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

Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Functional Textiles / Smart Jacket

18 February 2025

Researchers created an AI-enabled jacket from an electronic textile to deliver optimal heating to the wearer, and colour-changing yarns signaled temperatures below 86 Fahrenheit (30 Celsius) and above 104 F (40 C).

Researchers Use AI-based Temperature Control System to Create Intelligent Jacket

A group of researchers has crafted an AI-enabled jacket with an electronic textile that warms the user without overheating and provides immediate temperature readings for easy monitoring.

Staff Writer

Functional Textiles / Thermal Adaptation

16 August 2024

A team led by Dr Dahua Shou, Limin Endowed Young Scholar in Advanced Textiles Technologies and Associate Professor of the School of Fashion and Textiles of PolyU has developed first-of-its-kind soft robotic clothing that can automatically adapt to changing ambient temperatures, thereby ensuring working safety in hot environments.

HK Researchers Use Biomimicry to Develop Clothing that Auto-Adapts to Changing Ambient Temperatures

Inspired by the adaptive thermal regulation mechanism in pigeons, a team of researchers in Hong Kong has developed the first-of-its-kind intelligent soft robotic clothing for automatic temperature adaptation and thermal insulation in hot environments, offering superior personal protection and thermal comfort across a range of temperatures.

Staff Writer

Smart Textiles / Activewear

12 July 2024

The iActive sportswear range features a root-like liquid transport system and a skin-like active perspiration dissipater and utilises nature-inspired, anti-heat textile fabrics to expedite sweat removal, effectively reducing the weight and stickiness of activewear caused by sweat accumulation during exercise.

And Now Electrically-Activated Sportswear with Nature-Inspired Active Perspiration Function

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has developed a pioneering award-winning intelligent, electrically-activated sportswear with a nature-inspired active perspiration function.

Staff Writer

Going Circular / Repurposing Waste

12 February 2024

Buildings in Hong Kong generate 60% of CO2 emission and air conditioners consume 30% of energy. Therefore, providing an attractive technology to recycle textile waste and save building energy simultaneously holds high promise for carbon reduction.

Hong Kong Researcher Recycles Textile Waste for 'Building Clothing' as Thermal Insulation

A Hong Kong researcher shows how textile waste can be reused as thermal insulation for sustainable buildings as an effective green technology that synergistically combines two crucial components in achieving carbon neutrality: textile waste recycling and building energy saving.

Staff Writer

Going Sustainable / Technologies

6 February 2023

2 minutes

Large-scale applications of green fibres made from bio-sources will eliminate the poor degradability and microfibre contamination from petroleum derived synthetic fibres.

Mechanical Recycling Will Become Major Technology for Single-Material Textiles, Says Study

Promotion of green science and technology will be crucial to solve sustainability issues from the root to the end of textiles' lifecycle, a research study has underlined.

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.