Sweden’s H&M and Fotografiska join hands for textile sustainability

With the power of visual communication, Sweden’s non-profit H&M Foundation and prominent photography museum Fotografiska, have joined forces to inspire action connected to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. They will explore what a planet positive fashion industry can look like and how to accelerate the development of inclusive societies.

The two-year collaboration begins with Fotografiska Stockholms exhibition The Changing Room by visual artist and multimedia pioneer Tobias Gremmler. In a scenographic media exhibition, the artist takes Fotografiska's visitors on a journey to picture a world where garments can grow directly on human skin through an array of imaginative notions.

To further raise awareness about how innovation can drive transformation, seven examples of planet positive solutions that can shift the fashion industry are introduced in the 3D inspiration room The Future is Here. This online tour makes it possible for anyone to learn more about these ideas in the comfort of their own home, according to H&M.

“We want to create awareness of the powerful impact sustainable fashion innovation can achieve if given the opportunity to scale. In the innovation space you can experience a T-shirt made of trapped carbon dioxide from the air, shoes crafted from wine-making leftovers and lab-grown cotton. These solutions exist and are giving back instead of taking from the planet, which is one of the keys to turning the fashion industry planet positive,” Diana Amini, global manager at H&M Foundation, said.

The seven solutions come from across the globe and represent different parts of the fashion industry's value chain. They are examples of H&M Foundation’s open-source collaboration with The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel as well as former winners of the annual innovation challenge Global Change Award.

In addition, Accenture has estimated the positive impact each of the innovations can have on the planet in 2030, if given adequate support and opportunity to scale. One of the innovations could save 80,000 million litres of water, which is the same amount 115 million people drink during a year. Another solution could reduce 720,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions annually, comparable to the total life-cycle emissions of 120 million polyester T-shirts.