Singapore, 12 March 2019 – As part of Ecosperity 2019, Temasek has launched the first-ever Trash to Fash: An Upcycling Competition, challenging participants to design clothing using recycled PET1 fabric and other upcycled materials.
The three-month competition aims to raise public awareness about the circular economy and inspire youth to develop sustainable solutions. Open to anyone residing in Singapore aged 17 and above, participants will learn about the value of “trash”, what it means for the fashion industry to adopt a closed loop supply chain, and how materials can be upcycled into fashionable apparel.
After the close of online applications on 18 March, 25 individuals and/or teams will be shortlisted for the second phase of the competition, where they will undergo a half-day workshop and be mentored by leading fashion designers. During this phase, they will have to collect PET bottles to be exchanged for recycled PET fabric, which they will then use to design and create their finished products.
These collected PET bottles will be processed by persons with intellectual disabilities and stored at MINDS Woodlands Employment Development Centre, before being recycled by engineering firm Miniwiz into rPET fabric.
In the final phase of the competition, eight finalist individuals/teams will share more about their designs and showcase their apparel during a Fashion Show Finale held on 3 June 2019. More details on the competition can be found in the Annex.
S$8,000 worth of prizes will be awarded to the top three teams, and the designs of all eight finalist individuals/teams will also be on display to an international audience at Marina Bay Sands during Ecosperity Week 2019, at the Ecosperity Innovation Showcase.
“A problem with fast fashion is how it contributes to a throwaway culture and hence, excessive waste,” said Robin Hu, Head, Sustainability & Stewardship Group, Temasek. “Trash to Fash hopes to inspire youths to demonstrate how Ecosperity can be achieved with sustainable designs that shape the future of the fashion industry.”
“Establishing the circular economy needs to begin from the ground-up, and we have to get our hands dirty,” said Arthur Huang, CEO and Founder of Miniwiz. “As the participants collect and exchange PET bottles, they will see first-hand the large amount of waste created by single-use plastics and learn about what needs to be done to close the loop.”
“Designing for sustainability not only requires the redesign of habits, lifestyles and practices, but also the way we think about design,” said Mark Wee, Executive Director, DesignSingapore Council. “We need to educate our designers on how to design for a more sustainable future and Trash to Fash is a good initiative to raise design sensibilities of the next generation. We are delighted to be a supporting partner.”
Trash to Fash: An Upcycling Competition is organised in partnership with local events curation agency Tabula Rasa and supported by Taiwanese engineering firm Miniwiz, DesignSingapore Council, Temasek Shophouse and MINDS (Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore). To learn more, please visit www.ecosperity.sg/en/events/trash-to-fash-2019.
---- End ----
