H&M Foundation

The Ready-Made Garments industry is a cornerstone of Bangladesh’s economy, employing around 4.1 million people. Women make up 56% of this workforce. However, the figure has seen a decline from the 1990s, when women constituted nearly 90% of the RMG workforce. Despite the industry’s significant role in advancing women’s financial empowerment, progress in creating a decent work environment and diversifying job roles for women has lagged. Most women are still in low-skilled positions with limited career mobility. As automation and digital technology revolutionise the textile industry, an estimated 2.7 million RMG workers in Bangladesh could lose their livelihoods in the next 20 years. This intensifies the competition for jobs, underscoring the critical importance of our multi-partner initiative Oporajita - Collective Impact on Future of Work. Oporajita is a collective impact initiative that unites a diverse group of stakeholders. Our mission is to ensure that women garment workers are equipped with the skills and competencies needed for the future of work. We are committed to fostering an enabling and inclusive environment that supports their choices and career growth. Learn more about Oporajita: https://lnkd.in/dqffqPdq The Asia Foundation | FSG | WaterAid Bangladesh | CARE Bangladesh | Save the Children in Bangladesh | Circular Apparel Innovation Factory (CAIF) | iDE (International Development Enterprises) | Shimmy Technologies, Inc. | Center for Communication Action Bangladesh | Swisscontact | United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) | LightCastle Partners | ygap | Embassy of Sweden in Dhaka #inclusivesocieties #womentowomen #genderequality

“While the industry is hungry for innovation, we see that the critical early stages of an innovator’s journey is often overlooked. – Annie Lindmark, Programme Director for Innovation at the H&M Foundation Very few are supporting early-stage innovation within the textile industry; even less so with a holistic lens. That is why the Global Change Award aims to back a wide range of changemakers with early-stage innovations that can help accelerate the textile industry’s path to net-zero and equip them to build solutions that benefit both people and the planet. We are very encouraged by being one of the initial supporters of their ideas. This also fills a vital gap in the innovation landscape and it is one where we - a philanthropy - can have the biggest impact. #globalchangeaward #fashioninnovation #earlystage #earlystageideas

Hear from Anna Gedda, CEO at H&M Foundation, about our journey and sharpened scope, focusing our efforts on decarbonising the fashion industry.??

Take the chance to listen in to the findings of the Circularity Gap Report Textiles, produced by our partner Circle Economy.?As the textile industry must improve their sustainable practices, understanding the potential impact of circular strategies?is crucial for driving meaningful change. During this session, you will gain insights into where the industry stands in terms of circularity, where impactful transformations can be made to close the gap, and how it?impacts jobs and people. ??When and where? Online, December 3, 13.00 CET Sign up here: https://lnkd.in/d8TjQF4S

Our vision is crystal clear: a socially inclusive and planet positive textile industry. To achieve this faster, we’re focusing on the key challenge: decarbonisation. The fashion and textile industry is a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions and plays a crucial role in the world’s 1.5-degree pathway. The Carbon Law suggests that global emissions must halve every decade until 2050 to stay well below 2 degrees Celsius, in line with the Paris Agreement. At H&M Foundation we are fully committed to driving the textile industry to significantly reduce emissions every decade until then, while ensuring that the transition is just and fair. Learn more about our work: https://hmfoundation.com/ #decarbonisingfashion

Meet Annie Lindmark, H&M Foundation's Programme Director for Innovation, and responsible for one of the world’s largest innovation challenges in the textile industry; the Global Change Award - called the Nobel Prize of Fashion. ? How do you believe fostering innovation at an early stage can lead to more sustainable and impactful solutions in the long run? ?? While the textile industry is hungry for innovation, early-stage innovation is often connected with high risk and uncertainty and therefore too risky for commercial businesses in to invest in. At the same time, we know that for the industry to reach net-zero, we are fully dependent on creative, innovative, maybe not yet even imagined solutions – so backing and supporting early-stage innovation is paramount. This is where we as a philanthropic organisation can make a real difference! We can absorb risk, move quickly and support early-stage innovations that could have the potential to transform the entire industry. ? You recently launched GCA 2025, what kind of innovations are you hoping to see come through? ?? I look forward to seeing ideas that challenge our way of thinking of how fashion is seen, worn, and made. I especially look forward to being surprised by the unexpected ideas! Imagine the breakthroughs and new ways of doing things that will transform the industry in ways we cannot event think of today. One of our four solution areas is therefore called wildcards, and here we accept all those ideas that can play an important role in decarbonising the textile industry but that we haven’t even thought of before, or that amplify transformation within multiple areas. ? Why is GCA different from other innovation challenges? ?? I think the biggest difference is that it's up to the winners themselves to decide how the grant is best used, while many other innovation challenges often require winners to report on specific KPIs. This is highly appreciated by the GCA winners because the freedom of being able to invest in a way suitable to their specific needs means a lot for their development. We also have a holistic approach in how we have put together the GCA, and our goal is to equip our winners with the knowledge, tools, connections and mindset that is needed to decarbonise the textile industry, while considering the social aspect as well and how the transformation impacts both people and the planet. #globalchangeaward #decarbonisingfashion

We are proud to present the brilliant group who will help us discover the future pioneers of the textile industry: our GCA nominators! This year, we’re shifting from open applications to a nomination system to widen our winner profiles, elevate our network, and deepen the impact. We've teamed up with a diverse group of global experts from universities, charities, industry leaders, and more to help us discover the next generation of changemakers and find our next ten winners. Our nominators play a crucial role in discovering the unexpected - the innovators who will have the potential to shape the future of the textile industry. Learn more about who the nominators are and their role: https://lnkd.in/dQqsABdu #globalchangeaward #decarbonisingfashion #fashioninnovation

What would a decarbonised textile industry look like in 2050? To transform the industry, we first need to picture what it could look like. By imagining the future, we can inspire real change. Reweaving Fashion & Textiles 2050 offers a story of what decarbonisation by 2050 could look like, while highlighting the journey to get there. The scenario is brought to life through an immersive audio experience that shares the personal stories of industry stakeholders. Meet Rashid, John and Park – and get a taste of their personal journeys from today, into a net-zero future by 2050. This is not an utopia, rather a story about a possible future based on a science backed scenario, developed together with our partner Planethon - Thrive within planetary boundaries. Listen to the whole scenario and get to know the science and sources behind it: https://lnkd.in/d38rKeTr.? ? Earth4All Stockholm Resilience Centre #foresight #futurescenario #decarbonisation

Are you passionate about decarbonising the textile industry? The Global Change Award is looking for changemakers addressing sustainable materials and processes, responsible production, mindful consumption and more. Our nominator The Mills Fabrica is now accepting proposals??that will have a chance to become nominated for our innovation challenge Global Change Award – check it out! https://lnkd.in/g2-gu-ra #globalchangeaward #decarbonisingfashion #fashioninnovation

Over the years, climate related disasters have increased. Evidence suggests that around 55% of humanitarian funding goes to climate related crises but only 1% of this funding is organised in advance – despite this being a much more effective way of tackling these crises. We believe that targeting anticipatory measures in climate driven disasters can prevent or ease emergency catastrophes. That is why we have partnered up with Start Network – a global network of more than 100 organisations working together to shift from reactive crisis response to proactive early action. Through our partnership, we will support Start Network’s flagship financing mechanism, Start Ready. This three-year commitment aims to strengthen the capacity of eight countries to anticipate, respond to, and recover from crises. Read more about our new partnership with Start Network:?https://lnkd.in/davPFzaK #disastermanagement #emergencyresponse #anticipatoryfunding