Redress reignites the global sustainable fashion movement to accerlerate the change to a circular fashion industry
©Redress Design Award
Environmental NGO Redress opened the Redress Design Award 2023, the 13th cycle of the world’s largest sustainable fashion design competition at a prominent industry gathering in Hong Kong on 11 January, where fashion industry leaders with global influence gathered, just days after the resumption of normal travel between Hong Kong and the Mainland, to discuss the region’s opportunity to drive circular fashion globally. Online applications for the Redress Design Award 2023 are open from 12 January, and will close on 16 March 2023. Following semi-final judging, 10 finalists will be announced on 10 May, and those residing abroad will come to Hong Kong in September for the Grand Final Week activities.
The Redress Design Award, which is supported by Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) as the lead sponsor, educates and empowers emerging fashion designers about circular fashion, against the background that 80% of a product’s environmental impact is laid down at the design stage. Homegrown in Hong Kong since 2011, the educational competition’s global footprint attracts applicants from over 50 countries and enjoys support from over 150 universities globally, with thousands of hopeful designers throughout the competition’s history battling to finesse and showcase their innovative design skills on the global stage to win the chance of collaborating with leading fashion businesses.
The 2023 competition cycle is again partnering with VF Corporation, one of the world’s largest apparel, footwear and accessories companies of iconic brands including Timberland® and The North Face®. Following the Grand Final Fashion Presentation in September in Hong Kong, the first prize winner will join VF Corporation’s innovative business for a sustainable design collaboration.
Asia accounts for around 60% of global exports of garments, textiles, and footwear, and China is the world's biggest fashion consumer market. Headquartered in Hong Kong, the heart of Asia and gateway to the Mainland of China, Redress is in a prime position to address the issue of waste within the fashion industry. The equivalent of one rubbish truck of textiles is landfilled or burned every second, global textile waste estimated to increase by 63% by 2030, and the fashion industry is responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions — more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined.
“Redress has a bold vision: to build a world in which fashion is circular,” said Dr. Christina Dean, Founder of Redress, the Hong Kong-headquartered and Asia-focused NGO, at the official launch event of the Redress Design Award 2023. “Whilst the fashion industry has grappled with many challenging Covid-related supply chain impacts and a challenging economy, we can’t ignore fashion’s worsening environmental and waste crisis. Asia is the global fashion industry’s engine of production and, increasingly, consumption, and we must urgently raise our game and promote Asian innovation further. Together with emerging designers, academia, business, and government, we have great power to accelerate a circular fashion industry globally.”
For more details of the application, please visit: https://www.redressdesignaward.com/
