HKRITA (Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel), has launched an innovative recycling system, that turns old clothes into new ones. The system is called Garment to Garment (G2G). Shared by Sam Bentley, climate activist and sustainability content creator, the machine demonstrates an environmentally friendly, closed-loop garment recycling process that uses no water or chemicals, according to the G2G website.

As the process plays in the video, Bentley explains that the old garment is cleaned and then processed into a fibrous web. This web is then spun into strong twisted yarns, and once the yarn is made, it can be mechanically knitted into new clothes. The machine even has a 3-D body scanner, allowing for a tailor-fit garment to be made on the spot.

Although the machine was founded in 2018, as a mini-scale production line set up in a retail shop recycling post-consumer garment to a new one, its social media introduction by Sam Bentley had it making headlines again. The fashion industry produces 100 billion garments annually, accounting for between 2 per cent and 8 per cent of global carbon air pollution and creating 20 per cent of all wastewater globally. Over 100 million tonnes of textile waste gets sent to landfills each year. With the deployment of this technology, this waste can be curbed to a great extent.