Using creativity, innovation and partnership to accelerate change
H&M Foundation is supporting Heart 17, a new global social enterprise bringing people and business together to accelerate the 17 Sustainable Development Goals throughout the world.
Press releasesPage 3
We believe communication in itself can spark action. Inspiring stories can help to change mindsets of what is possible and by sharing our learnings and practices to others, we can accelerate change in the right direction and reach relevant target groups.
For media enquiries, please visit our press room.
Five promising start-ups awarded for their innovative waste management solutions
Ever heard of “Fleather”? That’s floral waste upcycled to a bio alternative to animal leather and it’s one of the winning innovations of “Techtonic – Innovations in Waste Management”, a joint initiative of Social Alpha and the H&M Foundation.
Putting spotlight on the friends you have but never knew
Waste pickers serve an important societal function by picking up, cleaning, sorting and segregating recyclable waste and selling it further up the value chain. But they lack social acceptance and dignity. Creating societal recognition of their work as having economic and environmental value is important. As part of our initiative Saamuhika Shakti, BBC Media Action have launched “Invaluables” – a communication initiative designed to shift perceptions about waste picking and informal waste pickers in Bengaluru, India.
Commiting SEK 300 million to help solve global challenges
With less than nine years to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030 (SDG), it’s clear that the necessary changes are not happening at the speed or scale required. To accelerate progress, the H&M Foundation is broadening the commitment. Together with an ecosystem of over 30 partners we announce a new direction to tackle the world’s most urgent challenges. In a first step, we commit more than SEK 300 million to support initiatives and more is in the pipeline.
USD 2 million to support start-ups and innovations in Waste Management
H&M Foundation and Social Alpha have joined hands to launch “Techtonic – Innovations in Waste Management”, a nationwide grand challenge in India to identify and curate locally designed, disruptive innovations addressing problems in waste management and improving the livelihoods of waste pickers.
USD 100 million invested in partnership to reach a planet positive fashion industry
Cotton is certified, recycling is on the rise, value chain processes are improved – but it’s not enough. We need to look at the whole system and see how it can be changed from the ground up. With an ambition to find a truly sustainable solution for the fashion industry, non-profit H&M Foundation and The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA) extend their collaboration for five more years in a new initiative called the Planet First program. Ground-breaking technologies are already being tested.
Launched – multi-partner collaboration to improve the life of waste pickers
Together with eight organisations H&M Foundation has launched a unique initiative to address the quality of life of waste pickers and their families in Bangalore, India. By taking a holistic approach the vision is to addresses the broken systems that keep waste pickers in poverty, while tackling challenges in the waste management sector. The goal is to enable waste pickers to have greater agency to lead secure and dignified lives.
Breaking barriers for textile recycling
For the first time textile blends can be recycled at scale. Together with our ambitious research partner HKRITA, the forward-thinking textile manufacturer Kahatex, and a research team made up of retired, but exceptionally passionate and committed scientists – the fashion industry has taken a huge leap forward in the quest on creating a more sustainable fashion future.
Backing Women garment workers in Bangladesh
The H&M Foundation is initiating a long-term project to support women garment workers in Bangladesh, affected by the global pandemic as well as the increased automation of the textile industry. Lives as well as millions of jobs are at risk, and there is an urgent need to minimize the negative impacts of COVID-19 on female textile workers as well as creating a skilled female workforce for the future.
Innovations that will transform the fashion industry awarded €1 million
From lab-grown cotton and creating fabrics from protein DNA, to tracking sustainable fibres by using blockchain technology, wastewater separation and converting carbon dioxide into sustainable polyester. These are the five winning innovations of the 2020 Global Change Award. Global Change Award, named the Nobel Prize of sustainable fashion, is the non-profit H&M Foundation’s fifth annual innovation challenge. Now, more than ever, H&M Foundation want to continue to support long-term development, innovation and entrepreneurship for a sustainable future. The goal is to identify early stage, disruptive ideas that can make fashion more sustainable, and to scale them to transform the entire fashion industry.
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