Local charity REDRESS collects a recordbreaking 9 tonnes of unwanted clothing for“GetRedressed Month”

by Flora

Across the city more than 80 companies， clubs and schools， joined Redress for their first #GetRedressed Month – kicking off the charitys goal to turn October into the official month to take action against textile waste. Just over nine tonnes of unwanted clothing was collected through the drive， which also included a series of events and educational activities designed to drive awareness and shift behaviors among the general public.

Working to champion circular fashion initiatives and catalyse lasting change at a consumer level， Redress is on a mission to tackle waste in the fashion industry. Founder and Chair， Dr. Christina Dean noted “Across the world， every second the equivalent of one garbage truck of textiles is landfilled or burned – and here in Hong Kong we are disposing around 280 garments per minute into Hong Kongs overflowing landfills every single day. We firmly believe that Hong Kongers can - and will –embrace our vision to create a truly circular economy for clothing， whilst creating real impact for communities in need right here in Hong Kong.

With generous sponsorship from Clifford Chance， Credit Suisse， New World Development Company Ltd. and T.Rowe Price， and all logistics provided pro-bono by the Li & Fung Foundation， this years Get Redressed Month saw companies from different sectors coming together to find solutions to textile waste. Additional pro-bono support for the drive was provided by Redbox Storage， who not only donated warehouse space but facilitated numerous sorting sessions totalling 650 volunteer man hours. Every single item of clothing received by Redress was individually assessed and sorted in order to maximize its life span and minimize environmental impact. Over 95% of textiles that end up in landfill can be re-used， re-purposed of recycled in some way， and Redress is championing a new movement to unlock the creative and social potential of textile waste.

Partnering with 18 local charities， including Asbury Methodist Church， Christian Action， Crossroads， Friends of the Earth （Hong Kong）， Pathfinders， Po Leung Kuk and Impact HK， Redress works to ensure that every beneficiary receives clothes that match their specific needs， whilst building increased trust and transparency for clothes recycling in the city. Showcasing the community value of their #Get Redressed month， beneficiaries include women at risk， migrants， the homeless， the elderly， children and babies and， for the first time， even animals in need.

Jeff Rotmeyer， Founder and Director of Impact HK shared， Clothing waste amongst the homeless is big issue. Redress provide our homeless beneficiaries with appropriate clothing that fits and we in turn provide a location to wash it.

As the global appetite for cheap fast fashion continues to rise year on year， it is becoming increasingly critical to address the growing environmental crisis caused by this trend.

In Hong Kong alone the amount of clothes thrown away annually has more than doubled in just seven years. Redress believes the time is right to push the issue of textile waste onto the mainstream agenda and is now collecting clothing via 17 permanent collection points across the city with another two rolling out in January 2019. To date they have successfully collected， sorted and re-distributed 41 tonnes of post-consumer clothing within Hong Kong and are also expanding their work with brands to find solutions to deadstock and end-of-roll fabric waste.

“Morgan Stanley was delighted to participate in the Get Redressed campaign. There is significant societal benefit if we work together to make effective use of the surplus items we have，” shared KC Wong， Head of Community Affairs for Asia Pacific， Morgan Stanley.

Lawrence Wong， Community Engagement Lead， Li & Fung added“The success of Get Redressed Month is testament to both the organizations incredibly passionate people and the meaningful work theyre doing which helps consumers better understand important issues around fashion and the environment. The Li & Fung Foundation is delighted to continue to provide our support.”