the expert panel like Dame Ellen MacArthur, who besides making solo sailor history in 2005, has immense knowledge about the transition to a circular economy,” says Karl-Johan Persson.

Today marks the start of the submission period for entries to Global Change Award, and deadline is 31^st October 2016.

Do you have a solution to make the fashion industry more circular? Enter here!
 

Malin Luuke
luuke@kth.se

More information about Global Change Award

The Global Change Award is an innovation challenge, initiated by non-profit H&M Foundation in 2015. By catalyzing early innovations that can accelerate the shift from a linear to a circular fashion industry, the aim is to protect the planet and our living conditions. An expert panel annually selects five winners that share a grant of €1 million and get access to a one-year innovation accelerator provided by the H&M Foundation, Accenture and the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.

Further information can be found here.

2016's Expert Panel

Rebecca Earley: Professor in Sustainable Textile and Fashion Design at University of the Arts London and Director of its Textile Futures Research Centre
Johan L. Kuylenstierna: Executive Director for Stockholm Environment Institute (New)
Dame Ellen MacArthur: Founder of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (New)
Lewis Perkins: President, Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute (New)
David Roberts: Founder of Exponential Leadership, Chairman in 1Qbit Information Technologies Inc. (New)
Ellis Rubinstein: President and CEO, The New York Academy of Sciences
Franca Sozzani: Editor in Chief of Vogue Italia
Vikram Widge: Head of Climate and Carbon Finance at the World Bank Group (New)
Amber Valletta: Supermodel, actress, entrepreneur and sustainability influencer