Fashion must rethink its system, says H&M Foundation report

H&M Foundation urges fashion industry to rethink transformation in new systems-change report

The non-profit H&M Foundation, in partnership with Accenture, has released From Signals to Systems Change, a report urging the fashion industry to reimagine how it approaches sustainability and transformation. At its core is the Reimagined System Map, an open-source framework showing how early-stage innovation can drive the textile sector toward a just and net-zero future.

Small ideas, big impact

Grounded in insights from innovation, philanthropy and systems thinking, the report explores how small ideas can trigger large-scale impact. It maps key forces reshaping fashion, from artificial intelligence and geopolitics to biodiversity loss and resource scarcity, positioning the industry within a wider web of economic and environmental interdependence.

“If we don’t see the system, we can’t change it, and that’s exactly what this work helps us do,” says Annie Lindmark, Programme Director, Innovation at the H&M Foundation. “By looking at the fashion system as it is today and reimagining what it could become, we visualised how scaling early-stage innovations might ripple across the industry. Our hope is that different stakeholders will explore the System Map and ask themselves where in the system they have the most power to influence change, and in doing so, ignite new sparks of transformation.”

For a sector responsible for between 2 and 8 per cent of global carbon emissions, the message is timely. The Global Fashion Agenda estimates the industry must halve emissions by 2030 to align with the Paris Agreement. Yet while brands have made progress in recycling and transparency, many promising ideas remain underfunded or untested.

Accenture’s analysis uses its 360-degree value model to assess the impact of four Global Change Award 2025 winners, Loom, PulpaTronics, Renasens and The Revival Circularity Lab. By 2050, their innovations could save 570,000 tonnes of CO2 a year, conserve 160 billion litres of water and create 30,000 design-related jobs, while reducing 3,000 tonnes of e-waste annually.

Since its founding, the H&M Foundation has positioned philanthropy as “risk capital,” supporting ideas too early or uncertain for commercial funding. Its Global Change Award, launched in 2015, has provided 10 million euros to 56 teams across 23 countries, backing solutions in circular textiles and bio-based materials.

Collective accountability

The new report calls for collective accountability and shared visibility across the system, from raw materials to end-of-life recovery. It challenges every actor — brands, suppliers, investors and citizens, to consider where they can exert the most influence and what partnerships or decisions could accelerate meaningful change.

By situating innovation within a systems framework, From Signals to Systems Change reframes fashion’s sustainability challenge. Rather than viewing design or technology as isolated fixes, it positions them as interconnected levers in a wider social and ecological network, one that must evolve together if the industry is to meet both its climate and equity goals.