H&M Foundation has launched its third annual Global Change Award.
It will offer a €1 million grant and coaching program to shift the industry from a linear to circular model.
The five winners share a €1 million grant, along with a one-year innovation accelerator program.
Last year, more than 2,800 applications from 130 countries were submitted.
Today, the third round opens for applications at globalchangeaward.com.
The Global Change Award is one of the world’s biggest challenges for early stage innovation and the first such initiative in the fashion industry.
Some of last year’s winning innovations were leather made of wine making leftovers, digital threads weaved into garments to ease the recycling processes and climate positive nylon made from water, plant waste and solar energy.
Winners also included a group of scientists from Deakin University in Victoria.
H&M CEO Karl-Johan Persson said the company does not take any equity or intellectual property rights in the innovations.
“Now in its third year, the Global Change Award has really become a positive force in the fashion industry.
"It has proven to be a true catalyst for the winners, giving them support and access to a valuable network so they can bring their innovations to the market quicker and better prepared.
"I’m really curious to see what disruptive innovations we will receive this time."