The non-profit H&M foundation hosted on the 20th of March its third annual Innovation Challenge, awarding five innovations that can help the fashion industry becoming waste-free and reducing its harm on the environment.
The Global Change Award grants the five winners with 1 million euros and a one-year innovation accelerator, providing them with new networks, exposures and skills to help them further develop and actualise their ideas and get industry access.
This year’s projects, which were judged on their innovation and economic sustainability were noticeably focused on digitalisation, intelligent processes and new materials with smart stitches, 3D modelled clothes and biodegradables health beneficial garments.
The 2018 edition attracted 2600 entries from 151 different countries, and the five winners are:
-Crop a Porter (US), developed sustainable bio textiles using left-overs from food crop harvests;
-The Regenerator (Sweden), imagined a process to recirculate fashion by separating cotton and polyester blends, turning them into textile fibre;
-Algae Apparel (Israel), turned algae into bio fibre and eco-friendly dye that is also good for the skin;
- Smart Stitch (Belgium), invented a dissolvable thread that makes repairing and recycling a breeze;
- Fungi Fashion (Netherlands), created custom-made clothes made from decomposable mushroom roots.
