An early idea can become something bigger
H&M Foundation Launches GCA 2027
with CARE Bangladesh as One of the Official Nominators from Bangladesh
The opportunity
GREAT IDEAS OFTEN BEGIN SMALL.
As a university research project, an experiment in a lab, a thesis, a prototype, or simply a new way of looking at an old problem.
CARE Bangladesh wants to help promising early-stage ideas from Bangladesh's universities find an opportunity to grow.
As an official nominator for the H&M Foundation Global Change Award 2027, CARE Bangladesh is inviting university students and university-based innovators across Bangladesh to share ideas that could contribute to the decarbonisation and transformation of the textile and fashion industry.
Your idea does not need to be market-ready or a start-up. If it has the potential to create meaningful change in the textile industry, we want to hear about it.
About CARE Bangladesh
CARE is a leading international humanitarian and development organisation working to fight poverty and inequality, with women and girls at the centre of its work.
Learn more about CARE Bangladesh ↗About the award
WHAT IS THE GLOBAL CHANGE AWARD?
The H&M Foundation's innovation challenge accelerates early-stage ideas that can help the textile industry halve greenhouse gas emissions every decade and reach net-zero by 2050, while supporting a just and fair transition.
Platform
GCA connects innovators to global opportunities.
Idea
Promising ideas gain the opportunity to grow.
Impact
Accelerating textile decarbonization.
Why universities
BIG IDEAS.
BOLD INNOVATION.
LASTING IMPACT.
Bangladesh’s universities are home to the next generation of innovators.
Through the Global Change Award, promising ideas can gain the recognition, support and opportunities needed to drive decarbonization and transform the future of the textile industry.
Could your idea be one of them?
Whatever your field of study, you can be part of the change.
Ideas are welcome from engineering, computer science and AI, materials science, biotechnology, chemistry, environmental science, energy and climate, architecture and design, business and economics, social sciences, and beyond.
Research ProjectAcademic ThesisLab ExperimentEarly PrototypeNew ApplicationBusiness ModelSystems ModelBold Concept
What matters is whether the idea could contribute to the decarbonisation and wider transformation of the textile and fashion industry.
Four focus areas
WHAT KIND OF INNOVATION IS GCA LOOKING FOR?
Sustainable Materials & Processes
Reimagining fibres, materials and the methods used to make textiles through biotechnology, chemistry, alternative fibres and lower-impact processing.
Responsible Production
Smarter design, prediction modelling, energy efficiency, on-demand production, resource optimisation and zero-waste manufacturing systems.
Mindful Consumption
Extending garment lifecycles, reshaping demand, enabling circular models and improving reuse, repair and recycling.
Wildcards
Bold, unexpected and cross-cutting innovations that challenge how the textile system currently works.
How early can your idea be?
VERY EARLY.
GCA deliberately looks for innovation at an early stage. Your research may still be in the lab, your prototype may need work, or your idea may not yet have been applied to textiles.
Could your idea become something bigger?
Research
Lab Stage
Concept
Early Prototype
Early Validation
Eligibility
WHO CAN APPLY?
Applicants should be Bangladeshi nationals and based in or connected to a university in Bangladesh only.
Undergraduate and postgraduate university students
Individual students or student teams
Interdisciplinary university teams
Recent graduates with university-originated ideas
University-based researchers and research teams
Faculty-student teams with meaningful student involvement
Assessment
WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?
We assess ideas based on their relevance, originality, potential impact and ability to create meaningful change.
Relevance
Could it reduce greenhouse gas emissions or create wider textile-industry transformation?
Innovation
What is new or distinctive about the idea or approach?
Potential Impact
If the idea succeeds, what could change?
Potential to Scale
Could the solution grow beyond one application, organisation or location?
Systems Change
Could it contribute to changing how the wider textile system operates?
You and Your Team
Why are you committed, and do you have the initiative to take the idea further?
From idea to nomination
HOW DOES THE SELECTION PROCESS WORK?
Submit Your Idea
Complete the application, upload a maximum two-page concept note, and share a one-minute video.
Initial Review
Eligible submissions are reviewed for alignment, innovation, impact and scalability.
Shortlisting
Approximately 10 promising innovations will be shortlisted.
Final Pitch
Shortlisted innovators present to a multidisciplinary panel.
CARE Nomination
The strongest eligible innovation or innovations will be considered for nomination to GCA 2027.
Important: Being shortlisted or selected through CARE Bangladesh's process does not constitute selection as a Global Change Award winner. Subsequent assessment is undertaken through the H&M Foundation's own process.
For selected GCA changemakers
WHAT COULD GCA OFFER?
Grant
Funding to help develop and advance the innovation.
Changemaker Programme
Knowledge, tools, networks and support to strengthen the innovation.
Innovation Community
Connections with expertise and changemakers transforming the textile industry.
Ready to share your idea?
AN EARLY IDEA CAN BECOME SOMETHING BIGGER.
You do not need a finished product or a start-up. You need an idea with potential and the ambition to take it further.
Submission deadline27 OCTOBER 2026
Submissions are closed
The CARE Bangladesh internal submission deadline was 27 October 2026, 11:59 PM.
Learn more
