On 12–16 March 2018 at globalchangeaward.com

On 20 March 2018, during the grand award ceremony in Stockholm and online March 21.

We are open for applications again in August 2018. Check back then!

The deadline of Global Change Award 2019 will be communicated as we open the challenge again in August 2018.

Anyone who applies within the first month of the application period will automatically have the chance of winning our Early Bird competition.

The Early Bird winner will be invited to join the five winners of the Global Change Award 2018 in one of the trips which is part of their one-year Innovation Accelerator. The trip offers exclusive industry insight as well as opportunities to network and learn more about circularity and the fashion value chain.

Applying as an Early Bird does not affect your chances of winning the Global Change Award.

The Early Bird winner is crowned based on the general Global Change Award criteria (Read more below under “What are the criteria?”). Note that applying as an Early Bird and winning the study trip does not affect your chances of winning the Global Change Award. See Terms & Conditions for full details.

The winner of the Early Bird competition will be announced in May 2018.

See the Terms & Conditions. Some common questions are answered below.

No, participating is FREE of charge.

Yes, you can save and update your application right up until you click the button Submit. After you clicked Submit edits are no longer available.

No, only one entry per person is allowed. See more in Terms & Conditions.

Yes, but remember that you must own all rights connected to the idea.

The winners will be presented to the public on globalchangeaward.com in April 2019. The date will be communicated as we open for applications in August 2018. Read more about the process of Selecting the winners below.

The H&M Foundation together with KTH and Accenture will screen all entries and shortlist 20. The 20 shortlisted entries are interviewed by H&M Foundation before 15 are selected finalists. The 15 finalists are provided to the international expert panel who picks the five winners. Winners are formally approved by the H&M Foundation board.

H&M Foundation always contacts the five winners by telephone.

• Share a grant of €1 million to develop their ideas.
• Access to the one year long tailor-made innovation accelerator, provided by H&M Foundation, Accenture and KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. The accelerator includes immersion weeks in Stockholm, New York and Shanghai.
• Global recognition and validation.

Read more here

The public is invited to distribute the entire grant  between the five winning ideas in an online vote. The innovation with the most votes receives €300,000. The idea with the second most votes receives €250,000 followed by the third, fourth and fifth most votes that receive €150,000 each.

Neither H&M Foundation nor H&M takes any ownership or IP rights in the winning entries.

See more in the Terms & Conditions

We expect you to develop your idea according to the plan submitted with the entry in order to make fashion circular. We also expect you to take active part in the one-year Innovation Accelerator.

H&M Foundation will require each winner to submit a short report on progress and use of funds after 6 months and after 12 months. See more details in Terms & Conditions.

Innovation knows no national borders and we believe these early stage ideas can rest in anyone’s head anywhere on the planet, so in an effort to reach as many great minds as possible the challenge is open to any individual and groups of up to 5 people over 18 years of age anywhere in the world. It is also open for institutions, organizations and social business.

Please note that your entry has to be in English and that all communication including the Innovation Accelerator will be in English.

GCA is not open for solely commercial entities. In order to keep the integrity of the competition, employees of H&M or any entities owned in full or in part by H&M, H&M Foundation, Accenture and KTH Innovation including hired consultants can´t apply.

We are looking for new and early stage ideas so you can’t apply with an already proven and existing innovation.

It is at this earliest stage where the Foundation can provide the much needed resources, access and skills and thereby make the biggest difference. We are certain there are a vast number of great ideas out there but access to capital, know-how and support is scarce and many great ideas never get to see the light of day. The Foundation wants to find these ideas and give them the support needed to make a difference.

We are looking for tomorrow’s game changers and Global Change Award 2018 had three categories open for applications:

• Digitalization – Apply digital technologies such as connectivity, robotics, artificial intelligence, data, internet of things, machine learning etc. across the value chain including consumers and garments to make fashion circular.
• Waste – Recover resources and value lost in material, energy and information waste by turning it into materials, products or services. Or simply eliminate waste in the first place.
• Climate positive – Create clothes, services and manufacturing processes that are not only neutral but actually good for the environment, helping to restore and regenerate the environment when being used.

The evaluation will be based on the following criteria:

• the Entry’s potential to make fashion circular and thereby protect the planet and lead to improved living conditions for people;
• impact and scalability
• is it economically sustainable
• is it novel
• how well suited is the team to make it happen would winning the grant make a difference.

Check Terms & Conditions for full details.

You can check out the expert panel here.

The role of our advisers is to provide expertise to identify and help select the winners of the Global Change Award 2018. They are chosen for their extensive knowledge in the areas of entrepreneurship, sustainability, innovation and fashion.

No. All members of the expert panel are doing this pro bono and are not getting paid.

No and nor will the company H&M.

The H&M Foundations role is to provide that critical boost to the innovators at the earliest stages were its most needed. Different innovations need different support and it wouldn’t be wise to limit or force an innovation into a certain partnership. The mission is to support the development of the innovation and to help it stand on its own.

It’s up to the winners themselves to decide who to partner with. Different innovations need different support and it wouldn’t be wise to limit or force an innovation into a certain partnership. Also, the H&M Foundation initiates this competition to make the entire fashion industry circular – not just H&M.

The Terms & Conditions explains this in detail but to keep it simple: do not send us critical unprotected details. Instead, focus on the bigger picture in your application. All entrants understand that the H&M Foundation may use any information submitted for the sole purpose of promoting the competition and the participants. And remember, we want you to succeed and we want you to own the IP.

Personal data submitted for the Global Change Award will be handled according to our Privacy Policy.

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