The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA) has officially launched the Green Innotextile Base (GIB) in Shanghai, marking a major step towards accelerating sustainable innovation and technology transfer in the textiles industry. The announcement was made on World Environment Day 2025 during the Innostech 2025 Shanghai-Hong Kong Seminar, in collaboration with the Pudong New Force Incubator and the Pudong-Hong Kong Institute for Technology Transfer and Innovation.

Located in the influential Yangtze River Delta region, the GIB is designed to drive the application of advanced sustainable technologies, with a core focus on circular economy models, new textile materials and the integration of artificial intelligence in fashion production. The base also serves as a platform for setting technical standards, offering certification services and enabling effective technology transfer.

Ms Teresa Yang, Chairman of HKRITA, emphasised that the initiative aims to combine sustainability with smart manufacturing and cross-disciplinary innovation. “The Green Innotextile Base promotes collaboration across industry, academia and research sectors, empowering the textile industry to enhance competitiveness while delivering environmental and economic benefits,” she said.

Mr Geng Zhongwei, Chairman of Pudong New Force Incubator, highlighted the role of the GIB in startup incubation: “This platform integrates incubation services with AI-driven automation tools to support entrepreneurs and address business challenges, driving value-added innovation.”

Mr Chan Yi Ngok, representing the Pudong-Hong Kong Institute for Technology Transfer and Innovation, underscored GIB’s role in regional collaboration: “This platform will serve as a key pillar in Pudong-Hong Kong and Shanghai-Hong Kong sustainable development efforts, promoting international exchanges and talent training to cultivate green productivity.”

In addition to the platform launch, HKRITA announced a partnership with NeoRita Sustainable Technologies (Shanghai) Ltd to apply proprietary bacterial cellulose transformation technology in the development of eco-friendly vegan leather products. The collaboration reflects HKRITA’s practical approach to translating sustainable innovation into tangible consumer solutions.

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