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KTH Sustainable Fashion Day

Global collaboration to transform the fashion industry

KTH is a partner in the Global Change Award, an international innovation challenge aiming to make the fashion industry more sustainable.

A group of people in a lab looking at a person holding up a beaker.
The Global Change Award is an annual innovation challenge looking for ground-breaking ideas that can transform the fashion industry.. Picture by H&M Foundation.

KTH and Accenture are partners in the international innovation challenge Global Change Award, which was launched in 2015 by the non-profit H&M Foundation. Five innovative and ground-breaking ideas that can contribute to a more sustainable fashion industry share a 1 million euro grant and each earn a place in the tailor-made GCA Impact Accelerator, where they receive support to realize their ideas. 

Together, we are looking for game-changing solutions that address one or several of the global commons to create a planet positive fashion future. The global commons are: land, water, oceans, climate and biodiversity. 

Towards a more sustainable fashion industry

A black and beige dress hanging from a rack.
This dress was made from citrus peel. The company behind the technology, Orange Fiber, is one of the previous winners of the Global Change Award.

The annual challenge looks for ground breaking ideas and acts as a catalyst for driving development for a more circular fashion industry. Anyone with an idea, from anywhere in the world and regardless of previous knowledge can join in the challenge. An expert panel selects five winners, who each receive a share of the 1 million Euro grant and a place in the one-year GCA Impact Accelerator. Each year, the winners are presented at a grand award ceremony in the Stockholm City Hall.

Global Change Award is one to the largest initiatives of its kind. Since the start in 2015, more than 20,000 entries from all over the world have been submitted.

Read more on Global Change Award's website.  

Accelerator for innovation

In addition to their share in the 1 million euro grant, the winners get access to GCA Impact Accelerator, a one-year accelerator program developed by H&M Foundation, Accenture and KTH Innovation. The program starts with a one-week boot camp in Stockholm, hosted by KTH Innovation on KTH Campus. Using the KTH Innovation Readiness LevelTM model, developed by KTH Innovation, the teams evaluate their current status, and identify where to put focus in the coming months.