HKRITA system features at Tokyo design event
A garment-to-garment recycling system developed by the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA) was part of Tokyo’s Good Design Exhibition 2021, which closed on November 21.
HKRITA describes the technology as “a unique mini-scale production line set-up” recycles used garments into new ones. The institute’s chief executive, Edwin Keh, has said the garment-to-garment system can help consumers “rethink the intrinsic value of our clothes” and contribute to solving environmental challenges presented by the clothing industry.
It won the Gold Award in the 2020 Hong Kong Green Innovations Awards. In October this year, the project was honoured by the Japan Institute of Design, which featured it in the Best 100 of its 2021 Good Design Awards.
It was as a result of its inclusion by the Japan Institute of Design that the technology featured at the Good Design Exhibition 2021, which took place at the Tokyo Midtown Design Hub.
The system occupies a space equivalent to a 40-foot shipping container. The installation in Tokyo had double-glazed glass to allow visitors to view the entire recycling process. An AI algorithm estimates the recycle process parameters and automatically reviews if the fibres need to be reopened.
A three-in-one fibre processing system increases automation in the system. It links to a 3D body scanner which measures the shape of customers to make sure the new garments that emerge from the system will fit well.
