PolyU’s School of Fashion and Textiles (SFT) and Japanese clothing retailer UNIQLO recently co-organised the first Sustainable Future Challenge Competition. The event was created to promote the durability and repairability of clothing among young people and foster sustainable development in the fashion, textiles and design industries.

More than 120 SFT students took part in the competition, with 10 teams shortlisted to present their ideas and prototypes to the judging panel in February this year. The judges praised the three winning projects for being creative, practical, and well thought-out in terms of material selection, technology use, design aesthetics, environmental protection effectiveness, marketing, and brand philosophy.

Mr Ota Tomoyuki, Chief Operations Officer of UNIQLO Hong Kong, said, “Through this competition, we have successfully identified many young talents in Hong Kong and were inspired by their visionary proposals.”

Assistant Professors of SFT Dr Fan Di and Dr Magnum Lam Man-lok, who organised the competition, said: “Support from industry is important in providing education to nurture future industry leaders for the development of sustainable fashion.”

Champion

Pet Toys by Chung Wing-tin Nicole, Lam Tsz-shuen, and Leung Wing-yan Inspired by traditional Japanese knots, the team made a set of cotton rope toys for pets out of recycled clothes, potentially creating a new business opportunity.

1st runner-up

Recycle Textiles Composites for Sustainable Society by Chung Ka-wai, Fok Chun-fung, Lam Chak-wai, Lam Tsz-ki and Wong Mei-shan The team compressed recycled textile waste to make composite boards. The new material can be used to produce furniture, for sound proofing, and as a construction material.

2nd runner-up

Green Fashion - Coffee Ground Fibre by Au Man-yan, Cheung Mei-yan, Lau Tsz-yan, Pun Wai-jan, Sit Kai-man and Tse Ka-wing The team upcycled coffee grounds and turned them into fibres that can be used in textile and apparel production. The fibre has unique odour-absorbing, fast-drying and UV protection features.