World’s Largest Sustainable Fashion Design Competition Launches With New Industry Partners To Support Growth In China

[10 Jan 2019] Redress, the Hong Kong based NGO working to reduce textile waste in the fashion industry, opened the ninth cycle of The Redress Design Award, the world’s largest sustainable fashion design competition. With a focus on emerging designers the search is now on to find the next big talent who has the ability to impress the judges and the commercial flair to inspire a new wave of conscious consumers. With a career-changing opportunity to collaborate with the JNBY Group (one of China’s leading fashion houses), the winning designer will create a sustainable collection for retail, whilst also supporting Redress’ mission to promote sustainable fashion and catalyse positive change in China’s powerful fashion industry.

Christina Dean, Founder and Board Chair of Redress said: “In times of crisis, we desperately need creativity. Fashion’s direct link to waste, pollution and climate change is undisputed. By uniting the 2019 winner with a sustainably-minded fashion brand in China, we can influence one of the world’s most important fashion epicentres whilst showcasing the advances that China is making to clean up its act.”

Li Lin, President and Chief Creative Director of JNBY Group, noted: “JNBY Group shares Redress’ goal to create a sustainable fashion industry. Last year we launched Reverb, a new circular fashion brand that is transforming our group's environmental impact. Globally the desire for change, particularly among the younger generation, is evident. We believe in the importance of educating the next generation and look forward to welcoming the next winner of the Redress Design Award into our team.”

The current fashion system is incredibly wasteful, with less than 1% of material used to produce clothing recycled into new clothing after use, equating to a loss of more than USD100 billion worth of materials each year1. But with 80% of a garment’s environmental impact defined at the design stage, designers have tremendous power to change this. The 2018 cycle of the Redress Design Award attracted entries from 55 countries, and with 110 university partners worldwide the competition continues to blaze a trail for sustainable fashion.

Marking the 2019 cycle launch at an event in Hong Kong, industry experts gathered to discuss China’s role as a key player to affect change through circular and sustainable design. China is the world’s largest exporter of textiles and clothing2 and, for the first time in 2019, China will overtake the US as the world’s largest fashion market.3 Fashion is currently the fourth largest emitter of CO2, and according to China Water Risk, the industry has significant power to ensure that the targets set at COP 21 to limit global warming to less than two degrees can be realistically achieved.⁴

With support from two new headline sponsors the competition will also accept applications from menswear designers for the first time since its launch in 2011.

The ongoing Major Sponsorship from Create Hong Kong, together with new sponsors JNBY Group and Gold Sponsor, Eastman Naia™ (makers of a fully traceable and sustainable cellulosic yarn), has enabled the 2019 cycle to expand to accept entries from menswear, alongside womenswear and unisex designers.

Ruth Farrell, Eastman Global Marketing Director of Textiles shared: “We are pleased to be able to sponsor this important, ever expanding competition which aligns with Eastman’s goal to promote sustainable fashion education. Through our partnership with Redress, we are working to cultivate a global pipeline of sustainable designers who have the creative vision to transform fashion and build the new brands of the future.”

The main prizes for the Redress Design Award 2019 are:

• First Prize with JNBY Group: To join the design team in China to work on a sustainable collection for retail
• Second Prize: A tailored mentorship with Orsola de Castro, Fashion Designer, Co-founder of Estethica & Co-founder of Fashion Revolution
• Hong Kong Best: A guaranteed a place in the Grand Final of the Redress Design Award 2019

Emerging designers worldwide with less than three years’ industry experience are eligible to apply until the closing date on 14 March 2019 at www.redressdesignaward.com

Frontline Fashion 3, the five part digital mini-series hosted by celebrity Cara G Mcilroy, that follows the Redress Design Award 2018 finalists in the final stages of the competition in Hong Kong, launches on 11 January 2019, with new episodes released each week, on RedressAsia YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/redressasia

Redress is a pioneering Hong Kong based NGO working to reduce textile waste and promote environmental sustainability in the fashion industry. Through our dynamic programmes we work directly with designers, brands, manufacturers, industry professionals, educational organisations and consumers, to promote innovative models and drive growth towards a new circular economy for fashion.

The Redress Design Award is the world’s largest sustainable fashion design competition working to educate emerging fashion designers around the world about sustainable design theories and techniques in order to drive growth towards a circular fashion system. By putting sustainable design talent in the global spotlight, the competition creates a unique platform for passionate and talented fashion gamechangers to transform the global fashion industry and rewards the best with career-changing prizes to maximise long-term impact.

The Create Hong Kong is a dedicated agency set up under the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau on 1 June 2001 to lead, champion and drive the development of the creative economy in Hong Kong. It coordinates Government policy and effort regarding creative industries, focuses Government’s resources catering for the promotion and speeding up the development of creative industries in Hong Kong, and works closely with the trade to boost the development of creative industries*

*Disclaimer: The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region provides funding support to the project only,and does not otherwise take part in the project. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in these materials/events (or by members of the project team) are those of the project organizers only and do not reflect the views of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Communication and Creative Industries Branch of the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, Create Hong Kong, the CreateSmart Initiative Secretariat or the CreateSmart Initiative Vetting Committee.

¹ Ellen Macarthur Foundation (2017), A New Textiles Economy: Redesigning Fashion's Future
² World Trade Organisation, 2017, World Trade Statistical Review, 2017
³ Business of Fashion and McKinsey & Company report “The State of Fashion 2019”
⁴ China Water Risk, 2018, “Fashion Has The Power To Shape A 2°C World”