On the Road of Open Lab

To address climate change, scale up and maximise the impact of research and development, collaboration among various stakeholders is necessary. The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA) has worked with H&M Foundation to establish Open Lab, inviting industry partners to explore agile solutions to tackle climate change.

Open Lab aims to showcase innovative solutions, provide a collaborative platform for industry-wide partnerships, and contribute to problem-solving and resource optimisation. It consists of a physical research space and a technological database housing over 80 sustainable projects. Its 20,000-square-foot physical space at Advanced Manufacturing Centre, Tseung Kwan O InnoPark, comprises two major areas: Pilot Plant and Fashion Future Lab. Pilot Plant is a mini textiles recycling line for industrial-scale demonstrations and trials of technologies. Fashion Future Lab is a modular research space for early-stage solutions.

The first project of Fashion Futures Lab is “Farm-to-Garment,” a location-independent production line from hydroponic cotton cultivation to yarn processing and garment knitting. This project uses indoor vertical hydroponics to grow extra-long staple cotton in various colours. The cotton is then processed for yarn spinning and knitting. The whole process is eco-friendly as it saves nearly 90% of water and 75% of fertilisers compared to conventional soil-based farming, and it does not require any use of pesticides. Another environmental benefit is the reduction of wastewater as the entire process omits dyeing purposely. This shortened and carbon-reducing cotton supply chain is one of our endeavours to demonstrate to the industry the possibility of eco-friendly textiles manufacturing within limited urban spaces.

The construction work at Open Lab has been completed, and the facilities at the Fashion Futures Lab have been installed. The Open Lab is expected to be in operation within this year. Major organisations including C&A, Crystal International Group, Esquel Group, Fashion for Good, H&M Group and TAL Apparel are supporting the Open Lab. We will keep sharing the latest developments of the Open Lab with you, and we look forward to receiving further support from the industry.

Renovation work at the physical space of the Open Lab is completed

Various technological systems are being installed

The small-scale yarn processing facilities of “Farm-to-Garment”