Designing sustainability in Hong Kong’s fashion industry

WWF HK
WWF HK
Nov 7 · 4 min read

In what’s seen as a milestone for the Hong Kong fashion industry, eight local manufacturers formally signed on to the United Nation’s Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action. The group is the first batch of Hong Kong manufacturers to formally pledge to collaborate with global fashion companies to tackle the climate crisis and implement sustainable practices in global fashion supply chains. The signing took place at the September 2019 Fashion Summit Hong Kong, where nearly a thousand participants, many key players from the industry, gathered to discuss ways to achieve fashion sustainability in Asia.

“Hong Kong has long been a major hub for global fashion, with the city ranking among the top 10 in global textile imports and exports, and production bases spread across the region from mainland China to South and Southeast Asia” said Karen Ho, Head of Corporate and Community Sustainability, WWF-Hong Kong, which together with the Clothing Industry Training Authority (CITA), convened the eight firms to sign the climate pledge.

Karen Ho, Head of Corporate and Community Sustainability, WWF-Hong Kong (centre right), sees the signing of the UN climate action charter as a milestone for the local fashion industry

She noted that as signatories to the UN treaty, manufacturers can work with related stakeholders to implement sustainable management schemes and regulations to upgrade facilities and the production process, serving as industry role models for others to follow suit.

The launch of the fashion industry charter at the 2018 UN Climate Change Conference is considered a major step forward for an industry that has one of the highest carbon footprint. Signed by more than 50 leading brands, retailers, suppliers, the charter lays out a framework for the industry to collectively address the climate impact of the fashion sector across its entire value chain as part of a worldwide move to limit the increase in the global average temperature to well below 1.5° Celsius above pre-industrial levels, as set out in the 2015 Paris Agreement.

Philip Mok, WWF-Hong Kong Executive Councillor, urges the fashion industry to maintain the momentum towards sustainability Photo credit: WWF-Hong Kong

“Across the industry, there is more understanding that it needs to change the way it operates, particularly in its use of energy and other resources,” said Philip Mok, WWF-Hong Kong Executive Councillor at the event opening. “The question is how to pick up the pace and accelerate progress towards becoming a more sustainable industry,”

This year’s Fashion Summit discussed ways to start implementing existing tools and standards developed in recent years; in particular, blockchain technology. Many industry representatives believe blockchain holds the key to improving transparency and traceability by enabling stakeholders in the fashion industry to share information efficiently and effectively throughout the supply chain. The technology could help some of the world’s leading brands meet their target to source 100 per cent sustainable fabric by 2025. Currently most brands are unable to identify their suppliers beyond the first tier.

Amit Gautam, Textile Genesis CEO and founder (far right), takes part in a panel on the use of blockchain technology in the fashion industry Photo credit: WWF-Hong Kong

TextileGenesis is among the tech developers working with the fashion industry to create a tailored platform for clients to trace the origin of their fabric. According to Amit Gautam, Textile Genesis CEO and founder, the technology allows for authentication by capturing the entire transaction chain down to the fibre origin. Data is protected from tampering as information cannot be altered or overwritten once entered into the database. And akin to Lego blocks, other authentification and traceability features can be added on to the backbone technology once the framework is set up.

“Waste is a design flaw”. Fashion Clinic’s Kay Wong & Toby Crispy (left) is helping to educate consumers that eco-fashion is the future of the industry. Photo credit: WWF-Hong Kong

This technology and other types of innovation like this will help tackle one of the thorniest sustainability issues facing the industry, which can no longer afford to operate business as usual. In the words of UN Global Climate representative Lindita Xhaferi-Salihu at the summit: “urgent action is needed now to implement the goals of the Paris Agreement — if the fashion industry doesn’t do its part, we cannot achieve our goals.”

Panda blog @WWF-Hong Kong

WWF contributors share daily insights on Hong Kong biodiversity and WWF-Hong Kong projects

WWF HK

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WWF HK

WWF contributors share regular insights on Hong Kong biodiversity and conservation issues

Panda blog @WWF-Hong Kong

WWF contributors share daily insights on Hong Kong biodiversity and WWF-Hong Kong projects

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