It is no secret that establishing connections between emerging designers and large-scale manufacturers comes with an array of obstacles. Yet there are those trying to mitigate these challenges, bridging the gap between the young designer and the global manufacturer in order to, ultimately, push forward a new chapter in the story of sustainable implementation. It is exactly this that has been at the heart of a long-term relationship between educational fashion NGO Redress and garment manufacturer TAL Apparel.

The two Hong Kong-based firms first established a relationship back in 2014, when both TAL CEO Roger Lee and Redress founder Christina Dean contributed to ‘The True Cost’, a documentary exploring the impact of fashion on people and the planet. It was during the release of this project that both Lee, who funded the film’s screenings in Hong Kong, and Dean realised the values of their respective organisations neatly aligned, leading them to sought out ways to build on this relationship while striving to achieve the missions of their respective initiatives.

For Dean, Lee and his firm TAL were the perfect partners due to their honest and open communication towards industry peers, particularly when addressing challenges in the sector. “I’m very pro-industry, but I particularly feel passionate about family-owned businesses and private enterprises,” she said. “It’s not because I don’t like listed companies, but as a small organisation, it can be much more nimble to work with privately-owned companies. TAL is a good example of a company that is privately-owned and has absolutely full conviction in sustainability.”

Sustainability starts at the beginning of the design process, in collaboration

The partnership came several years after TAL had already begun setting itself targets on carbon and water reduction, before such missions had even entered the mindset of the wider industry. “When Christina came to me and talked about waste, it felt natural to have a common topic,” Lee said. “We both wanted the same thing for the industry, and this was still before people really talked about these things. We know how difficult this is to tackle, particularly for young designers wanting to change the industry. I wanted to support Christina because it’s going to take a while to educate people. The more designers that can come and see a real factory, and understand what we do, the better. It's going to be a long journey to impact a lot of people.”

Zari Qanei, Iran; and Silvia Acien Parrilla, UK; Redress Design Award x TAL Challenge 2024 Credits: Redress x TAL

Essentially, the collaboration all boils down to a belief that Dean and the wider Redress organisation share: that sustainability truly begins at the start of the design process. It is an outlook that was admittedly less prominent a few years ago, but with an influx of sustainability-infused education on the rise and thus producing more eco-conscious designers, it is natural evolution that is slowly making its way into the wider industry, and something that Lee has continued to track over time.

“Designers and bigger brands in place today never learned about sustainability. They understand there is an impact, but it was never ingrained into them at a young age. A lot of brands still chase profit and, if they’re public, share price. The challenge for them is how to put sustainability at the front and centre when shareholders don’t reward you for that? The designers today didn’t grow up in that culture. It’s only in the last 10 to 15 years that sustainability has become a part of the curriculum. It has to take a generation to learn, and as young designers get to senior levels where they can influence the design of a brand, only then it will only start to change. We as an industry have to find ways to encourage brands to change. The only way I could see that happening at this stage is through regulations,” Lee said.

Louise Boase (Australia), Rod Henderson (TAL president), Dr Christina Dean (Redress founder), Ngoc Ha Thu Le (Redress Alum), Redress Design Award x TAL Challenge 2024 Credits: Redress x TAL.

In regards to young designers, one core, and unsurprising, obstacle they face is that of scale. While TAL does retain a relationship with Redress to support competition participants, the firm is in fact a mass manufacturer with a capacity of 50 million garments per year, and is therefore not typically looking for small start-up designers, as their production lines are not set up for such size. The company does, however, occasionally take on sustainable fashion brands both to bring new design techniques into the processes and to challenge the current design process.

Dean seconded this sentiment, stating that it was indeed difficult for designers with tiny runs to find suitable manufacturers, yet emphasised the importance of opening doors to those with potential. “These designers have to start somewhere,” she said. “A lot of industry leaders turn their back on the lack of scale, but unless we start piloting and collaborating, we can’t get to scale on anything anyway.”

Industry leaders turn their back on lack of scale despite need for piloting

It's these designers that ultimately make up much of the Redress alumni network, which is now at over 300 members. Many of those individuals often enter the initiative without ever having stepped foot in a factory, Dean noted, highlighting the need for exposure to this part of the production process. Aside from this element, and even within the organisation’s own already sustainable network, the needs of designers and their expectations have changed since the beginning of the TAL and Redress partnership, many now coming in with a more “full life cycle” way of thinking, Dean said.

Tiger Chung, Hong Kong; Nguyen Thi Dung, Vietnam; Zari Qanei, Iran; and Silvia Acien Parrilla, UK; Redress Design Award x TAL Challenge 2024 winning team photo Credits: Redress x TAL

This year, evidence of this evolution and how Redress and TAL have adapted to the ever-changing needs of young designers was stark. Redress took the 2024 finalists of its annual competition, all descending from different corners of the world, to Vietnam to visit one of TAL’s factories. It is an element of the competition that has become imperative to Redress, and has been expanded on since the inception of the partnership. What was once just a few hours in a TAL factory now spans a few days, expanding participant exposure to the production floor. The directness aims to bring creatives closer to the front lines of the creation process, a one that Dean said they often enter into with misconceptions, despite TAL’s factories being “highly efficient and extremely well-structured”, as she emphasised.

Part of Redress’ goal, therefore, is to dismantle these misconceptions in order to help bolster relations between the two parties. It also serves as a way to exhibit how partnerships with such manufacturers could result in more sustainable outcomes in regards to production. This year, for example, alongside other phases in Redress’ competition spanning a week, groups of designers were tasked with utilising and reworking partially defect T-shirts produced by TAL to create a new design.

Nguyen Thi Dung, Vietnam, and Zari Qanei, Iran, Redress Design Award x TAL Challenge 2024 Credits: Redress x TAL.

The winning team consisted of 2024 Redress First Prize recipient Tiger Chung, as well as Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Dung, Iran’s Zari Qanei, and UK-based Silvia Acien Parrilla, each of whom were optimistic about what they learned both from the project and from attending the factory, where their winning design is now set to go into production. Thi Dung, for example, said the experience gave her valuable insights into the technical and operational aspects of fashion manufacturing, while further broadening her understanding of the supply chain.

Redress designers garner solid foundation on which to foster sustainable production

The young designer, who hopes to make a career in the sustainable field, added: “I now understand how to balance creativity with scalability, especially when considering sustainability. The exposure to large-scale manufacturing and collaboration has taught me how to integrate innovative design techniques while working in professional environments. I’m excited to bring these lessons into my career, focusing on sustainability and collaboration in everything I do.”

Zari Qanei, Iran, Redress Design Award x TAL Challenge 2024. Credits: Redress x TAL.

Qanei, meanwhile, reflected on the growth that came from working alongside TAL technicians, while also noting that it was the first time she had considered the possibility of continuing to integrate sustainability into her design process in a more mass produced setting. “This challenge has equipped me with both technical expertise and a collaborative mindset,” she said, highlighting improvements in skills such as zero-waste pattern making, fabric selection and designing tech packs. Qanei added: “The experience has provided me with a solid foundation that aligns perfectly with my long-term vision of working on my own clothing brand.”

Like these designers rising up the ranks, Redress and TAL must constantly evaluate their own future as each new lineup of hopefuls enter the competition ring. Redress’ need for funding as an NGO, next to the increasingly complex nature of the sustainable category, do present challenges for the charity organisation, yet Dean is optimistic. She also sees her task as something that goes beyond the confines of the competition and its annual designer challenges.

“We have a bigger mission to elevate the experience for a wider audience; to consumers – to whom we provide simple videos – and a broader industry – for which we summarise key learnings,” she said. “Overall, it’s also really about educating big talents for the rest of their lives, and that involves all stakeholders, anyone involved in the design process.”

Group photo, Redress Design Award x TAL Challenge 2024 Credits: Redress x TAL.