It ain't fashion, if it ain't sustainable

Hong Kong

Redress Design Award / 2024 Applications

22 January 2024

3 minutes

Nils Hauser, the first prize winner at the Redress Design Award 2023.

Redress Opens Applications for 2024 Design Awards, Winner Gets Chance to Work on Tommy Hilfiger Sustainability Project

The Redress Design Award 2024 is calling on emerging designers globally to apply with their circular and sustainable fashion collections before the closing date of 15 March 2024. It is estimated that 80% of a product’s environmental impact is determined at the design stage.

Staff Writer

Going Circular / Redress Study

15 November 2023

3 minutes

In order to understand where designers can maximise their role to reduce environmental impact, there is a need to understand what the design stage is and who is involved in the decision-making process to expose both barriers and opportunities to embed circularity in products.

Knowledge Gap and Financial Barriers Hindering Circularity at Design Stage; Managements Dither on Commitment and Collaboration

Fashion industry urgently needs to reposition profit margins for strategic integration of sustainability and circularity into product design and bridge the knowledge gap and financial barriers for circular design to implement circularity at the design stage at enterprises manufacturing in China and Southeast Asia.

Staff Writer

Microfibre Pollution / Solutions

1 February 2023

2 minutes

Acousweep is an environment-friendly approach compared to the current treatment of microplastics.

The Latest from HKRITA is Acousweep: A Microplastic Fibre Separation System Using Sweeping Acoustic Waves

The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA) has developed a separation system to capture microplastic fibres in water by using acoustic manipulation techniques. In addition to treating wastewater generated from the textiles and apparel industries, the Acousweep can be applied to other industry sectors for microplastic collection.

Staff Writer

Textile Recycling / Green Machine

17 October 2022

6 minutes

The Green Machine is licensed by HKRITA at cost price, meaning it only covers their costs with no extra margins. For H&M Foundation and HKRITA this open-source approach is key to reach maximum impact and to transform the fashion industry.

HKRITA’s Green Machine is Breakthrough that Recycling of Blended Textiles Needed, at Scale

The ITMF award that the Green Machine received in September is only the latest feather in its decorated cap. Developed by the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA), the Green Machine has been making waves since its launch in 2016. Katherine Chan, Director (Business Development) at HKRITA, talks about the challenges that had to be encountered, and the excitement that the Green Machine has generated.

Subir Ghosh

Interview

ITMF Awards / Green Machine

21 September 2022

2 minutes

Green Machine is a polyester and cellulose recycling system by hydrothermal treatment and dissolution treatment on cotton and polyester blends. Through decomposing cotton into cellulose powders, it enables the separation of the polyester fibres from the blends. The quality of the polyester fibres is maintained, permitting fibre-to-fibre recycling.

HKRITA Gets ITMF Award for Green Machine, Its 5th Award Since 2016 Launch

The Green Machine of the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA) has won an ITMF Award for Sustainability and Innovation. Through separation of the blended textile, Green Machine recovers PET fibre for re-spinning, even as it converts cotton fibre into cellulosic powder for a number of uses.

Staff Writer

Innovation / Sustainability Challenge

13 September 2022

3 minutes

Kelvin Wong, Interim Director of the Knowledge Transfer and Entrepreneurship Office at PolyU (left); Sunny Tan, LegCo Member (Textiles and Garment) (middle), Betty Law, Head of Communications and Corporate Sustainability at Hang Seng (right), officiated at the launch ceremony of the Hang Seng x PolyU Sustainable Future Challenge: Textile and Fashion.

Hong Kong Polytechnic University Announces Fashion Challenge

In a bid to nurture innovation and technology talent and encourage young people to embrace innovative and entrepreneurial mindset to drive change for social good and societal impact, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University has announced a Sustainable Future Challenge: Textile and Fashion.

Staff Writer

Leatherwear / Regeneration

29 July 2022

2 minutes

The reaction process retains the chromium as chromium III, thereby minimising its conversion to chromium VI. The regenerated leather has sufficient mechanical properties to allow it to be used in the manufacture of new leather products.

HKRITA Regenerates Bio-based Leather from Leather Waste

A novel bio-based approach to obtaining sheets of regenerated leather has been developed by the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA) that separates, categorises and recycles post-consumer leather products.

Staff Writer

Recycling / G2G System

17 June 2022

6 minutes

The recycling process can be configured in a 40-foot container, including the 3-in-1 Integrated Opening-Cleaning-Carding System with AI algorithms to optimise the system.

HKRITA Shows Garment-to-Garment Recycling Can Be Done, But Industry Yet to Catch Up

The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel's (HKRITA) novel Garment-to-Garment (G2G) Recycle System shows that integral and closed-loop garment recycling can indeed be done, and sans any water and chemicals, but no big-time manufacturer or brand has been able to use this innovation at the industrial or mass scale. A texfash.com Special.