Here are the Top 20 finalists for the GCA 2026
Carbon-capturing dyes. Enzyme-powered recycling. Fungi breaking down textile waste. AI reducing factory energy before a single garment is made. These – and many more – are the pioneering innovations that have made it to this year’s Global Change Award top 20 list.
The Global Change Award backs bold early-stage ideas, championing changemakers who question existing models and develop solutions that benefit both people and the planet.
This year’s finalists take on some of the textile industry’s most complex challenges. Some are cutting reliance on fossil-based inputs and rethinking production efficiency. Others are unlocking scalable recycling pathways or embedding digital intelligence into factories to reduce waste and energy use.
The 20 finalists span four areas of transformation: Sustainable Materials and Processes, Responsible Production, Mindful Consumption and Wildcards – each addressing structural pressure points across the textile industry.
The finalists are now under review by our Expert Panel as we enter the final stage of selection. The 10 winners of the Global Change Award 2026 will be announced in June.
But now, meet the Top 20 finalists shaping the future of fashion!
Responsible Production
Curbon
Joe Wahba, Alan Zhang, Jinjin Chen US
Curbon is building an AI-powered decision tool that integrates environmental impact assessment directly into the product design phase. Using real bills of materials and supply-chain data, it models carbon, water and cost trade-offs before production begins.
https://www.linkedin.com/company/curbon/
EntroMetrix
Mohammed Ali, Iusiph Eiubovi, Steve Evans, UK
EntroMetrix is developing an AI-enabled optimisation platform that helps manufacturers reduce energy and resource inefficiencies. Combining digital twins with physics-based AI, it analyses operational data to identify bottlenecks, predict failures and recommend actionable improvements within existing factory workflows.
EntroMetrix – AI-Powered Industrial Intelligence & Metrics
https://www.linkedin.com/company/entrometrix/
ThreadBridge
Md Ridwan Hossain, Bangladesh
ThreadBridge is developing an AI-assisted quality control system that detects fabric defects before cutting to reduce pre-consumer textile waste. Using wearable smart glasses and machine learning, it integrates into existing factories without replacing workers.
https://threadbridge.tech/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/threadbridge/about/
Mindful Consumption
ALU
Donatela Bellone, US
ALU is a consumer-facing platform built on Digital Product Passports to support repair, resale and long-term garment use. By combining AI guidance, storytelling and gamification, it strengthens consumer engagement and extends product lifespans.
https://www.meetalu.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/donatela-bellone/
Menders Without Borders
Bhaavya Goenka, Filippo Ricci, Orsola De Castro, India
Menders Without Borders is building a distributed network that connects skilled repair artisans with brands and consumers. By formalising garment mending as a professional service, it supports income generation and more durable consumption patterns.
Sustainable Materials and Processes
AIPER
Ailton Pereira, Brazil
AIPER develops biopigments through microbial fermentation using non-GMO microorganisms fed with agro-industrial waste. The process reduces water and chemical inputs while achieving high dye fixation rates within a circular bioeconomy model.
https://aiper.com.br/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/aiper-co/
AgroLyocell (Canvaloop)
Shreyans Kokra & Dhruv Gupta, India
AgroLyocell converts agricultural waste into regenerated cellulose fibre as an alternative to wood-based viscose and lyocell. By fully utilising crop residues, it reduces reliance on virgin wood feedstocks.
www.linkedin.com/company/canvaloop/
ArtSilk
Anna Rising & Benjamin Schmuck, Sweden
ArtSilk produces artificial spider silk fibres using engineered proteins and a water-based spinning process. The resulting fibres match the toughness of natural spider silk and can be functionalised at the DNA level without additional chemical treatments.
www.linkedin.com/company/artsilk/
Dawn Technologies
Peter Mangnus, Netherlands
Dawn Technologies separates cotton–polyester textile waste by removing cellulosic fibres and recovering clean polyester for chemical recycling. The cotton fraction is converted into higher-value bio-based chemical building blocks, improving the economics of blended textile recycling.
https://avantium.com/products-technologies/dawn-technology/
DiamondCool™
Shadi Houshyar, Australia
DiamondCool is developing a nanodiamond-enhanced textile that passively dissipates body heat without requiring energy input or chemical coatings. By embedding carbon-based nanodiamonds into fabrics, it lowers perceived skin temperature while maintaining softness and durability.
EnzymeThreads
Alfonso Gautieri, Rossella Castagna & Emilio Parisini, Italy
EnzymeThreads engineers high-performance enzymes for PET depolymerisation. Its C09 enzyme variant demonstrates strong thermal stability and activity, breaking PET into its original monomers, a technology that could contribute to higher-quality polyester recycling.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/alfonsogautieri/
Fiberly
Bénédicte Quinta, France
Fiberly is developing a regenerated cellulose fibre engineered to replicate cotton’s structure and performance. Building on the lyocell process, it introduces fibre shaping and surface texturing to address climate and supply risks linked to cotton production.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/benedictequinta/
KelTex
Laetus Buberwa & Emeliana Said, Tanzania
KelTex is developing biodegradable bio-leather made from seaweed cultivated in coastal Tanzania. Marine biopolymers are processed into flexible sheet materials without land use, freshwater or fossil feedstocks, while AI-enabled sensor systems optimise seaweed farming conditions to support yield and local livelihoods.
Living Carbon Capture Dye Systems
Henry Kavuma, Uganda
Living Carbon Capture Dye Systems is developing a biologically engineered dyeing process that uses cyanobacteria to capture atmospheric CO₂ and convert it into textile dyes, positioning dye production as a carbon-negative process rather than a source of emissions.
https://www.linkedin.com/company/living-carbon-capture-system/
MicroHues
Suchitha Raghunathan & Anjana Badrinarayanan, India
MicroHues produces microbial dyes through fermentation as an alternative to petrochemical and plant-based dyes. Its biodegradable dyes function as drop-in replacements in existing dyeing systems, reducing water use and wastewater toxicity.
www.linkedin.com/company/microbeworks-scientific/
Colour Earth
Aurelie Fontan, Meredith Wood, Christopher Ferguson, UK
Colour Earth is developing Regen Ink, a regenerative natural dye system that combines soil remediation with pigment production on polluted or post-mining land. Extracted using water-based or CO₂ processes, the pigments are formulated into inks that improve colour fastness and reduce reliance on synthetic dyes.
Rhea’s Factory
Arzu Sandikci & Mert Topcu, US
RheaCycle™ is developing an AI-designed enzymatic recycling platform for textile-to-textile circularity. Using engineered enzymes, the system breaks down polyester and blended textile waste under mild conditions into high-purity monomers that can be reintroduced into manufacturing, including from dyed and blended garments.
https://www.linkedin.com/company/rheasfactory/
Tera Mira
Jeanne Begon-Lours & Lucy Dain-Williams, UK
Tera Mira is developing a seaweed-derived alternative to elastane using a solvent-free wet-spinning process. By creating stretch fibres from marine biopolymers, Tera Mira aims to match elastane’s performance while enabling improved end-of-life pathways.
www.linkedin.com/company/tera-mira/
Wildcards
Arxy Fashion OS
Meng Ji, Luxembourg
Arxy is building a digital go-to-market operating system that enables brands to present and sell collections through immersive virtual showrooms. By integrating transactional tools and AI-enabled brand–retailer matching, it reduces travel, sampling and showroom costs.
https://www.linkedin.com/company/arxy
MycoRenew
Tomasz Mierzwa & Katarzyna Turnau, Poland
MycoRenew is developing a fungi-based bioremediation system for mixed and contaminated textile waste. Instead of recycling fibres back into textiles, it converts treated waste into construction materials such as eco-bricks, addressing streams difficult to process conventionally.
https://www.linkedin.com/company/mycorenew/
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