H&M to award a prize for recycling innovation

H&M is looking to appeal to eco-conscious millennials with a lucrative contest that promotes recycling.

The Swedish retailer announced that it will fundthe Global Change Award.Five winners will share a grant of 1 million euro ($1.16 million) and receive access to a tailor-made innovation accelerator. The global public will be invited to distribute half of the total grant through an online vote. The results will be announced at a grand award ceremony in Stockholm in February.

"As the population of our planet heads towards 9 billion, every industry will need to innovate at the edge of their current imagination to safeguard the environment. The Global Change Award gives us the opportunity to catalyze important breakthroughs throughout the fashion industry's entire value chain," said Ellis Rubinstein, president and CEO at New York Academy of Sciences, and member of the Global Change Award Jury.

The H&M Conscious Foundation is a nonprofit global foundation funded by the Persson family -- founders and main owners of H&M. The mission of the foundation is to drive lasting positive change and improve living conditions by investing in people, communities and innovative ideas.

"Ground-breaking, game-changing ideas can come from anywhere, so the Challenge is open to anyone. Each year the Global Change Award aims to find the truly brave and bold ideas that bring about change. I'm also eager to see how the fashion industry as a whole will embrace the challenge of closing the loop," said Karl-Johan Persson, board member of the H&M Conscious Foundation and CEO of H&M.

The innovation accelerator -- a collaboration with Accenture and the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm -- will give the five winners the support and knowledge they need to make their ideas a reality. Starting off with an innovation boot camp in Stockholm, provided by KTH Innovation, winners will then receive guidance from Accenture Strategy on how to develop their winning ideas further. This includes a one-year training and coaching program with a particular focus on circular economy.

The innovation accelerator will also provide exclusive fashion industry access and offer possibilities to build networks and try out the ideas within the fashion value chain.