Circular economy highlighted at fashion award

Representatives from startups and various industry players in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) engaged in discussions about the circular economy for sustainable fashion at the third Kering Generation Award GBA Roadshow hosted by French luxury goods group Kering in Shenzhen yesterday.

Themed “Innovation for Circular Fashion,” the roadshow was part of the third edition of the Kering Generation Award and aimed to explore innovation throughout the entire fashion industry value chain and foster collaboration to create a new ecosystem for sustainability.

In addition to keynote speeches, the 2023 Kering Sustainable Fashion Innovation Forum was held during the roadshow, with two roundtable discussions focusing on “New Circular Materials, New Circular Designs” and “New Circular Ecosystem.”

Young entrepreneurs from the GBA shared their visions and strengths at the GBA Sustainable Fashion Startup Pitch. The startups that participated in the event included Spider Technology (Shenzhen), BloomGEM (Shenzhen), REDO (Guangzhou), Revobit (Guangzhou), DejaWOOO (Hong Kong) and CHAZENCE (Macao).

“By choosing the circular economy as the key focal point of the third Kering Generation Award, we want to help a new generation of startups explore and implement innovations that can drive industrial transformation,” Marie-Claire Daveu, chief sustainability and institutional affairs officer at Kering, said.

“The GBA Roadshow marks an important step during this exploratory journey,” Daveu commented.

Cai Jinqing, president of Kering Greater China, said: “Shenzhen’s innovative DNA is fully in line with Kering’s sustainable innovation strategy. We are honored to be in this vibrant city to explore the new ecosystem of circular fashion and discuss new forms of collaboration with our partners in the GBA.”

Designed as a local initiative under Kering’s 2025 Sustainability Strategy, the company founded the Kering Generation Award in China, which has been successfully held for two years in partnership with leading innovation platform Plug and Play China.

The award aims to scout and identify change-making Chinese startups and disruptive technologies and foster sustainable innovation in China’s fashion sector. The third edition was announced in December 2022 around the theme of “Coming Full Circle.” The award ceremony will be held in October 2023 during Shanghai Fashion Week.

As a global luxury group, Kering manages 13 renowned houses in fashion, leather goods, jewelry and watches including Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga and Alexander McQueen. (Shenzhen Daily)