Old clothes get new life

In September 2017, a year into the four-year long partnership with the foundation, HKRITA came up with the hydrothermal method of recycling cotton and polyester blends - which used to be considered unrecyclable - into new fibers.

Meanwhile, the chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Lam Cheng Yuet-Ngor, and Yang Weixiong, the secretary for Innovation and Technology Bureau attended the opening ceremony of a new pre-industrial size facility using this technology.

Speaking at the event, Lam Cheng said that when it came to waste textiles, the region produced 120,000 tons in 2016. And she said that the new environmental production line would help the reindustrialization of the region.

She also added that the government is devoted to promoting reindustrialization by providing infrastructure, financial resources, technical support, and training.

Separately, the innovation lead of the H&M Foundation, Erik Bang said: "This (recycling) is a significant step toward a new fashion industry that operates within the planetary boundaries.

"And as we scale up and make this technology freely available to the industry, we will reduce the dependence on limited natural resources to dress a growing global population."

Also, alongside the miniaturized Garment-To-Garment Recycling System a retail shop selling recycled garments was opened. So, customers can bring in their unwanted clothes, and watch the container-sized system recycle their garments.