Bio-derived stretch and carbon-negative dyes among award finalists
Carbon-negative dye systems, seaweed-derived stretch fibres and local repair systems are among the ideas from finalists of the H&M Foundation’s Global Change Award 2026.
The finalists have been selected from 450 ideas submitted from 81 countries. The mission is to help the textile industry halve its greenhouse gas emissions while "promoting a just transition for people and the planet”.
They will now be reviewed by the GCA panel and the H&M Foundation, with 10 winners announced in June.
Beatrice Oldenburg, project manager at H&M Foundation, said: “We’re seeing solutions that address digitisation, recycling of blended textiles, bio-based alternatives and energy reduction, all areas that require both technical depth and system-level thinking. Early-stage ideas like these need backing and the right support to move from concept into real-world implementation.”
The 20 finalists of Global Change Award 2026 are:
• Curbon by Joe Wahba & Alan Zhang (US)
• EntroMetri by Mohammed Ali, Iusiph Eiubovi and Steve Evans (UK)
• ThreadBridge by Md Ridwan Hossain (Bangladesh)
• ALU by Donatela Bellone (US)
• Menders Without Border by Bhaavya Goenka, Filippo Ricci and Orsola De Castro (India)
• AIPER by Ailton Pereira (Brazil)
• AgroLyocell (Canvaloop) by Shreyans Kokra and Dhruv Gupta (India)
• ArtSilk by Anna Rising and Benjamin Schmuck (Sweden)
• Dawn Technologies (Avantium) by Peter Mangnus (Netherlands)
• DiamondCool by Shadi Houshyar (Australia)
• EnzymeThreads by Alfonso Gautieri and Emilio Parisini (Italy)
• Fiberly by Bénédicte Quinta (France)
• KelTex by Laetus Baberwa and Emeliana Said (Tanzania)
• Living Carbon Capture Dye Systems by Kavuma Henry (Uganda)
• MicroHues by Suchitha Raghunathan and Anjana Badrinarayanan (India)
• Colour Earth by Aurelie Fontan, Meredith Wood and Christopher Ferguson (UK)
• RheaCycle by Arzu Sandicki and Mert Topcu (US)
• Tera Mira by Jeanne Begon-Lours and Lucy Dain-Williams (UK)
• Arxy Fashion OS by Meng Ji (Luxembourg)
• MycoRenew by Tomasz Mierzwa and Katarzyna Turnau (Poland)
The ten winners will join the GCA Changemaker Programme, receiving a €200,000 grant between them, mentorship and access to a network designed to accelerate their ideas.
