In Hong Kong, September is regarded as fashion month. Since sustainable apparel was a key feature of both of the city's major annual fashion shows, which took place in the first week of September, it might as well have been dubbed Hong Kong's sustainability month. The Hong Kong Trade Development Council-run Centerstage, which took place from September 4–7, reaffirmed its dedication to sustainable fashion by designating a thematic zone for circular fashion.
Concerning the Redress Design Award, an international fashion design competition, sustainability is more or less a given. Held on September 6 and organized by the self-titled environmental activism-focused NGO Redress, the event began with a panel featuring a number of celebrities. Actor Carlos Chan, fencer Shawn Cheung Siu-lun, supermodel and environmentalist Bonnie Chen, and Cantopop boy trio P1X3L discussed the importance of adopting circular fashion from an Asian perspective, reported China Daily.
When it comes to Hong Kong, the emphasis on clothing created responsibly is particularly pertinent, if not absolutely necessary. The city produces over 300 metric tons of textile waste every day, according to the website of the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel. It also claims that there will soon be insufficient room for the nearby landfills, which receive 52% of this kind of waste.
Textile waste comes from a variety of sources, including discarded clothing, unsold or damaged goods, and excess fabric from creating garments. This massive amount of waste not only degrades the soil on which it is deposited, but every day Hong Kong's sewers discharge billions of microplastic fragments made of synthetic fibers into the sea, poisoning the groundwater. Additionally, the cost of operating disposal sites is unaffordable. The cost to the city's Treasury of one of the most recent landfill site extension contracts was HK$61.1 billion ($7.85 billion).
Thankfully, though, organizations like Redress and government-run establishments like the HKTDC are utilizing fashion shows to emphasize that quick fashion is no longer a choice for apparel designers and businesses.