Frequently Asked Questions

The Billion Dollar Collection by non-profit H&M Foundation, presents 10 innovative sustainable start-ups that could change the face of the fashion industry.

Will these 10 specific innovations will be enough to transform the fashion industry?
No, we don’t believe these 10 will be enough. However, we do think they help us underline this issue and show that it sure is difficult even for brilliant innovations to get the support they need and truly change the fashion industry. These 10 also illustrate what impact sustainable innovations could achieve if given the opportunity to grow.

The innovations selected for this initiative are all previous winners of our innovation challenge Global Change Award. With over 20,000 entries since its inception, the GCA shows there is no lack of innovators and innovations. What is lacking is the funding and support to transform the fashion industry beyond capsule collections and pilots. 

How did you pick these 10 innovations/companies?
The 10 innovations selected for this initiative come from across the globe and are all previous winners of our innovation challenge Global Change Award. We wanted a good mix of innovations and these 10 encompass anything from materials to traceability and represent different parts of the fashion value chain.

How were the price tags set?
The ‘Billion Dollar collection’ presents 10 innovative sustainable start-ups that could disrupt the fashion industry. The innovations are represented by garments in a virtual fashion collection, where each innovation features a price tag reflecting the estimated support each start-up believes they need to achieve scale for their disruptive innovations until 2030.

What type of support do these innovations need?
We know from our conversations with innovators and entrepreneurs that many start-ups struggle to attract the necessary funding, support and collaboration partners to bring their ideas to scale and truly change the fashion industry beyond capsule collections and pilots. Innovations, such as these 10, need funding such as grants, support to build scalable technology solutions and collaboration partners like fashion brands and suppliers.