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According to figures from the En-
vironmental Protection Department
of Hong Kong, about 0.125 million
tons of textile garbage were dumped
into landfills in 2018. On average,
about 343 tons of textile waste were
produced per day.
To combat textile waste, Redress,
an environmental NGO in Hong
Kong, makes efforts to change the
public perception of fashion and re-
duce textile waste.
Redress, founded in 2007, has
held various campaigns to promote
sustainable fashion through recy- Redress Design Award 2019 (Photo courtesy of Redress)
cling and upcycling. Redress encour-
ages the public to adopt a circular
model by collecting, sorting, and re- looking for sustainable models to es but also push other practitioners
using or upcycling secondhand gar- address environmental concerns. in the industry to change,” Liu adds.
ments. H&M introduced an environmen- Liu thinks changing consump-
The NGO also holds the tally conscious label, “Con- tion behavior is the key to promote
Redress Design Award eve- scious” in 2019, which sustainable fashion. She points out
ry year to spread the mes- means their products that consumers lack awareness of
sage of sustainable fashion “must contain at least the impact of over-consumption.
with designers of various 50 per cent sustainable “Many consumers don’t realise that
backgrounds. “We work to materials, such as or- they are buying one of the world’s
change mindsets (of fashion ganic cotton and recy- biggest polluted goods when they
consumption) and (related) cled polyester” according purchase fast fashion,” she says.
practices to reduce textile Kay Liu to H&M’s official website. Liu asks consumers to keep three
waste, as well as to create Zara also has its eco-friend- “Re’s” in mind to practise sustain-
systems and partnerships that will ly collection, “Join Life”, able fashion trends, which are, to
bring out the values (of) existing which uses organic cotton, recycled Re-think before buying, Re-organise
waste,” says Kay Liu, circular fash- wool, and forest-friendly fibre, Lyo- wardrobes, and Re-create old into
ion programme director at Redress. cell as the primary materials. new.
Fast-fashion retailers are also “These changes do not only offer
consumers more sustainable choic-

Edited by Soohyun Kim
Sub-edited by Kayi Tsang

Zara Join Life Collection explained on website (Source: Zara Official Website)