Behind the glamorous facade of the global fashion industry is a massive amount of clothing waste generated across the world. Christina Dean, chief executive of Hong Kong-based non-profit organisation Redress, which is behind the international EcoChic Design Award, calls on consumers in this video to help make the industry sustainable by reusing discarded clothes this year with the ‘The Get Redressed Challenge’.
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This is an updated version of the personal mission Dean started in 2013 called the 365 Challenge. She committed to wear 100 per cent secondhand or dumped, discarded and donated clothing everyday for an entire year. This promoted their organisation’s concept known as ‘Redress it, don’t bin it’, which extends the lifecycle of the clothes.
Dean noted there are about 7.5 billion garments thrown into landfills every year, and by simply being mindful, this can be reduced. In fact, in Hong Kong in 2011, 217 tonnes of textiles were dumped into three landfills every day.
For the campaign, Dean and Redress sourced the used clothing from eco-group Friends of the Earth (HK), and they also eventually sold these outfits to raise funds for both of the organisations. This January, the first part of their new campaign is focused on the little black dress and finding ways to repurpose it and alter its style.
Dean also aims to promote the importance of sustainable wardrobe management by increasing the reach of the challenge. Redress plans to invite well known personalities such as those from the fashion and sustainability sectors to join, as well as the general public.
Follow the challenge here.
