The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA)’s research project, Garment-to-Garment Recycle System (G2G) won the Gold Award of the 2020 Hong Kong Green Innovations Awards (HKGIA).

Last week, the project was also honoured by the Japan Institute of Design Promotion’s Good Design Best100 2021 of The Good Design Award (G Mark). The two awards recognise G2G’s green functions and innovative design.

Winning the Gold Award of Hong Kong Green Innovations Awards (HKGIA) shows that the G2G project excels in these key areas: the level of innovation, environmental achievements, practicability and contribution to society. A presentation ceremony was held yesterday.

The triumph in Japan remarks the G2G as pioneering technology that helps to achieve a sustainable future for both the industry and society. To introduce the award-winning entries to the public, the Good Design Exhibition 2021 is now running at the Tokyo Midtown Design Hub until 21 November 2021.

Mr Edwin Keh, Chief Executive Officer of HKRITA, commented: “Speed, scale and impact have been our guiding principles and have directed our work. The G2G has already won four international and local awards since its launch in 2018. These two new accolades further recognise it as proof of a scalable innovation that has high impact potential. We hope that the G2G not only inspires us to rethink the intrinsic value of our clothes, but also presents a leading and innovative contribution to solving our environmental challenges as we combat climate change.”

The award-winning G2G is a unique mini-scale production line set up in a retail shop in the Mills, Hong Kong, where it recycles used garments into new ones. The whole process takes place in a 40-foot container enclosed in double-glazed glass, so that visitors can view the entire recycling process and deepen their experience by recycling their own used clothes.

The G2G project is currently in its second phase and features an AI algorithm developed to estimate recycle process parameters setting and automatically review if the fibres need to be reopened. The second phase technology also has a 3-in-1 fibre processing system installed, which increases the system's degree of automation as well as its capacity. The system links up to a 3D body scanner which measures the shape of customers to ensure the recycled garment fits well.

The G2G project is an Innovation and Technology Fund project. It is also sponsored by Novetex Textiles Limited and is carried out in collaboration with the H&M Foundation. Apart from the GOOD DESIGN BEST100 and the Hong Kong Green Innovations Awards, the G2G has also won a Red Dot Award: Product Design 2019, and a gold medal in both the 47thInternational Exhibition of Inventions in Geneva and in the Asia International Innovative Invention Award of 2019. The G2G was also honoured in Fast Company’s Innovation by Design Awards of 2019 (Retail Environments category).

HKGIA is an important environmental award given under the auspices of the Hong Kong Awards for Environmental Excellence (HKAEE). This year, among the 86 entries competing for 2020 HKGIA, one Gold Award, one Silver Award, one Bronze Award and two Certificates of Merit were granted.

The Good Design Award is one of the most reputable design awards in Japan and has a history of more than 60 years. The organiser received 5,835 entries this year.

Established in 2006, HKRITA is funded by the Innovation and Technology Commission of the HKSAR Government and is hosted by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. HKRITA contributes to the competitiveness of the textile and apparel industry by providing one-stop services in applied research, technology transfer and commercialisation. HKRITA also plays a vital and expanding role in driving sustainable improvements in the industry and thus bringing benefits to society as a whole.

www.hkrita.com