As many industries are looking to minimize waste and save resources, the demand for recycled materials in the fashion industry has increased. However, recycling certain materials can sometimes be a tricky process, especially leather waste can be difficult to recycle. Much of the recycled leather contains harmful chemical residues, such as chromium VI, which result from the tanning process. These chemical residuals are carried through in the conventional recycling process.

To enable a planet positive industry, by accelerating vital research and supporting breakthrough innovation to scale, H&M Foundation is collaborating with HKRITA in the programme Planet First. One of the research projects, reProLeather, has resulted in a new technology to separate the chromium VI from the shredded leather fibres and create a bio-based, alternative to the PU and PVC binders, thereby creating a new form of recycled leather that is biodegradable and recyclable.

The reProLeather successfully restructured post-consumer leather fibres into leather sheets in its research stage. HKRITA is now seeking industry partners to optimize production properties and enhance functions, paving the way for improved industry applicability in the future.

“As a philanthropic change agent for the entire industry, we take risks to unlock needed solutions with the ambition to find technologies that can contribute to a planet positive fashion future. I’m always open to sharing our findings openly with others, to find industry actors ready to adopt bold innovations and reProLeather could be one of these solutions. I hope to see it scale soon.”

Christiane Dolva, Strategy Lead at H&M Foundation

The technology

reProLeather is a recycled leather system that separates, categorises and recycles post-consumer leather products into useful raw materials for the manufacturing of new products.

It is carried out in two steps, beginning with shredding a whole post-consumer leather product into pieces until leather fibres of high purity are obtained and removing free chromium by transforming it into a soluble salt or complex compound. Then the separated leather fibres react with bio-based binders such as sugar or protein under mild conditions, and collagen fibres become interconnected and form a new leather.

Regenerated leather obtained with such a novel bio-based approach is water-resistant and biodegradable, resulting in a ‘virtuous circle’ for leather recycling.

Key technological advancements:

• Utilizing environmentally friendly bio-based binders (e.g., sugar or protein) as substitutes for synthetic PU and PVC, resulting in a new sheet of leather.
• Employing a reaction process that minimizes the formation of toxic chromium VI during recycling.
• Successfully restructuring the pro-consumer leather fibres to form a leather sheet.

Benefits for the industry:

• Mitigating environmental harm and health concerns stemming from chrome tanning in leather production.
• Providing an eco-friendly alternative to traditional recycled leather.
• Incorporating raw collagen fibres that enhances the tactile experience.
• Ensuring the recycled leather is durable enough for further manufacturing.

“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 and chairman of H&M Group

The Global Change Award 2023 winners are:

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.

Notes to editors

For more information about the Global Change Award and this year’s winners, please visit globalchangeaward.com.

For visual assets and other press material, free to use, please see our press collection.

For more information or scheduling interviews please contact:
Jasmina Sofić
Media Relations Responsible, H&M Foundation
Mobile +46 73 465 59 59
E-mail: jasmina.sofic@hmfoundation.com

The Global Change Award, initiated by the H&M Foundation, aims to transform fashion and turn the entire textile industry planet positive. That means becoming an industry that benefits the planet and its shared resources, instead of harming or depleting it. Innovation has the power to do it, and GCA winners prove it. The GCA is one of the biggest innovation challenges of its kind, and each year five winners share a 1 million euro grant and get access to the yearlong GCA Impact Accelerator, provided by the H&M Foundation in collaboration with Accenture, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and The Mills Fabrica. Neither H&M Foundation nor H&M Group take any equity or intellectual property rights in the innovations, as the aim is to find innovations that allow major change for the entire textile industry. Learn more at globalchangeaward.com.

“What is happening in Myanmar and Bangladesh is heart-breaking and our thoughts are with the people affected by this terrible cyclone. Humanitarian organizations and local communities are working hard to help those affected and we hope that our donation will support the essential aid relief efforts.”

Karl-Johan Persson, H&M Foundation board member

H&M Foundation has donated USD250,000 towards the Red Cross and Red Crescent for their efforts in Myanmar and Bangladesh. The targeted individuals will be supported through an integrated approach across multiple sectors, aiming to meet shelter, health, and basic needs. Access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WaSH) is also of high priority to prevent the risk of water-borne diseases and outbreaks in the immediate emergency response phase. In addition, interventions will incorporate disaster risk reduction and preparedness activities ahead of the monsoon season and have a cross-cutting focus on community engagement and accountability as well as protection, gender and inclusion.

As a philanthropic change agent for the entire industry, H&M Foundation acts with urgency and takes risks to unlock needed solutions with the ambition to find technologies that can contribute to a planet positive fashion future.

As a non-profit, we have the urgent opportunity to create change by supporting disruptive research that could lead us there. Innovation is transformation and Acousweep is proof that it’s worth investing in impatient research.

Christiane Dolva, Strategy Lead H&M Foundation

Professor Christine Loh, Chief Development Strategist at the Institute for the Environment, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, agrees that this technology has great potential.

Green tech has just taken a leap forward in Hong Kong. Acousweep will help the garment and other industries to stop a highly damaging form of pollution. HKRITA used a new technique to remove the microplastics by using soundwave-based system, preventing them from getting into the sea and being ingested by sea life that can even be ingested by humans along the food chain. Acousweep has the capacity to revolutionize industry.

Professor Christine Loh, Chief Development Strategist at the Institute for the Environment, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Acousweep utilises sweeping acoustic waves in a specially shaped chamber to physically trap and separate microplastic fibres from wastewater effectively. No chemical, solvent or biological additives are needed. The separated microplastics drip into a collection tank for further treatment, such as recycling. The existing lab scale treatment system handles 20 litres of water per hour while the upscaled version will be able to treat 5.000-10.000 litres of water per hour.

Visuals, free to use: https://hmfoundation.bynder.com/web/5d12e495f30d1edf/acousweep—hkrita-research/

For more information or scheduling interviews please contact:

Jasmina Sofić
Media Relations Responsible, H&M Foundation
Mobile +46 73 465 59 59
E-mail: jasmina.sofic@hmfoundation.com

“We want to attract ground-breaking innovations with an ability to scale and make real impact in the industry. We have received a range of fantastic ideas from all over the globe with innovations across the value chain. Our screening process is exhaustive, and the choices can be tough. Now, we are conducting due diligence, collecting support documents, verifying claims, and doing interviews. It’s an exciting period.”

Christiane Dolva, Strategy Lead Planet Positive

The applications were first reviewed by a broad group of specialists in the fashion industry as well as by the H&M Foundation and GCA’s core partners. Innovations were assessed based on potential planet positive impact; ability to scale; level of novelty, and the team’s experience and capacity. They then went through H&M Foundation’s due diligence process, and now the GCA 2023 Expert Panel, consisting of independent subject experts within fashion, business, investments, entrepreneurship, and innovation, conduct their own independent analysis and scoring.

Linda Greer, the fashion industry’s go-to sustainability scientist, is one expert panellist. She’s most keen to help identify solutions best suited to help the industry succeed in its mission to reduce GHG emissions.

“I’m interested in innovations in the ’heavy manufacturing’ part of the supply chain – Tier 2 dyeing, finishing, and printing. While we wait to decarbonize the sector, it’s important to reduce Tier 2 emissions as much as possible – with best available technologies as well as breakthrough innovations for waterless dyeing, digital printing, and more.”

Linda Greer, Global Fellow at Institute for
Public and Environmental Affairs Beijing China

The final GCA 2023 winners will be announced on 8th June 2023.

Visual assets free to use here.

More information about the top 20 finalists here.

For more information or scheduling interviews please contact:

Jasmina Sofić
Media Relations Responsible, H&M Foundation
Mobile +46 73 465 59 59
E-mail: jasmina.sofic@hmfoundation.com

“Having worked with sustainability for a long time, I’ve followed the amazing journey of the H&M Foundation over the years. I’ve been really impressed with their bold ambitions and innovative approach to tackle the challenges in the textile industry, so I always knew that I wanted to be part of that journey someday.

Looking at the challenges within the textile industry today, it is clear that radical transformation is needed, and here I believe that philanthropy can play a very unique role by finding, funding and facilitating innovations and initiatives in ways that other actors may not be able to. With that in mind, I very much look forward to being part of the H&M Foundations continued journey to contribute to a more inclusive and planet positive textile industry.”

Where do you want to take H&M Foundation going forward?

“To begin with, I look forward to building on the fantastic work H&M Foundation has already done over the years – from identifying and scaling innovations, finding new ways to address systems change to drive social inclusion, and using our unique role as a non-profit to catalyse change.

Going forward, I see that we will focus even more on creating holistic impact where we combine both the people and the planet perspectives to address the industry’s most urgent challenges. Our current program Saamuhika Shakti in India is a great example of this and I look forward to continue to build on its successes and learnings. I also hope to explore new and even more innovative ways in how we can use our role as a funder to rapidly scale innovations and solutions. Here I see a great potential in partnering up with other actors that can complement our role and together create synergies to maximize impact.”

What will you and the foundation focus on this year?

“The H&M Foundation has always had high ambitions and this year is no different with many exciting things in our pipeline. For example, we are hosting our 7th Global Change Award, the industry’s largest early-stage innovation challenge. After the pandemic we are much looking forward to a big event where we can celebrate this year’s winners and give them the best possible start of their continued journey to take their ideas to scale.

We will also start evaluating our collective impact programs in Bangladesh and India to see what progress that has been made so far, and how we together with our local partners will build on that to develop the programs further. Although I know that systems change takes time, I am positive that both our programs have already managed to move the needle and contributed to better lives for many people.

An important pillar of our work is to use our platform to share learnings and insights that can create hope and inspire action in the industry. This year we will therefore host a series of events with different experts and other stakeholders to share knowledge, ideas and solutions that can contribute to an inclusive and planet positive textile industry.

So all in all, another very exciting year for the H&M Foundation and I look forward to continuously share updates of our work going forward.”

The Global Change Award is one of the world’s leading challenges for early-stage innovation, and the largest of its kind in the fashion industry. Since the start in 2015, several former GCA winners have scaled up their innovations and are now helping drive the planet positive development forward. Neither H&M Foundation or H&M Group take any shareholder equity or intellectual property rights in the innovations. The winners can collaborate with whomever they want, and the aim is to find innovations that allow major change for the entire industry. For GCA 2023, we are updating our scope to cover more ground, raise the bar on innovation and help shift the industry into a planet positive one. The winning innovations or solutions should fall into one of three categories.

“Circularity isn’t enough, we need to raise the bar and become planet positive. That’s why we’re looking for solutions that enable a planet positive fashion future where both people and the planet not only survive but also thrive. I am confident there are great ideas out there, ready to accelerate and scale – and we’re here to support them!”

Christiane Dolva, Strategy Lead at the H&M Foundation

A panel of experts will select five winners who get to share a 1 million euro grant and get access to our one-year long GCA Impact Accelerator programme, which includes invaluable coaching and support from the H&M Foundation and our partners Accenture, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and The Mills Fabrica. The programme is tailored to support each team in developing and scaling their innovation for impact. The application period runs from 20 October 2022 to 8 December 2022 and the winners will be announced in June 2023.

“The Global Change Award has become a force to support early innovation and accelerate the transformation of our industry. It attracts some of the most disruptive and creative people I have ever met, and following their development is really impressive. I am excited to see what game-changing innovations the seventh round generates.”

Karl-Johan Persson, board member of H&M Foundation and Chairman of H&M Group

Note to editors

• The entries are reviewed by H&M Foundation together with Accenture, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, The Mills Fabrica and an international panel of experts with extensive knowledge covering the entire value chain in the fashion and textile industry, business, investments, entrepreneurship and innovation.
• For more information on previous winners and their progress: hmfoundation.com/gca/winners
• To find out more about the Global Change Award and how to apply: globalchangeaward.com
• To access visuals free to be used, downloaded, and shared: https://tinyurl.com/mr2djkny

For more information or scheduling interviews please contact:
Jasmina Sofić
Media Relations Responsible, H&M Foundation
Mobile +46 73 465 59 59
E-mail: jasmina.sofic@hmfoundation.com

The Global Change Award, initiated by the H&M Foundation, aims to transform fashion and turn the entire textile industry planet positive. That means becoming an industry that benefits the planet and its shared resources, instead of harming or depleting it. Innovation has the power to do it, and GCA winners prove it. The GCA is one of the biggest innovation challenges of its kind, and each year five winners share a 1 million euro grant and get access to the yearlong GCA Impact Accelerator, provided by the H&M Foundation in collaboration with Accenture, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and The Mills Fabrica. Neither H&M Foundation nor H&M Group take any equity or intellectual property rights in the innovations, as the aim is to find innovations that allow major change for the entire textile industry. Learn more at globalchangeaward.com

Two years in the making, Saamuhika Shakti is already impacting around 20,000 waste pickers including their families and has caught the attention of others. With the fashion and textile industry working to shift business models from linear to circular, sustainable materials are in demand, and recycled plastic plays a vital part in creating a regenerative industry. H&M Group has now become a business partner with the social enterprise Hasiru Dala Innovations, placing orders for millions of buttons partly made from recycled PET bottles (rPET) sourced by waste pickers in Bengaluru. This has extended the social impact of Saamuhika Shakti and will further benefit the waste picker community by creating jobs and income opportunities. It is a stand-alone business partnership which is not subsidised by the funds from the non-profit H&M Foundation.

“Waste management and material recycling are fundamental components of a circular economy, but in order for it to be truly sustainable, it needs to include the very group of people that upholds this value chain in India – the informal waste picker community. If challenges related to waste pickers’ lives and the waste sector can be addressed, waste pickers have the potential to be a key player in a global circular system – and could not only contribute to the health and state of our planet, but also uplift themselves out of poverty. We call it inclusive circularity.”

Maria Bystedt, Strategy Lead H&M Foundation.

The buttons are partly made from post-consumer PET waste collected primarily by informal waste pickers in Bengaluru, who segregate the waste and sell the PET to the social enterprise, Hasiru Dala Innovations, who have received “Guaranteed Member Status” from World Fair Trade Organization. The PET waste is then flaked and washed and provided to two of H&M Group’s button suppliers in India. The buttons are traceable down to the source of the waste along with names of the workers, social security, salaries and working conditions at the aggregation center.

Note to editors

• In India alone, 62 million tons of waste is generated annually and only 15% of the waste is processed and treated. The invisible force behind recycling is the estimated 1.5 – 4 million informal waste pickers who make their living by collecting, cleaning, sorting, and segregating this waste.
• While informal waste pickers play a vital role in waste management and the circular economy in India, they have been shunned and marginalised, largely made invisible for the rest of the community. Many completely lack access to social security benefits and endure a difficult everyday reality including regular harassment – not to mention the health hazards they are subjected to when handling the waste. Women and children of waste pickers are especially vulnerable to violence and discrimination, both within and outside their homes. Substance abuse is widespread and accessing affordable healthcare is a huge challenge.
• Saamuhika Shakti is a first-of-its-kind initiative where H&M Foundation aims to holistically address the gaps in the system that keep waste pickers in poverty and exclusion. It has so far reached around 20,000 waste pickers and their family members (March 2022). The initiative has a strong focus on equity, addressing the basic needs of marginalized groups such as women and girls. 8 partners are contributing with their expertise, working together in a powerful ecosystem where a collective impact setup ensures that all activities are mutually reinforcing and that all partners contribute to the overarching objectives and common agenda.
• As per Solid Waste Management Rules 2016, India, the term ‘waste picker’ is defined as ‘A person or groups of persons informally engaged in collection and recovery of reusable and recyclable solid waste from the source of waste generation in the streets, bins, material recovery facilities, processing and waste disposal facilities for sale to recyclers directly or through intermediaries to earn their livelihood. Waste pickers that are mentioned in this press release also includes waste workers employed at dry waste collection centers and informal waste entrepreneurs.
• Visual assets free to download, use and share can be found here.
• Saamuhika Shakti partners:
  • H&M Foundation – Initiator and funder of Saamuhika Shakti
  • The/Nudge Institute – Operates as a local backbone organization that coordinates the initiative
  • BBC Media Action – Drives a perception change program, to improve professional pride among waste pickers and encourage Bengaluru’s general population to respect and value waste picking.
  • Sambhav Foundation and CARE India – Offers up-skilling and supports alternative livelihood options – either within the waste management value chain or outside it. CARE India works to improve the knowledge of saving money, opening bank accounts, learning basic computer functions and expanding their digital literacy. Sambhav Foundation aims to improve the earning potential of waste pickers through skill development initiatives and employment support.
  • Hasiru Dala – Improves linkages to government schemes, to enable access to basic services; and runs programs to reduce substance abuse and domestic violence in waste picker households. They are also developing user centric tools & equipment to improve working conditions.
  • Save the Children India – Improves access to quality education, for example through mobile learning centers (buses) that visit the communities, to enable social mobility for children of waste pickers
  • Social Alpha – Develops new waste streams by finding and supporting innovations that accelerate waste management in India, while increasing and improving the stability of waste picker incomes.
  • Water Aid India – Offers affordable access to WASH facilities for waste picker households, with a focus on clean drinking water. WaterAid also trains the community to take on the ownership of the infrastructure developed in the communities.

Press contact

For more information or scheduling interviews please see our press site.

“The urgency to address the climate issues has never been more acute. Early-stage innovations and new solutions play a critical role, but the impact does not happen before they can be scaled, and the industry starts adopting and implementing them. The Fashion Climate Fund will support new programs and solutions with a structured pipeline for getting from pilot to scale. We believe it provides a powerful mechanism to overcome the challenges of getting new solutions implemented by the industry, and thereby accelerate the progress on climate action.”

Christiane Dolva, Strategy Lead Planet Positive, H&M Foundation

Aii and its lead partners have established the Fashion Climate Fund to drive collective action to tackle fashion’s supply chain emissions. By leveraging a first-of-its-kind collaborative funding model for fashion between philanthropy and corporate entities, the Fund could unlock an estimated $2B in blended capital across various asset classes, including debt and equity, to help meet the industry’s goal to halve carbon emissions by 2030.

“By aligning industry leaders and climate-focused philanthropists behind scalable solutions, the Fashion Climate Fund opens a pathway for greater collaboration and cross-pollination of solutions, facilitating greater investment and stronger collective action toward the industry goal of halving emissions by 2030, while also seeking climate justice for the citizens and communities where our fashion is made.”

Lewis Perkins, President of Aii

Read full press release at apparelimpact.org.

See project page.

Finding ways to lower carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere is an urgent planet-wide priority. It is crucial to initiate and accelerate change, and all research in this area is of the highest interest and deserves our full attention. With the Planet First program, the H&M Foundation and HKRITA aim to push the entire fashion industry toward becoming planet positive instead of depleting its resources.

“We want to find new solutions that can enable the fashion industry to become planet positive. And since change needs to happen now, we focus on impatient research to innovate at speed, with rapid iterations to identify disruptive and scalable solutions. Our Planet First program with HKRITA is a perfect example of how we inspire industry-wide change by openly sharing proof of concepts. We don’t have time for the traditional and the slow, therefore we are not aiming for perfect but to get the solutions out of the lab as quickly as possible to be tested and improved, and to inspire others and spur collaborations that can ultimately lead to scale and adoption.”

Christiane Dolva, Strategy Lead at H&M Foundation

With the Carbon Looper project, cotton garments are treated with amine-containing solution that makes the surface of the fabric captures carbon dioxide from the surrounding air. The carbon dioxide can then be released from the fabric by being heated to 30-40°C, in a greenhouse for example, where it can naturally be taken up by the plants during photosynthesis. The amount of CO2 that is captured by a garment per day, is approximately equivalent to 1/3 of the amount that a tree absorbs per day. And after only three ‘loop-cycles’, the garment has effectively climate-neutralized itself – and instead starts to have a climate positive effect. Improving and scaling this technology up is being intensely researched in parallel.

“Anything we do in the lab is only useful once it gets out of the lab. The Carbon Looper is one of a series of projects we have been working on to see if we can achieve carbon neutrality for the textile, apparel and fashion industry. We will be monitoring this test at Fotografiska to see how we can improve the technology and develop more uses for it.”

Edwin Keh, Chief Executive Officer at HKRITA

The current research phase involves live testing in collaboration with Fotografiska Stockholm, where the restaurant staff will wear Carbon Loopers in the form of aprons. The restaurant’s famous hydroponic garden in the basement serves as an excellent CO2 release facility.

“This innovation is a perfect match with Fotografiska’s overall philosophy and the ideal add-on to our circular kitchen with a focus on organic and locally grown dishes. The project not only contributes to spiking our guests’ awareness around the climate crisis but is also inspiring evidence of the jaw-dropping research being done at the moment.”

Martin Wall, Executive Chef and Planet Keeper at Fotografiska

Note to editors

• The Planet First program with The Hong Kong Research Institute for Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA), runs between 2020 – 2024 and aims to find technologies that contribute to a planet positive fashion future. The H&M Foundation donates USD 12 million, and the Hong Kong Government’s Innovation & Technology Fund match this donation, resulting in a total estimated budget of USD 100 million over five years. It is one of the most ambitious initiatives in the fashion industry to move the needle in this field.
  
• Fotografiska Stockholm is an internationally renowned museum dedicated to photography and visual culture. Established in Stockholm in 2010 with the mission to inspire a more conscious world through the power of photography, Fotografiska has become a home of innovation, inclusivity and self-expression. The H&M Foundation and Fotografiska Stockholm have a clear common denominator in our respective assignments – we both aim to raise awareness of environmental and social issues and inspire positive change. We believe in the power of communication to achieve change and are therefore collaborating on several project to inspire and change the way of thinking of what is possible.
  
• Visual assets free to download, use and share can be found here: hmfoundation.bynder.com/web/5a513f1f634d056/carbon-looper-x-fotografiska/

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For more information or scheduling interviews please see our press site.