Agro-Lyocell, an Indian textile innovation, has won the Global Change Award initiated by the H&M Foundation. The innovation turns agricultural waste into textile fibres, offering a potential alternative to wood-based raw materials.
The winners were announced at Stockholm City Hall ahead of the Nobel Prize banquet in December. Each year, ten winners receive a grant of EUR 200,000 to develop their early-stage innovations.
Agro-Lyocell stood out among thousands of applications by addressing two challenges: agricultural waste burning and the textile industry’s reliance on wood-based fibres. Its approach aims to create value from crop residues while opening up new opportunities for farmers.
Agro-Lyocell Converts Agricultural Waste into Textile Fibres
India generates around 90 million tonnes of crop residue burning each year, according to the announcement. Meanwhile, the textile industry continues to rely on wood-based fibres, which can put pressure on forests.
Agro-Lyocell aims to address these challenges by using overlooked agricultural materials, including linseed residue. The innovation focuses on the dense, woody part of crop waste that often remains unused.
While natural crop fibres can already be used in textiles, Agro-Lyocell converts the remaining woody material into a new textile fibre. This offers a potential alternative to conventional lyocell, which is made from wood pulp.
“Every year, millions of tonnes of agricultural waste are burned while the industry cuts down trees for fibre. We’re connecting those two problems and turning waste into a resource”, says Shreyans Kokra, CEO Canvaloop.
Innovation Moves Towards Pilot Fibre Production
Agro-Lyocell is currently at the process optimisation stage. The team has established a laboratory-scale method to convert agricultural residues into dissolving-grade cellulose.
In addition, early feasibility trials have validated multiple feedstocks. The team is now working towards pilot-scale fibre production.
These developments mark an important step in assessing how agricultural waste could become a useful raw material for textile manufacturing. However, further development is needed before the innovation can progress towards wider production.
H&M Foundation Supports Textile Innovation
The Global Change Award (GCA), initiated by the H&M Foundation, supports early-stage innovations that can help transform the textile industry. Its goal is to help the sector halve greenhouse gas emissions every decade while supporting a just transition for people and the planet.
Since its launch in 2015, the initiative has supported 66 teams from 24 countries, providing a total of EUR 12 million in grants.
“Handing the Global Change Award to this year’s winners is a reminder of the courage it takes to pursue an idea before you know where it will lead. At this early stage they need room to test, learn and adapt. Our role as a philanthropy is to support that journey with funding and connections that can help the winners move their ideas forward,” says Karl-Johan Persson, Board Member at H&M Foundation.
By turning agricultural residues into textile fibres, Agro-Lyocell highlights the potential of waste-based raw materials to support more resource-efficient textile production. Its next steps towards pilot fibre production will help assess the innovation’s potential for wider industry use.
