Fashion has an immensely powerful impact on society, especially in this day and age. But what happens when our overconsumption and desire to keep up with new trends, start taking a toll on the environment? What do can we do when increasing textile waste harms the wellbeing of the Earth and its biodiversity, including ourselves?
The fashion industry has become one of the major polluting industries in the world, however, one NGO based in Hong Kong, Redress, continues to grow globally as they shine a light on critical waste issues within the industry, as well as ways to improve design, production and consumption. As part of its work, Redress has been holding the world’s largest sustainable fashion design competition annually, The Redress Design Award. Following the 2019 edition at Centrestage Hong Kong recently, CLOSER spoke with its inspiring founder and CEO, Christina Dean.
When you started Redress in 2007, what were the initial ideas and goals of the non-profit organization?
When I started Redress, the whole external climate was very different from how it is now. The original mission was to promote sustainable fashion, which is a very complicated area, from labor issues to environmental issues. We forged on with that mission for a few years, with a broad, over-arching, sustainable fashion promotion.
It wasn’t until we did a big project with the United Nations in 2009 that I had a wakeup call and asked myself, “What really is ‘sustainable fashion?’” We then narrowed down our mission, which is to reduce waste in the fashion industry and to promote circular fashion.
We are at this unbelievable moment in time, where we are using up our natural resources, and polluting the Earth, under a climate emergency. Meanwhile there are still millions and millions of tons of textile waste being incinerated and land filled. We need to be able to find a way to bring back wasted fabric into the fashion industry.
The fashion show for the Redress Design Award this year looked superb. Through it, how do you wish to influence the way people view fashion?
I believe if people open their minds, and even hearts, to the power of fashion, we can do good together. It’s a beautiful industry. Fashion is how we present ourselves to the world and it has a very important place in people’s lives.
For me, what the Redress Design Award does and can cause, is an emotional reaction to the power of fashion. What you see on the runway are the hopes, dreams and innovations of the next generation. Their courage. Their commitment. You can see them striving as they want to fix fashion.
I have this belief that the world wants us to be consumers because that’s good for growth, and GDPs, and the economy. But I believe that if people can see themselves as fashion citizens, then what that does is empower them in their personal choices in clothes. We are not just a blip on a database. We are not just a blip on the GDP. We have the power to dress in ways that are sustainable, and that in itself, has the potential to make everyone an activist in their own right. People can have fun with fashion in an ethical way that represents them.
Here in Macau, Zara has partnered with Redress, collecting unwanted clothes. What are the procedures and measures taken when the boxes fill up?
We have had a partnership with Zara for a few years now, throughout Hong Kong and Macau, where we collect any unwanted items, from clothing to bags to shoes.
Unopened, the boxes are sent to Redress as a purely charitable donation. We have an infrastructure in place to sort through all the clothing which is very hard work. This is in order to really derive their best value, and so the best quality clothing goes to Redress’ pop up charity shops, for fundraising for Redress.
Most of the donated clothes head to other charities with a different set of target customers.
We sort in the most meticulous ways humanly possible, to make sure those clothes are valued for what they are. We scrutinize them for their next use. We want to honor the process in making textiles and keep the value of the products for as long as possible.
The concept of sustainable, ethical or no-waste fashion is still very new for many people. How do you explain to people the importance of moving away from fast fashion brands?
The first step is not to radically change anything. Wake up to the idea that you are a fashion citizen and that you are connected to the supply chain. It is really important to wake up and take a look at your closet. Really wear what you’ve got. Enjoy what you’ve got.
It’s not anti-consumption. It just means getting more bang-for-your-buck. Get more active at utilizing what you’ve got. You can do a closet edit to actually understand what you have and start wearing them more. Then we realize we have more than we need and many similar styles of clothing.
It is much less about “stop doing this, do that, don’t buy this, do buy this”. It’s about engaging your mind with what your closet actually means.
And if you really want to buy fast fashion, wear things for as long as possible. Wash them properly. Store them properly. Take good care of them.
An interesting thought to consider would be, if people are buying 20 fast fashion pieces a year, why not buy 10 pieces a year – of better quality pieces? Those would most likely last even longer and you would enjoy them more.
Lastly, what advice would you give to young and aspiring designers who wish to follow a career path in sustainable fashion?
I’d say definitely do it. The only future for the fashion industry is to be more sustainable. We are getting to a point where sustainable is not just this niche, optional thing; It’s becoming integrated as a core demand. Everyone that I speak to in the industry mentions that if they are looking to hire, they are looking for designers that know what they are talking about in terms of sustainability. It will be a more rewarding career, knowing you’re marrying your ethics with your practice.
